Associate Professor, University of Virginia , Charlottesville, VA, 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 an early mid-career scientist, parent, caregiver, and citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. The intersections of these identities inform my approach to teaching, research, mentoring, and leadership in the geosciences and cryospheric sciences.

Volunteer experience that you feel relates to this position:

I am in my second term as Secretary of the Cryospheric Sciences section and serve as Chair of the section’s Awards Canvassing Committee and as a member of its Volunteer Working Group. I spent more than five years on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Workshop Organizing Committee. I am also serving in my second term as an appointed member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Polar Research Board.

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?

The future of cryospheric sciences depends on a community that is inclusive and globally representative. As president, I will work to broaden participation across all career stages, ensuring sustained engagement from students to senior scientists while valuing both emerging voices and experienced leadership. I will also prioritize expanding international involvement so that our section better reflects the global nature of cryospheric change and research. By strengthening intergenerational and international diversity in both people and perspectives, we can build a more connected, dynamic, and impactful scientific community.