Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences and Associate Dean of the STEM Disciplines, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA

AGU embraces the global community and welcomes leaders 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 anything else you feel comfortable sharing.

I bring the perspective of a white, straight, cis-gendered, fully abled, male who grew up in the Boston suburbs collecting rocks and minerals since age 5. I still have my childhood collection in my office. I am proud of who I am, and I am fully aware of the privileges of my particular upbringing, including the space my childhood experience gave me to explore the geosciences. Now as a tenured professor, a former department chair, and associate dean for the sciences, I am giving back, I am promoting early career scientists, and I am sharing the love, joy, and fulfillment I have found in geoscience with a broader community. In my teaching, my research, and my public outreach (including my Every Rock Has a Story series on YouTube, webinars for AGU, the National Science Teaching Association, and Take Action Global, and live presentations to over 10,000 K-12 students) I have shared the value, importance, and wonders of the geosciences with diverse communities across the United States and the world. I want all kids to see themselves as geoscientists, so I invite and welcome diverse co-hosts and presenters to share their own voice, face, and perspective with the audiences I am privileged to reach.

Volunteer experience that you feel relates to this position:

AGU Congressional Visits Day: 2026; AGU Heads and Chairs Workshop: 2019, 2020; AGU Education Section Webinar 2025: Every Rock Has a Story, Inspiring the Next Generation of Geoscientists Through the Stories of the Earth; AGU Union Session panelist 2024 - Demonstrating and Communicating the Impact of Earth Science Research on Advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to Improve Local and Global Sustainability and to Inspire and Grow Enrollment in the Earth and Planetary Sciences

Section presidents and presidents-elect serve as members of the AGU Council and lead their sections. The AGU Council is a diverse forum of perspectives that meets throughout the year to provide input to the AGU Board, staff, and other parts of the organization. Three communities within the Council - committee chairs, section leaders, and students and early career scientists - serve different roles in AGU and bring unique viewpoints to ongoing discussions.

This role aims to catalyze community and build AGU as envisioned by the strategic plan. This leadership position is a dual role: helping to advance AGU’s strategic plan as a member of Council; and leading your section. How would you support the Board, staff and other sections to achieve AGU’s vision, values, mission, and goals? How will you engage with members of your section to execute AGU’s strategic plan?

I will show how Volcanology, Geochemistry, and Petrology (VGP) fits within the greater AGU whole, and how VGP can play an important and integrative role in promoting the geosciences to the general public, K-12 schools, and government policy makers. My aim will be to illuminate why VGP matters in 2026 and beyond, both in the ways it connects to other AGU section research, and in how it connects to the most pressing needs of modern society. Transcendent issues like water, CO2, energy, hazards, and critical materials for a sustainable future lie at the heart of VGP science as we contribute to solutions that will shape our future. Volcanology comprises one of the most visually and topically stunning aspects of the geosciences, capable of drawing the interest, wonder, and attention of the entire globe, while also representing a devastating hazard requiring careful monitoring and respect. Petrology and geochemistry are tools to unlock the vast wonders and resources of the Earth and solar system – both past and present - hidden within rocks and minerals.

I will engage with VGP members at AGU meetings, AGU/VGP online forums (including an updated VGP website), and in other venues like the Congressional Visits Days. As an experienced leader, I understand the value of listening to all voices and I know when to articulate a vision and motivate the team. This is a critical moment for science and we need to stand up to promote, grow, and defend it. We need to show that VGP science is for everyone.