Meet this week's Grad Chat guest, Layne Scherer!
Hello! My name is Layne Scherer (she/hers), and I’m the Grad Chat interviewee for 2/13.
I am a senior program officer at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. I work for the Board on Higher Education and Workforce, and I recently led an expert committee on the report Mental Health, Substance Use, and Wellbeing in Higher Education: Supporting the Whole Student. I also had the opportunity to lead a report released in 2018 called Graduate STEM Education for the 21st Century. I care deeply about higher education policy, the research enterprise, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Prior to working at the National Academies, I worked the National Science Foundation in their directorate for education and human resources.
In fall 2020, I took a 3-month leave of absence from work to take time to address my mental health issues. I am someone who experiences ADHD, anxiety, depression, and ongoing focus issues related to multiple concussions. If you’re following the timeline, I was working on a mental health report at the same time I was experiencing some of the worst symptoms of my life.
I look forward to chatting about higher education, mental health, and student well-being. I'm also open to talking about taking a leave of absence to address mental health, my professional background, and the importance of interdisciplinary education as the basis for professional life (I have a background in English, history of art, and a master’s in public policy.) I’ve also been in the process of exploring multiple identities in my early 30s: adopted, disabled, and queer. Beyond my professional life, I coach women’s ultimate and have been a facilitator for Time for the Ultimate Talk (Time4UltiTalk), founded by the amazing @AriJade1. It’s a group dedicated to raising awareness and decreasing stigma related to mental health for ultimate players. I have written about how equity issues related to gender, race, and ethnicity in the sport.
Layne will be taking over our Instagram account today!
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