gLobal ERG
Mission
The purpose of gLoBaL (“LBL” inside of “global”) is to provide support and a sense of community for Berkeley Lab employees who have moved to the United States from another country via:
Developing the community of international employees to support each other
Raising awareness of the challenges international employees face when moving from their home country to the United States
Celebrating the diverse cultures and unique gifts that international employees bring to the Lab
Creating opportunities for domestic employees to support their international colleagues
Activities
Cultural celebrations
Quarterly coffee hours
Thanksgiving exchange program pairing international employees with American employees for the holiday
2022 Accomplishments
Developed Monthly newsletter to showcase many activities around the Bay Area.
Established a Cultural Celebrations series that allowed for global ERG members to share their stories and experiences about various worldwide celebrations.
Organized and held a virtual Lunar Celebrations event in collaboration with API ERG.
Support for Ukraine:Penned a letter of support to those impacted by Ukraine, so that they can access available resources and reach out to the community.
Launched independent website that can be used to collect information around the events organized.
Organized International Day of Light In-person event at the lab.
Held online event with Meta on how the company plans to tackle issues of misinformation regarding climate change.
Organized "The Art of Folding," an online event on experiments done with x-ray on folded structures, and simulations of origami folding.
Organized “Solar Power for All,” an online event on building solar panels for the community.
Collaborated with IRSO to bring more clarity around the rules regarding travels, at a time where travel was hampered by many restrictions and international employees needing guidance to navigate the rules.
Conducted Fire trail hike.
Organized Angel island hike. Day long hike in collaboration with API.
Grew global ERG's leadership team by establishing a steering committee.
Member Highlights
Antoine Wojdyla & Alisa Bettale, Co-Chairs
Living thousands of miles away from family and friends is never easy. It is more challenging during a pandemic. The co-chairs of the Lab’s gLoBaL ERG, Antoine Wojdyla and Alisa Bettale, share their challenges and what they are doing to make it easier for their fellow international colleagues. Read the full interview>>
Supid Dosanjh, Executive Sponsor
gLoBaL is not a typo. It is the name of the newly re-started employee resource group designed to raise awareness of the Lab’s international community. Sudip Dosanjh, NERSC Division Director, is the executive sponsor and shares the challenges and priorities of the group. Read the full interview>>
Antoine Wojdyla, Co-Chair
A lightbulb, battery, and some wire in the Caribbean started Antoine Wojdyla on his curiosity journey. He is now at the Lab working on the ALS upgrade project. Read more about his remarkable path as we continue looking at the role accelerators have played in the Lab's history and its future. Read the full interview>>
Co-Chairs
Alisa Bettale - K-12 STEM Education and Outreach Programs - abettale@lbl.gov
Antoine Wojdyla - Advanced Light Source -awojdyla@lbl.gov
Executive Sponsor
Sudip Dosanjh, Division Director, National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC)