Professor, Utah State University, Logan, UT, 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 am a woman in earthquake science, a field where women remain underrepresented, particularly in senior and leadership roles. My perspective is shaped by training at a women's liberal arts college (Wellesley), two public research universities, and building my career at Utah State University (USU), a land-grant, R1 institution in the rural Intermountain West. This trajectory reflects my commitment to accessible, publicly relevant science and broad student engagement. USU's land-grant mission is central to my professional identity. I bring a perspective and voice that values research, teaching, and service as inseparable, and that views student training as essential to advancing science. My research program has undergone deliberate transformation, from thermochronology to earthquake science, driven by intellectual curiosity, challenges reframed as opportunities, and a conviction that pushing disciplinary boundaries to conduct science in service of society.

Volunteer experience that you feel relates to this position:

Geological Society of America (GSA) Rocky Mountain Section Executive Board Member-at-Large (2018–2025): seven years of section-level governance, meeting coordination, and correspondence. Co-Chair, 2022 Joint Cordillera–Rocky Mountain GSA Section Meeting: large-scale meeting organization and logistics. Associate Editor, Tectonics (2021–present): coordinating reviews, providing decision recommendations, and crafting Eos highlights spotlighting articles. GSA Structural Geology and Tectonics Division Career Achievement and Outstanding Paper Award Committees. GSA Geology and Public Policy Committee (2025–present). Convener of 9 sessions at AGU and GSA meetings.

The section secretary role is determined by individual sections. If needed, the secretary might be asked to serve as an alternate to the president or president-elect at a Council meeting.

As part of the section leadership team, how will you work in partnership with your president, president-elect, other leaders, and staff to communicate with and engage your members to achieve AGU’s vision, values, mission, and goals?

As Secretary, I would serve as a communication hub for the Tectonophysics leadership team, ensuring that section activities, decisions, and opportunities are conveyed clearly and consistently to our members. Effective communication is foundational to member engagement, and I would work closely with the President, President-Elect, and AGU staff to maintain transparent, timely correspondence through meeting minutes, Eos reports as appropriate, and section announcements.

AGU's strategic plan centers on catalyzing discovery and solution-based science, promoting an inclusive scientific culture, and partnering broadly. Tectonophysics is uniquely positioned to advance all three goals. Our section encompasses researchers studying how the Earth deforms across scales, from mineral physics and rock mechanics to seafloor processes, continental and oceanic tectonics, structural geology, and the thermal and mass evolution of our planet. These disciplines are increasingly called upon to address societal challenges including seismic hazard, energy transitions, and infrastructure resilience. I would work with section leadership to communicate how our activities, sessions, and awards connect to AGU's mission of advancing science for the benefit of humanity.

Member engagement requires intentional outreach beyond established networks. I would work with section leadership to amplify the voices of early career scientists, international members, and researchers at institutions of all types. My experience at a public land-grant university has reinforced that the strongest scientific communities are those where diverse perspectives and career stages are represented in governance and programming.