(November 8, 2023) The Caribbean Division of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) will recognize Professor Luisa R. Seijo Maldonado during its annual convention for her long career advocating for marginalized communities and empowering the youth of Puerto Rico.

This year's convention has the theme "Science from the Communities" and according to Dr. Natasha De León Rodríguez, president of the AAAS Caribbean Division, this dedication to Seijo Maldonado "is in recognition of all her community work".

"AAAS recognizes and dedicates this convention to Professor Luisa Seijo Maldonado for her tireless fight for social causes and women's rights in Puerto Rico. Certainly, she is an inspiration for the communities, especially for the young people she has been impacting throughout her career," said De León Rodríguez.

Seijo Maldonado, who has a track record of more than 50 years working with communities and fighting for social causes, has founded eight organizations on the island. Among these, she founded the SIEMPREVIVAS program and the University Institute for the Development of Communities at the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) in Mayagüez, which she currently directs. She is a professor in the Faculty of the Social Sciences Program at UPR Mayagüez where she has promoted the training of facilitators for women's support groups and the creation of participatory action-research projects in communities from a service-learning perspective.

"There is a whole history that includes communities, students, and professors of Puerto Rico who have followed this path learning, as researchers, from the communities. I am very honored by this dedication and happy to be able to share that day with colleagues who have been part of this work," said Seijo Maldonado.

The convention will be held on November 11 at Casa Pueblo in the town of Adjuntas and will include a plenary lecture by Dr. Alok Arun, professor at the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico, and a panel with leaders who connect science with more communities on the island.

"We will be highlighting the work that communities have been doing throughout all these years in relation to the sciences, including social, political, among others," said De León Rodríguez.

As is the tradition of the AAAS Caribbean Division conventions, the legacy of Professor Lucy Gaspar will be honored by awarding the Lucy Gaspar Award for Excellence in Science Education to Professor Edna I. Martínez Medina of the Bernardino Cordero Vocational School in Ponce. Also, the Robert I. Larus Award for the best scientific poster presentation by a graduate student.

For more information, please visit www.aaascd.pr.