Lecturer, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand

AGU embraces the global community and welcomes diverse leaders from around the world, representing various identities, voices, and perspectives. List any identities, voices, and perspectives you would bring, including but not limited to nationality, regional representations, racial and ethnic backgrounds, and any other identity you feel comfortable sharing.

I foster diversity by breaking down barriers in academic environments and our culture. As a woman member of a protected minority, I am aware of bias and I’m strategic to ensure that no one is excluded. I became passionate about geography in my youth, and I volunteer at workshops and programs to encourage young people in science. I have mentored students from minority serving institutions and was instrumental in their obtaining scientific positions. I promote multidisciplinary science training and striving to understand diverse perspectives and needs. I’ve worked in six U.S. states and traveled extensively internationally. I collaborate with colleagues on every continent and develop community connections.

Volunteer experience that relates to this position:

I've been an AGU Natural Hazards member and led AGU oral, poster and virtual presentations and convened sessions every year since 2015. I’m co-chair for the Task Group on Data from Participatory Mapping for the SDGs for the Committee on Data (CODATA). I was a graduate student representative at Penn State and served on department and college-level committees. I’ve advised as a panelist on graduate applications, strategizing for conferences, for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) graduates, and for women.

As one of the elected leaders of your section, how will you partner with your president and president-elect to communicate with and engage your members to help implement AGU’s strategic plan including its mission and vision?

The secretary plays a crucial role in the functioning of an AGU section. In addition to the roles of coordinating meetings, record keeping, and the section newsletter, I will have the opportunity to be a member of the elected leadership to discuss the direction of the group together with the President and President-elect, and the appointed members of the different committees. I’ll be an active member of the leadership and share my perspective as a recent Ph.D. graduate and early career scientist. I can share my experience on how and why AGU membership played a fundamental role in my formation and promote opportunities through the newsletter. Furthermore, having started a postdoc during the pandemic, I share unique challenges that early career scientists faced during these unprecedented times and recognize the importance of networking with professionals in my field.

The AGU strategic plan is composed of several critical tasks that each focus group helps to achieve. I will strive to ensure that the Natural Hazard focus group achieves its individual goals, which are tailored to benefit AGU as an organization. I think that the greatest challenges for the Natural Hazard focus group include making new scientists and the public aware of the threats of natural hazards to society, increasing membership by attracting new members into AGU and into the Natural Hazards section, incentivizing members to actively participate throughout the year, fundraising for the session and for AGU, and increasing the diversity of members, including promoting a diversity of perspectives.

Section affiliations:

Atmospheric Sciences; Earth and Planetary Surface Processes; Earth and Space Science Informatics; Geodesy; GeoHealth; Global Environmental Change; Natural Hazards; Science and Society; Seismology; Volcanology, Geochemistry, and Petrology