Biography:Tanisha Williams

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Short description: American botanist
Tanisha Marie Williams
Born
Washington D.C.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materPennsylvania State University, California State University, Los Angeles, University of Connecticut,
Scientific career
InstitutionsBucknell University
ThesisPredicting Pelargonium Responses to Climate Change in a Biodiversity Hotspot throughout South Africa (2019)
Doctoral advisorKent E Holsinger, Carl D. Schlichting
Websitenaturesplasticity.weebly.com

Tanisha Marie Williams is an American botanist and the founder of #BlackBotanistsWeek. Williams created #BlackBotanistsWeek, an initiative started in 2020 promoting Black Botanists to share their work and life experiences on Twitter and Instagram after seeing similar initiatives for Black scientists in other fields.[1][2] Williams' doctoral work focused on predicting plant adaptability to climate change, specifically plants in the Pelargonium genus in the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa .[3]

Early life and education

Williams was born and raised in Washington, D.C.[4] She credits childhood hiking and camping trips, as well as the influence of her great-grandmother, for her early interest in nature and plants.[4] Williams received a Bachelor's degree from Pennsylvania State University in Energy Business and Finance in the Energy and Mineral Engineering Department in 2007.[5][3] She completed a Master's degree at California State University at Los Angeles in 2012.[3] Williams worked in both the Schlichting and Holsinger labs as a graduate student in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Connecticut and received a PhD in 2019.[6][3]

Career

Academia

At California State University at Los Angeles, Williams investigated gene flow and hybridization between three species of Populus in California and Nevada.[7] For her doctoral research, she studied plant adaptability to climate change, and the ability to predict plant adaptability to climate change, focusing on plants in the Pelargonium genus growing in the Cape Floristic Region in South Africa .[3][4] She performed this research in the both the Schlichting lab[3] and the Holsinger lab[6] in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Connecticut, where she was the recipient of a Bridge to the Doctorate Fellowship[5] as well as a UConn's Outstanding Multicultural Scholars Program (OMSP) fellowship.[5] Her post-doctoral work has focused on multiple projects, including investigations into biogeographic barriers on species distribution,[8][7] population genomics to determine the conservation status of plants,[7][8] and how the relationship between the Martu people of Australia and the plants that they use affect the movement of plant material in the region of that the Martu live in.[8][7]

In 2020, Williams spoke to the Washington Post about the effects of climate change on tree species and leaf colors.[9] In 2021, Williams appeared on NPR to explain how leaves change color, and opened the field of botany to anyone who loves plants.[10]

Activism

Williams created #BlackBotanistsWeek,[4][1] an initiative started in 2020 promoting Black Botanists to share their work and life experiences on Twitter and Instagram after seeing similar initiatives for Black scientists in other fields.[1] She explained, "I participated in Black Birders Week and felt a sense of joy. It was nice seeing so many Black people enjoy nature, hiking, and birding. I wanted to bring that joy and representation to the botanical fields."[11]

Williams recruited a group of co-founders and co-organizers including Beronda Montgomery and Nokwanda Makunga and as part of the first week, commemorated the late Lynika Strozier.[12][13]

Williams and the other members of the #BlackBotanistsWeek committee plan on #BlackBotanistsWeek being an annual event,[14] and have already worked with the Holden Arboretum to put on a lecture series focusing on Black Botanists; "Growing Black Roots: The Black Botanical Legacy".[15] In addition to promoting Black Botanists to share through social media, the response to #BlackBotanistsWeek also led to new initiatives in other botanical societies - including a Zoom mixer for BIPOC Botanists at the most recent Botanical Society of America Conference.[1]

Williams has spoken up about how Black scientists are perceived while conducting fieldwork, and explained her own precautions before going to work: "I’ve been quizzed by random strangers," she said. "Now I bring my wildflower books and botanical field guides, trying to look like a scientist. It’s for other people. I wouldn’t otherwise lug these books."[16]

