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Congratulations to the recipient of the 2023 IDEA Award, Dr. Corey Welch! 

Dr. Welch was selected for his wide range of work to broaden participation of students and professionals from diverse backgrounds in all areas of STEM. Using the latest research on student success and his training in vertebrate ecology and evolution, he established and now directs an award-winning undergraduate training program, the STEM Scholars Program [2] at Iowa State University. During his work with the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science [3] (SACNAS), where he served on the board of directors for six years, Dr. Welch launched an ongoing mentoring program at the society’s annual meeting and has served as a facilitator for the Linton-Poodry SACNAS Leadership Institutes [4]. In addition to this work, Dr. Welch has led more than 40 seminars and presentations, mainly at biology and EEB departments, on how to improve DEI in STEM. Most recently, Dr. Welch founded the Sharon Farr Welch Northern Cheyenne Tribal Scholarship [5] program for students from his own Northern Cheyenne community to pursue higher education. 

Dr. Corey Welch will present his work during the IDEA Award Plenary at the in-person portion of the Evolution 2024 meeting [6] in Montreal this July. This event will also be live-streamed for all meeting registrants.