Description:

At the 2021 Annual Meeting, we had a highly successful and well-received town hall addressing mental health across weather disciplines, from operational weather forecasting to academic and private sectors.  At the close of the town hall, a couple of us in staff management positions discussed whether a more academic, half-day session on mental health, with guest researchers from stress management and psychological disciplines, would be a good follow-up to the town hall.

So I propose a half day session where AMS would invite mental health experts to present their research on stress management, shift work, and other topics of interest which may help AMS members cope, adapt and thrive in our pressure-filled but rewarding profession. The session could be a stand-alone special session, or associated with one of the other conference sessions like Education or Weather Ready Nation. 

For possible presenters, an ad hoc organizing committee could use their contacts in the mental health arena to propose topics and recruit invited speakers. Possible organizing committee members could include a couple of us managers/retired managers who discussed this idea in January of 2021, the new NOAA expert on mental health (who presented at last year's town hall), members of the BRAID, Student and ECP committees, and perhaps even AMS's own Employee Assistance Program, if it has one.