Awards

Selected publications

  • Williams, Tanisha M. Bleau, Jade. Allen, Maya L. Seamans, Georgia Silvera. Cannon, Brandi. Fontaine, Natasza. Halane, Morgan. Koopman, Rupert. Makunga, Nokwanda P. Moroenyane, Itumeleng. Soto, Tatyana. Montgomery, Beronda L. "Growing a Community: The Inaugural# Blackbotanistsweek Recap and Looking Forward" (2021). Taxon. 70(1) 218–224.
  • Williams, Tanisha Marie, "Predicting Pelargonium Responses to Climate Change in a Biodiversity Hotspot throughout South Africa" (2019). Doctoral Dissertations. 2257. https://opencommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/2257
  • Williams, Tanisha Marie. Auer, Carol. "Ploidy Number for Panicum virgatum (switchgrass) from the Long Island Sound Coastal Lowland compared to Upland and Lowland Cultivars" 2014. Open Commons UConn.
  • Williams, Tanisha Marie, "Discovering the next-generation of hybrids: evidence from high-throughput SNP assays that three species of Populus lack significant reproductive barriers" (2012). Theses, California State University, Los Angeles

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Mallenbaum, Carly. "#BlackBirdersWeek, #BlackInNeuro: Black scientists, physicians are using hashtags to uplift" (in en-US). https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2020/08/04/blackinneuro-blackinchem-can-hashtags-help-black-scientists-build-community-spotlight-excellence/5541431002/. 
  2. ↑ Williams, Tanisha M. (February 2021). "GROWING A COMMUNITY: THE INAUGURAL #BLACKBOTANISTSWEEK RECAP AND LOOKING FORWARD". Taxon 70 (1): 218–224. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1002/tax.12442. Retrieved 19 July 2021. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Moore, Timothy (2014-10-09). "Tanisha Williams | Schlichting Laboratory" (in en-US). https://plasticity.uconn.edu/tanisha-williams/. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "#BLACKBOTANISTSWEEK" (in en). https://blackbotanistsweek.weebly.com/. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Placzek, Andrew (2019-08-09). "Tanisha Williams | Bridge to the Doctorate STEM Program" (in en-US). https://b2d.engr.uconn.edu/person/tanisha-williams/. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "People". https://darwin.eeb.uconn.edu/people.html. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 "Dr. Tanisha Williams" (in en-US). 2020-08-18. https://projectbiodiversify.org/2020/08/18/tanisha-williams/. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Rogers, Katie (2021-01-26). "Taproot S5E1: Finding Strength in Diverse Scientific Communities" (in en-US). https://plantae.org/taproot-s5e1-finding-strength-in-diverse-scientific-communities/. 
  9. ↑ Long, Kat (October 17, 2020). "Human-driven climate change is changing the colors of fall foliage, scientists say". https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/humans-altered-fall-foliage/2020/10/16/0abc786c-03f5-11eb-897d-3a6201d6643f_story.html. 
  10. ↑ "Micro Wave: Why Do Leaves Change Color During Fall?". NPR Short Wave. 2020-10-23. https://www.npr.org/transcripts/926278247. 
  11. ↑ "Tanisha Williams: Botanist And Founder of Black Botanists Week". 2021-02-11. https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/blog/tanisha-williams/. 
  12. ↑ "#BlackBotanistsWeek Meet Our Team". https://blackbotanistsweek.weebly.com/meet-our-team.html. 
  13. ↑ Glick, Molly (2021-02-21). "Inside 2020’s Black Solidarity Hashtag Movement, How scientists and adventurers united online in the name of equity". https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/inside-2020-s-black-solidarity-hashtag-movement. 
  14. ↑ "Plant Lover & Founder of Black Botanists Week: Dr. Tanisha M. Williams" (in en-CA). 2020-07-29. https://www.sciencerendezvous.ca/news/2020/07/29/dr-tanisha-williams-founder-of-black-botanists-week/. 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Uncovering the Black Botanical Legacy" Holden Forests & Gardens" (in en-US). https://holdenfg.org/resources/uncovering-the-black-botanical-legacy/. 
  16. ↑ "Black scientists call out racism in the field and counter it". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2020-09-15/black-scientists-fight-racism-science-field. 
  17. ↑ Ferlazzo, Mike (July 20, 2021). "Bucknell's Williams Plans #BlackBotanistsWeek2021, Wins Peter Raven Award for Plant Science Outreach". https://www.bucknell.edu/news/bucknells-williams-plans-blackbotanistsweek2021-wins-peter-raven-award-plant-science-outreach. 
  18. ↑ "Grantee Directory". https://us.fulbrightonline.org/alumni/grantee-directory?name=Tanisha+Williams&sort=. 




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