Announcement: Rainbow for Paleontology Auction

In coordination with the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology’s Auction Committee, The Rainbow Quartz Network will be hosting their first benefit auction on Friday, October 16^th, 2020 at the Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati, OH, USA. The “Rainbow For Paleontology Auction” will be auctioning paleontology-specific clothes, books, and goodies donated from the LGBTQ+ paleontology community, and will be open to both SVP2020 attendees and the general public. 50% of the proceeds will go to funding The Rainbow Quartz Network’s Mentorship Program, which connects LGBTQ+ students and scientists to other LGBTQ+ peers and supportive allies. The remaining proceeds will go to those who donated their materials for the auction.

“Many of the artists and scientists I have met within paleontology are LGBTQ+, and were crucial to my development as an earth scientist,” says Blaire Voss, The Rainbow Quartz Network’s founder. “Among our selection will be special-edition prints and shirts from paleoartists Ashley Patch and Natee Himmapaan, books written and signed by Riley Black, and 3D printed models of everyone’s favorite dinosaurs from the University of Wyoming’s Makerspaces,” says Voss.

Dr. Thomas Holtz, paleontologist at the University of Maryland, and head of SVP’s Auction Committee, is excited for what the Rainbow in Paleontology Auction represents for the field as a whole. “This isn’t the first time that we have paired with another organization for a good cause, but it is the first time that we have paired with an organization focusing on the LGBTQ+ community,” he says. “The fact that we, as an international organization and community, are willing and able to support an LGBTQ+ organization shows the kind of people we are: inclusive, welcoming, and equitable.”

Alongside the Rainbow for Paleontology Auction will be information booklets on the LGBTQ+ community within earth sciences, as well as information on how to get involved in The Rainbow Quartz Network’s mentoring and education initiatives. A fundamental belief that LGBTQ+ scientists make earth sciences better is what drives The Rainbow Quartz Network’s volunteers to connect scientists and students, as well as educate the earth sciences community on being inclusive in both research and industry.

For more information, or to donate or volunteer, contact Blaire Voss, founder of The Rainbow Quartz Network. Phone: 801-870-5231, Email info@rainbowqtz.org