The Journal of Geophysical Research (JGR): Biogeosciences’s intrepid editor-in-chief, Maggie Xenopoulos, in her actions to improve the quality and inclusion of AGU publications, embodies the spirit of the Kaula Award for “unselfish service to the scientific community.”

There are many excellent scholars who talk the talk when it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). However, there are fewer that can also walk the walk. Xenopoulos fostered numerous efforts to improve the community and culture of JGR: Biogeosciences and AGU publications as a whole. She significantly diversified the editorial board; developed new policies and guidance on inclusive peer reviewing; and led testing, evaluation, and communication of AGU’s rollout of its global research collaboration policy.

Xenopoulos wrote the journal’s first editorial outlining commitments to DEI, which was among the first in all AGU journals (Xenopoulos et al., 2022). This commitment was communicated to associate editors and implemented with help from AGU staff. Actions included revised language to reviewers and authors, holistic methods to select associate editors and interview editors, and editorial board meetings that regularly reviewed metrics and analyses of diversity in reviewer invitations and authorship trends. The real kicker is her follow-up editorial that then accounted for implementation. There she described what was tried, what worked, what the data showed and areas that still needed more work. That is the kind of accountability needed for DEI in order to have a real impact on the practices and culture of an organization.

With respect to the global research collaboration policy, Xenopoulos took the reins to pilot it in JGR: Biogeosciences. It was not easy, and not every author was fully on board. She and her team had to work through challenging implementation issues and convince authors of the value in adopting this practice. Maggie was effective in supporting authors on making this work. She then led the editorial on this topic, including sustained engagement with AGU publications staff on implementation, getting buy-in from other editors, and analyzing data on the prevalence of international research without international co-authors (Xenopoulos et al., 2023). All of her hard work provided the basis for the eventual policy passed by the AGU Publications Committee and AGU Council for immediate implementation across all AGU journals.

Xenopoulos’s level of diligence to DEI is inspiring. Her desire to bring about change through training, policy and community building is infectious. We are proud to have worked with her through the years!

—Ankur Desai
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, Wisconsin

—Deborah Huntzinger
Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, Arizona