Dr. Jill Karsten’s career epitomizes the qualities and accomplishments associated with the AGU Ambassador Award. As the National Science Foundation’s program director for diversity and education within the GEO Directorate, Jill fought actively to make geoscience education more inclusive and more widespread in order to diversify the talent and career pool. She used her insights and resources to develop and mentor several innovative and creative diversity enhancement programs, providing leadership in an area that other STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields had yet to embrace. Jill served the broad Earth and space science community by supporting innovative and progressive approaches to improving undergraduate geoscience education.

Jill’s strong advocacy and promotion of geoscience literacy supported the formation of significant initiatives such as the Earth Science Literacy Principles that have had a deep and lasting societal impact by improving public understanding of the processes that shape our planet. Jill began her career as a marine geoscientist, participating in 17 scientific cruises (five as chief or co-chief scientist), and became increasingly involved with geoscience education and public outreach while a young research scientist at the University of Hawaii. By 1996 Jill had joined the AGU Committee on Education and Human Resources and chaired the Volcanology, Geochemistry and Petrology section Education and Outreach Committee. In 2001 she became manager of education and career services at AGU, fostering programs such as Project Kaleidoscope, the American Geosciences Institute’s Human Resources Advisory Committee and Education Advisory Committee, and the Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence.

In 2005 Jill joined the National Science Foundation, where she created and managed numerous programs that positively changed the landscape for geoscience education and inclusion. Jill worked to ensure the success and sustainability of these efforts by mentoring a generation of investigators who remain deeply grateful for her leadership. Jill has a calm and efficient managerial style, cooperative yet forceful, that allowed her to get things done well. She has always recognized the importance of collecting and sharing best practices and had a knack for making things happen by connecting the right groups of people from different disciplines to promote her vision of inclusive and effective geoscience education. Her energy and passion for comprehensive geoscience education, her understanding of the complexities of bringing together experts from multiple institutions and areas of expertise, and her unwavering support for her grantees highlight Jill’s excellence as a leader and visionary in geoscience education.

— Michael Wysession
Washington University in St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri

— Tanya Furman
Pennsylvania State University
University Park, Pennsylvania