About the Academy
Moving from DEI advocacy to DEI leadership is an investment in your professional development that requires regular participation.
Academy Fellows will commit to full engagement in these activities over the 2-year cohort commitment:
- In-Person Quarterly Summits at AGU Headquarters in Washington, D.C. and during three AGU Fall Meetings
- Virtual Monthly Cohort Meetings
- Broadening Participation Leadership Project
- Engaging with Colleagues and Sharing Knowledge throughout the Cohort Period
Participants will receive a set of required and recommended readings and other resources to prepare for each meeting. All travel, lodging, and registration expenses will be paid for in-person Quarterly Summits.

2021-2023 Cohort
Adriana E. Martinez
Associate Professor, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Dr. Adriana E. Martinez is an Associate Professor at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and holds a joint position in the Department of Geography & GIS and the Department of Environmental Sciences. She received a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Geosciences (2005), and a Master of Science in Geography (Fluvial Geomorphology, 2008) at Texas A&M University, and a PhD in Geography (Fluvial Geomorphology, 2013) at the University of Oregon. Her research focuses on the influence of human activities along river systems. Dr. Martinez is a physical geographer with GIS expertise and uses traditional field methods combined with river modeling and drones to examine river systems throughout the U.S. including the Tijuana River in California and the Provo River in Utah. Dr. Martinez’s current work examines the influence of the U.S.-Mexico Border Fence on flooding and the fluvial geomorphology of the Rio Grande River. She is also involved in research projects regarding archaeological sites in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, environmental justice in the St. Louis Metro East, improving mentoring among STEM faculty, and methods to help undergraduate and graduate students develop their science identity.
Carrie Menold
Professor and Chair, Albion College

Christy Till
Associate Professor, Arizona State University

David C. Smith
Professor & Associate Dean, University of Rhode Island

George I. Matsumoto
Senior Education and Research Specialist, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI)

I have been awarded the QuikScience Ocean Leadership Award for commitment to Ocean Education and recognized as an ASLO fellow. I have served on a number of local, regional, and national boards including the National Marine Educators Association (NMEA) Board, the National Ocean Studies Board, and several National Academy committees. At MBARI, I coordinate the seminar and internship program as well as the NSF funded Adopt-A-Float program. I currently serve on the National Association of Marine Labs (NAML) DEI committee and am a member of the Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Geosciences (AAPiG) group, the Minorities in Aquarium and Zoo Science (MIAZ) group, and co-chair the NMEA traditional knowledge committee. I am looking forward to working with and sharing the results of the AGU LANDInG cohort.
Kade Keranen
Associate Professor, Cornell University

Kathleen Johnson
Associate Professor, University of California, Irvine

Dr. Johnson is currently an Associate Professor in the Dept. of Earth System Science (ESS) at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), located on the ancestral shared territory of the Acjachemen and Tongva peoples. She has a long record of work to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in the geosciences. She directed the NSF-funded UCI American Indian Summer Institute in Earth System Science from 2012-2017 and was recognized with the 2016 Randolph W. “Bill” and Cecile T. Bromery Award from the Geological Society of America (GSA). She has served as Vice-Chair for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the ESS department since 2019 and has recently been appointed as UCI ADVANCE Equity Advisor for the School of Physical Sciences at UCI. She is also a GSA Fellow and currently serves as President-Elect of the AGU Paleoceanography & Paleoclimatology section.
Kristie Bradford
Professor of Geology, Lone Star College – Tomball

Professor Bradford is devoted to her students and their education. Through active learning infused lectures and engaging labs, she draws her students into the world of geology making it relevant and relatable. The goals of her JEDI work include making science, geoscience in particular, a viable option for students who come from historically excluded groups; and, changing beliefs regarding structural racism, and other forms of exclusion, to reduce harm, leading to the breakdown of systemic barriers. She earned her BA in geology from Franklin and Marshall College and her MS in geology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Currently, her other interests include nature photography, knitting, SCUBA diving, and hiking.
Leah Turner
Director for GeoSTEM Career Exploration and Workforce Development, University of Texas at Austin

Turner is a first-generation scholar, Hall of Fame student-athlete, and proud HBCU alumna of West Virginia State University. She earned her Ph.D. in Higher Education from Ohio University as a Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) Doctoral Scholar. Her primary academic interests involve research on the college choices of diverse and underserved student populations to address prominent higher education issues such as access, retention, degree completion, student involvement, and satisfaction. Her career portfolio includes positions in career development, youth outreach, student affairs, athletics, and academic affairs.
Lekelia Jenkins
Associate Professor, Arizona State University

Rocío Caballero-Gill
Assistant Research Professor, George Mason University

Rocío is an Assistant Research Professor at George Mason University and works as Lead Director for the CycloCohort program. CycloCohort is a unique 3-year project, part of a multi-university collaboration known as The CycloAstro Project, aiming to address known barriers in our field and be a springboard for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Justice focused leadership. Rocío also works as a faculty coach at Mazak LLC., a womxn-operated company with a mission to change the way womxn experience academia and in the process, change academia itself. Lastly, Rocío is one of three co-founders of GeoLatinas and serves as Chairwoman and member of the Leadership Council. GeoLatinas is an international organization with community-based efforts aiming to inspire and empower latinas in Geo, while providing a platform for other marginalized groups to feel validated and empowered and benefiting the greater geo-community.
Rocío, born and raised in Lima - Perú, wears these many hats while battling an invisible chronic disorder called Myasthenia gravis. She lives in Virginia, USA with her loving and supportive husband, incredible son and daughter, in a multigenerational, multicultural home.
Scott Sheridan
Professor and Chair, Department of Geography, Kent State University

Dr. Sheridan’ scholarship focuses on the areas of Applied Climatology and Human Biometeorology. His applied climatology expertise stems from his development and implementation of novel techniques in synoptic climatology, a method in which atmospheric parameters are categorized into discrete categories. This applied research has focused most substantially on human biometeorology, in particular, the impacts of extreme heat on human health. He has worked extensively on heat warning systems, heat perception, urbanization and heat vulnerability, and trends and projections of heat-related mortality. Further, he has focused on applying synoptic climatological techniques to global change issues, including analyses of atmospheric teleconnections and their impact on mid-latitude weather, water clarity, as well as sea-level variability. Scott frequently involves his students in his research and encourages their professional development and publishing. He has graduated 10 PhD and 12 MA students.