Linton-Poodry SACNAS Leadership Institute

Honoring Our Founders

Back in 2009 SACNAS founding members Dr. Clifton Poodry (Seneca) and Dr. Marigold Linton (Cahuilla-Cupeño) saw a need: there was no program dedicated to training the next generation of STEM leaders of color. As our mentors and leaders retire, who will be ready to lead our nationwide mission to diversify STEM?

Both distinguished leaders at SACNAS, Poodry and Linton led the founding of the SACNAS Summer Leadership Institute, developed in partnership with the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The institute trained and equips 30 PhD-level scientists each year, cultivating the largest cohort of STEM leaders in the country.

Today, the institute bears the names of its founders as the Linton-Poodry SACNAS Leadership Institute (LPSLI), alongside its postdoctoral counterpart, the Postdoc Leadership Institute (PLI). The two programs were established to more intentionally address the distinct leadership development needs of early- and mid-career professionals and postdoctoral scholars, respectively.