Who We Are

The Local Organizing Committee (LOC) is a group of dedicated astrophysicists, historians, and anthropologists at Princeton University and the Center for Computational Astrophysics (CCA) at the Flatiron Institute in New York City who are committed to making academia a more inclusive place. They hope that their work for the Peoples’ Sky Conference will be continued for years to come across many academic institutions.

Rodrigo Cordova

Rodrigo Cordova is a 5th-year PhD student of Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton University and the originator of "The Peoples' Sky". Mr. Cordova holds a Masters degree in Archaeology of the Americas from the University of Cambridge, where he wrote his dissertation on "New Approaches to the Archaeoastronomy of Chaco Canyon." He is also an executive board member of the Native Graduate Students of Princeton Affinity Group. Mr. Cordova is a member of the Osage Nation.

Erin Flowers

Erin Flowers is an Assistant Director of STEM Education with the Council on Science and Technology at Princeton University. Dr. Flowers holds a PhD in Astrophysics from Princeton University, and her work focuses on increasing STEM literacy and improving diversity in STEM across campus and beyond. She is also a member of the AAS Committee on the Status of Minorities in Astrophysics.

Lucia Perez

Lucia Perez is a Future Faculty Postdoctoral Fellow at Princeton University and Princeton University Guest Researcher at the Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute. Dr. Perez holds a PhD in Astrophysics from Arizona State University, and she has worked with students around the world (often in informal settings) to bring astronomical research and teaching to students who traditionally would not have access.

Jahmour Givans

Jahmour Givans is a Future Faculty Postdoctoral Fellow \& Cotsen Fellow at Princeton University and Princeton University Guest Researcher at the Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute. Dr. Givans holds a PhD in Physics from Ohio State University, and in addition to his research, he works closely with the Simons National Society of Black Physicists Scholars program and the AIP TEAM-UP Committee.

Elizabeth Ellis

Elizabeth Ellis is an Associate Professor of History at Princeton University. Dr. Ellis's research focuses on early Native American history and culture from the 17th - 18th centuries, with a focus on the American south. Dr. Ellis is a citizen of the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma.

Lia Medeiros

Lia Medeiros is a NASA Hubble Fellowship Program, Einstein Fellow at Princeton University. Dr. Medeiros received her PhD in Physics from the University of California - Santa Barbara. She has given many public talks and workshops, especially in her home country of Brazil, and created engaging and educational tools to understand the cosmos.

Ikaika Ramones

Ikaika Ramones is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Princeton University. Dr. Ramones is a social anthropologist who studies Indigeneity, political economies, and critical theory of Hawaii, including ways to "Indigenize STEM." Dr. Ramones is Kanaka 'Ōiwi (Native Hawaiian) and Ilocano.