Expanding the PROGRESS Mentoring Program to Retain Undergraduate Women in the Atmospheric Sciences

PROmoting Geoscience Research, Education, and SuccesS (PROGRESS; progress.colostate.edu) is an NSF-supported mentoring program designed for undergraduate women interested in the earth and environmental sciences. The program serves students in the Colorado/Wyoming Front Range, North Carolina, Texas and Georgia that attend a diversity of academic institutions. We are working to expand the program to several new U.S. regions. Substantial recent effort has focused on recruiting undergraduate women from historically underrepresented minority groups into the program. Participation in PROGRESS helps students develop strong and interconnected mentor networks, enhances their intention to persist in the earth sciences, increases science identity, and sense of belonging. This presentation aims to explain the essential elements of the program to potential collaborators with the goal of helping additional institutions adopt the essential structures within this mentoring program. We will also discuss the lessons we have learned and challenges that have surfaced during the process of expanding the program to several new regions.