Associate Research Scientist, Yale University, Salt Lake City, 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 an early career woman of color – not the easiest person to be in the sciences. Short, pleasantly plump, feminine, often well dressed, with a vocabulary riddled with California slang, I can earnestly say my transition into the culture of ecology was anything but smooth. Regardless of the perspective we come from, I think a lot of people can identify with feeling like an outsider in the sciences. Now that I'm at a more established place in my career, it’s important to me to represent those who feel like outsiders and work to make the geosciences a more inclusive environment.

As a third generation Hispanic who does not speak Spanish, I sit in a void between two cultures – those who identify with Hispanic culture and those whose appearance is clearly western - never really accepted by either side. Being positioned between two cultures can bring about a new set of microaggressions that promote stress throughout one’s career. As our nation diversifies and ages, the occurrence of scientists who resonate with feelings of cultural limbo seems to be growing, lending to a need to not only minimize strife but also build new communities that represent such cultural changes.

Volunteer experience that relates to this position:

Within AGU, I served on the Biogeosciences section’s Executive Committee and was the founding chair of the section’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. I worked with the Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences to produce a commissioned paper on publication inequalities at AGU journals and distributed a field culture survey amongst the AGU community. Outside AGU, I am on the Enhanced Rock Weathering Conference (ERW24) and Nitogen2.0 steering committees and serve as an advisory group member for two private industry companies.

The student and early career voices on the Council are critical to the future of Earth and space sciences. Describe a time when you used your voice to inspire others to advance a cause, mission, or goal.

I am a biogeochemist whose work focuses on developing climate change solutions within our food system. Soil carbon sequestration has garnered particular controversy amongst members of the scientific community and, more broadly, many believe that cultural changes towards sustainability practices in food production systems or shifts towards climate friendly diets are naive and unlikely. I disagree. I spend much of my time giving talks and writing papers that push back on the notion of apathy. Being an early career scientist and having to generate eloquent and robust arguments in response to criticisms – respectful or defamatory – from scientists I look up to is emotionally taxing. I do it because I believe it’s worth it. Climate change is an urgent crisis that will require scientific action at a pace that science was not designed for, however, it’s easier to steer a moving car back on course than it is a parked one. We need to use every tool in our toolbox to fight climate change and we need to translate science into action as quickly as possible, this requires support from the scientific community but also the public at large. I used my voice to generate analyses that identify technological pathways towards meeting our climate goals and also conduct educational outreach in this space via online videos, art installations, popular science articles, photography, creative writing, and I am currently making a documentary highlighting scientists and their work to develop climate change solutions.

Section affiliations:

Biogeosciences