Professor, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 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 vocal advocate of human diversity and dignity. My early years were shaped by stories of my parents’ lives in and postwar escape from Eastern Europe, from which I came to understand that I was a citizen both of my nation and the broader world and that I was immensely fortunate to have grown up with stability and opportunity. I have worked ever since to give back to my various communities in ways that I hope have positively impacted others. Professionally, I bring the broad perspective of a career that has spanned academia, government, the nonprofit sector and business, both domestically and abroad. Beyond my own scientific research, I have a background in scientific management within federal and federally funded facilities, extensive experience with cyberinfrastructure development and data management/stewardship, and a longstanding interest in the effective communication of science to nonscience audiences. I am aware of the human challenges and cultural sensitivity of doing fieldwork in remote locations, which is pertinent to current discussions about inclusivity and equity in science. Of specific relevance to the general secretary position, I have formal training in economics and public policy, and I am familiar with financial accounting at all organizational levels.

Volunteer experience that relates to this position:
EarthScope Consortium Audit and Finance Committee member (2023-present). UNAVCO board of directors member (2016) and treasurer (2020-2022). Cecil H. and Ida M. Green Foundation vice president (2020-2022). Greenland GNSS Network (GNET) Advisory Committee member (2019-present). International Association of Geodesy Inter-Commission Committee on Geodesy for Climate Research member (2018-present). Alaska Satellite Facility User Working Group member (2016-present). IRIS Data Products Working Group member (2009-2012). National Science Foundation EarthScope Cyberinfrastructure Committee member (2010-2011).

AGU continues to be financially healthy with a strong base of assets that have been and can continue to be used to support new program initiatives of value to the members. What could be the biggest challenges in linking AGU’s values, vision, mission, and goals to sustainable financial strategies? What are some ways they could be addressed?

AGU’s strategic plan is a blueprint for scientific leadership that addresses fundamental changes occurring across the Earth sciences, including the ongoing globalization of scientific inquiry, increasing interest from the public and government in inclusive and societally relevant science, and the accelerating push toward open data and open science. AGU's approach is enumerated in three strategic goals and their associated activities, all of which are consistent with AGU’s stated values, vision and mission — and all of which require institutional resources to achieve. AGU’s fundamental challenge will be prioritizing and sequencing these activities to avoid overwhelming its human and financial capacity in the short term while fast-tracking new or expanded revenue streams. AGU meetings, for example, are an opportunity to expand education, diversity, partnerships and globalization — as well a potential source of additional income. However, new technology to improve logistics at AGU’s annual meeting (e.g., artificial intelligence-enabled scheduling) will be key to increasing attendance, especially if AGU’s planned partnerships result in an influx of new meeting participants. AGU also has a leadership opportunity in the realm of open data/science, with potential revenue upside. AGU’s journals now require data archiving and code publication for new manuscripts, but barriers to meeting these requirements remain high, especially for under-resourced communities. Through initiatives such as hosting how-to tutorials for data/software archiving and partnering with repositories to provide direct archive access and a simplified submission process, AGU can attract new authors to its journals in a manner consistent with its values.

Section affiliations:
Cryosphere Sciences; Geodesy; Hydrology