Lindo Promotes Math Excellence as NAM Board Member

Haydee Lindo, assistant professor of mathematics at Harvey Mudd College, sees her teaching as a vehicle for mentorship and science communication. Having recently been appointed to the National Association of Mathematicians (NAM) board as editor in chief and chair of the Publications and Publicity Committee, Lindo is in position to influence a wider audience of mathematicians.

“I’m trying really hard to design my courses to extend my mentorship and look out for students when they look like me and also when they don’t,” says Lindo, who joined the Department of Mathematics in 2020. She’s a commutative algebraist with research interests in homological algebra and representation theory. “Hopefully, I’ll find more ways to do that and become more effective over time.”

NAM is a nonprofit professional organization in the mathematical sciences that promotes excellence in the mathematical sciences and the mathematical development of underrepresented minorities.

“Now is a very exciting time for NAM,” says Lindo. “Dr. Omayra Ortega just became president, and with any change in leadership comes new energy, new ideas, new directions. I think NAM will always pay respects to its roots, but it is also in the process of reimagining itself and how best to serve its members, to expand the membership and to build its place as one of the major mathematical professional societies.”

Lindo became affiliated with the organization in 2018 after being invited to give a presentation in NAM’s Haynes-Granville-Brown Session of Presentations by Recent Doctoral Recipients at Joint Mathematics Meetings. “After that, I ran into NAM folks at various conferences,” she says. “They embraced me. Eventually Dr. Ortega recruited me to join the editorial board of the MAA-NAM Math Values Blog.” During that time Lindo she wrote the article Black and Excellent in Math. Lindo now serves on the editorial board of the parent MAA Math Values Blog.

Jon Jacobsen, mathematics department chair and Kenneth and Diana Jonsson Professor of Mathematics, says, “These roles demonstrate Haydee’s sustained commitment to issues of equity and diversity in the mathematical sciences and her visible leadership to the advancement of equitable practices in the profession, especially for all who experience underrepresentation in their mathematical journeys.”

Interested in the growing field of science communication, Lindo credits her background in mathematics and political science (she holds undergraduate degrees in both) for strengthening her communication and writing skills as well as her interest in teaching.

“As the chair of publications and publicity,” Lindo says, “I get to be a part of shaping NAM’s voice. I’m excited about that, and I’m eager to make sure that people find out about NAM much earlier in their careers.”

National Association of Mathematicians information.