Diversity, Equality, Accessibility & Inclusion

During my PhD I helped organize the department’s first, student-led, DEI group. Some of the tasks included: collecting demographic data on student applicants to inform access efforts, setting up (and securing funding for) a community DEI library, arranging accessible coffee breaks and social events for the department and co-founding a mentoring scheme which matches incoming graduate students with senior PhDs or post-docs.


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GFDL's DEAI committee (2024)

In my current role, I am a member of GFDL's Diversity, Equality, Accessibility & Inclusion (DEIA) Committee, which aims to develop and sustain a diverse, inclusive, and equitable academic environment and community. I have been involved with outreach efforts with minority serving institutions, organizing community events to pro- mote wellness and community within the lab and promoting diversity in hiring practices at all levels of the lab.



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"Small Talk" community event

One of my personal highlights so far has been co-organizing GFDL's Small Talk Community Forums. This is a new event, which aims to strengthen the sense of community at the lab by bringing people together to practice small talk in a fun, safe, supportive environment. We offered guidance on the importance of cultural awareness and sensitivity to the diverse nature of people’s interests and experiences. We also covered pointers for attendees that generally find it difficult to initiate informal chat with those they don’t know well. They events have been a great success so far, and an effective tool for promoting communication across social barriers.



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Guest lecture on Earth's energy balance (CUNY, 2023).

Another highlight has been engaging with NOAA Cooperative Science Centers within Minority Serving Institutions (MSI). This is a NOAA program whose long-term goal is to support the training and increasing participation of students from traditionally underrepresented minority communities. Together with GFDL's DEIA committee, I am working to build more robust partnerships with MSI Cooperative Science Centers. As part of this effort, I have been involved with providing guest lectures at the City University of New York and mentoring Stephanie Ortiz Rosario, an undergraduate fellow from The University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez, who is studying the response of extreme precipitation to CO2 changes.


Climate Science Outreach

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Explaining the rise in atmospheric CO2 concentrations during an event at Squam Lakes Natural Science Center, New Hampshire (2024).

I am actively involved in climate science outreach with my colleagues at Climate Up Close. We are committed to making the essentials of climate science accessible and allowing people to seeing the evidence for themselves and put their questions directly to climate scientists. For a glimpse into one of our events, see this excellent NHPR article.




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Discussing with community members at Starr King Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (2024).

Building trust through face-to-face conversations is an essential aspect of our work.