Beginning at Evolution 2019 in Providence, our meetings will include a group of vetted and trained attendees who will serve the community as Evo Allies. The role of an Evo Ally is to serve as a visible colleague who is available to offer support to Evolution Meeting participants who are targets of, or who witness, inappropriate behavior. The societies will sponsor training by our Safe Evolution officer (Dr. Sherry Marts) prior to the start of the meeting, and they will be designated with a special badge.

Evo Allies are there to listen, to help targets or witnesses deal with what has happened and to inform them of their options. The role of Evo Allies is to support individuals who have experienced or witnessed inappropriate behavior in making their own decision about whether or not to report it. Evo Allies do not participate in any aspect of investigating reports or sanctioning. Evo Allies also commit to creating safe spaces at the meeting by serving as active bystanders.

We currently have 26 Evo Allies from ASN, SSB and SSE who are in the process of vetting and training.

For more information about Safe Evolution, please check out the website: https://www.evolutionmeetings.org/safe-evolution.html [1]