Announcing the 2025 Winners of the STS Director’s Award for Advancing Social Justice in Science, Technology, and Medicine

Congratulations to the STS Director’s Award for Advancing Social Justice in Science, Technology, and Medicine co-winners: Sophia Kianni and Reagan Ross!

Sophia Kianni (STS, 2025) founded the non-profit organization Climate Cardinals. Over the last 5 years, they have recruited over 16,000 youth volunteers worldwide to translate over 3 million words of climate-related content into over 100 languages. Since most climate knowledge originates as English-language material, this effort made vital information available to a vast audience of non-English speakers. Her organization also builds youth interest and capacity, by creating Climate Cardinals chapters in over 130 countries and offering fellowships to young climate leaders.

Reagan Ross (Communication Studies PhD student) wins the award for a truly remarkable record of social justice work. As a scholar, her research has explored racial justice in criminal legal systems and corporate virtual reality programs for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Reagan served as Vice President of the Stanford University Black Graduate Student Association, a position from which she advocated for transitioning Stanford’s long-running African and African American Studies (AAAS) Program into a full-fledged Department, which was finally established in 2023. Lastly, Reagan twice served as a teaching assistant in Prof. Angèle Christin's popular Communication Studies course "Politics of Algorithms,” taken by a large number of STS undergraduate majors. In nominating Reagan for this award, Prof. Christin wrote that Reagan "provided an essential perspective in the classroom by always putting the question of justice—social, racial, gender, disability, and other intersectional forms of justice—at the center of the discussion. She changed the way I think about the course, the readings, and the politics of AI.”

The STS Director’s Award for Advancing Social Justice in Science, Technology, and Medicine recognizes a Stanford STS undergraduate or graduate student, teaching assistant, or staff member who made a special contribution to social justice for historically disadvantaged groups who are underrepresented in STEM fields. Awardees have helped others learn about such obstacles and injustices as racism, sexism, and homophobia, and/or helped to create lasting institutional change in support of equal access to economic, political, and social rights and opportunities. All STS students, faculty, and staff are eligible.