Below the Waterline is an organization whose mission is to combat sexual harassment and other forms of oppression in academic science, engineering, and medicine by treating both the symptoms (trainee suffering) and the root cause (our hierarchical culture). Founded by Sharona Gordon, Below the Waterline operates programs to increase respect and civility via grassroots efforts.

To arrange a presentation and/or discussion of Below the Waterline programs, trauma-informed peer support training, or combatting sexual harassment in academic sciences email sharonagordon@gmail.com.

Follow on Twitter: @BelowTheWaterUW, @ProfSharona

About Sharona E. Gordon: A professor of Physiology & Biophysics at the University of Washington School of Medicine, Dr. Gordon has a deep understanding of the environment and challenges in academic science. She has significant local and international leadership experience, experience developing mentoring programs for early-career scientists, and scholarship on women in science and scientific integrity. She has chaired the Board of Scientific Councilors of the National Heart, Lung, Blood Institute of the NIH; serves as Editor-in-Chief of Journal of General Physiology, chaired the program for the Biophysical Society Meeting, an international scientific conference with over 10,000 attendees; and founded Below the Waterline, a grassroots organization working to implement the recommendations of the NASEM report on Sexual Harassment. She has also founded programs for early career scientists including the Postdoctoral Scholar Reviewer Program and Junior Faculty Networking Cohort, programs which serve international populations, and Hit the Ground Running, a professional development program for postdoctoral scholars at the University of Washington. In addition to running a well-funded, productive basic science lab studying inflammatory pain, she has recently embarked on social science research to better understand formation of scientific identity in early-career scientists. This research has already resulted in a publication that was highlighted in the journal Science. Dr. Gordon has written extensively on the culture of academic science, women in science, and the relationship between science publishing and community activism. Brown University awarded Dr. Gordon the 2019 Horace Mann Medal, in recognition of her contributions as a distinguished graduate alumna.