Professor, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA

Volunteer experience that relates to this position:

National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT) Journal of Geoscience Education editor-in-chief 2012-2017, editor for curriculum and instruction 2010-2011, associate editor 2004-2009. AGU Education Advisory Group, 2018. This group was tasked with drafting the content for the application to form an Education section. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine - Polar Research Board, 2019-present. International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Education and Outreach Steering Committee, 2020-present. This group is tasked with facilitating the development of a U.S. plan for future broader impacts of IODP science.

Council members play critical roles as communication conduits among AGU members and leaders. How will you engage with members of your section to advance AGU’s new strategic plan? How might you facilitate engagement with other sections and people outside AGU to support our mission?

The AGU Earth and space sciences (ESS) education community is multifaceted. It includes members with interest and expertise in K-12 education, teacher education, undergraduate and graduate education and public outreach. It includes curriculum experts and education policy experts, as well as geoscience education researchers and scholars in teaching and learning. This wide umbrella of interest and expertise has powerful potential. It can broaden the impact of science and is essential to efforts for diversifying the ESS workforce and for establishing an ESS literate citizenry. I have purposely focused my career at the intersection of geoscience (paleoclimate) and education and move between these fields through my research collaborations and community-building efforts. I have experience in creating and managing opportunities for elevating community voice and dialog among different expert groups. Methods such as online surveys, webinars that synthesize survey results, conference-based forums and workshops to bring educators, education researchers, and scientists together to engage in respectful discussions around common goals and actionable objectives are concrete ways to advance communication and establish collaborations that are needed to solve pressing problems. The recent establishment of the AGU Education section is exciting because educators now have a seat at the table within AGU Council to effect positive change, working toward AGU’s new strategic plan that supports its mission to promote discovery in ESS for the benefit of humanity.

Section affiliations:
Education; Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology