Associate Professor, Arizona State University , Tempe, AZ, 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 have an education in geology and have been a professor in an interdisciplinary Earth and space science and engineering school for 10 years. Prior to becoming a scientist, I had a career as a professional ballet dancer. My scientific expertise is in how magmas are formed and what drives their eruption on Earth and other planets, as well as educating the next generation of scientists with emphases on building skills in science communication, interdisciplinary science, and improving diversity, equity, and inclusion. My privilege and experiences have provided me with a number of scientific service and leadership roles in these areas to date, where I have developed strengths in strategic thinking and communication. My professional experience also exposed me to sexual & gender harassment, which originally seeded my interests in working on diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and accessibility in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).

In recent years, my life has been significantly affected by contracting Long COVID, such that I am now part of the often silent and invisible community of scientists with disabilities and chronic illnesses. We are vastly underrepresented in academia and the STEM workforce relative to the U.S. population and this is one of several perspectives I hope to amplify in my work and volunteerism.

Volunteer experience that relates to this position:

My volunteer leadership experience includes being, (a) one of the first early career representatives on the AGU Council (2010-2014, Council Vice Chair 2013-2014), (b) elected as Volcanology, Geochemistry, and Petrology section Secretary (2019-2020), (c) on the executive committee to create a new decadal funding program for subduction zone science (SZ4D) (2018-2022), (d) part of the first cohort of AGU LANDInG (Leadership Academy and Network for Diversity and Inclusion in the Geosciences) Fellows (2021-2023), and (e) federally-appointed to the U.S.’s National Volcano Early Warning Science Advisory Committee (2024-present).

Board members work together with other volunteer leaders and staff to play a key role in implementing AGU’s strategic plan. What aspects of the strategic plan do you see yourself contributing to the most? How would you work with others to advance AGU’s values, vision, mission, and goals?

I am particularly passionate about AGU’s strategic goal to promote and exemplify an inclusive scientific culture, as valuing diverse perspectives, identities, and experiences is essential to advance all parts of AGU’s vision of a thriving, sustainable and equitable future supported by scientific discovery, innovation and action. This aligns with my personal values as a scientist and educator, where my first priority is to ensure that my actions and teaching ‘do no harm,’ to borrow the words of our medical colleagues. As a member of the Board of Directors responsible for the business, organizational, and legal affairs of the organization, I would extend this philosophy to make sure that our decisions and actions do not promote harm to any of our stakeholders. Through my job and leadership experiences, I have developed a variety of skills and philosophies around supporting diverse perspectives and promoting constructive dialogue on challenging topics. For example, I am an ADVANCEGeo-trained facilitator of bystander intervention training for academic environments, and often turn to the tenants of constructive communication and mediation to help facilitate difficult conversations where I center understanding everyone’s perspectives and finding common ground.

Section affiliations:

Natural Hazards; Study of the Earth’s Deep Interior; Tectonophysics; Volcanology, Geochemistry, and Petrology