Session 10 Creating and Nurturing an Inclusive and Equitable Weather, Water, Climate Enterprise II

Wednesday, 31 January 2024: 10:45 AM-12:00 PM
301 (The Baltimore Convention Center)
Host: Fifth Symposium on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Cochairs:
Mona Behl, University of Georgia, Athens, GA and Justin T. Ballard

Making the weather, water, and climate community more inclusive, equitable, and diverse is a task to be tackled by the entire community. Scientific pursuits have a troubling history of a culture of exclusionary and exploitative behaviors toward minoritized and marginalized communities. Systemic barriers continue to hinder inclusion, which leads to lack of gender, racial, and/or ethnic diversity, and exclusion of people with disabilities, among other consequences. To change this culture, as scientists we must increase our own awareness, acknowledge and address biases, examine the culture and climate of our work environments, dismantle policies and practices that are inherently exclusionary, and be intentional in fostering a culture that is welcoming, beneficial, and productive for all members. 

This session invites papers that seek to create and nurture a culture that promotes inclusion, equity, anti-racism, and diversity in the weather, water, climate community.  We also seek to have discussions around the following questions:

  • What are some successful models of expanding individuals from underrepresented backgrounds in meteorology/geosciences? 
  • What can be done to make meteorology/geoscience careers more accessible?
  •  What can be done to build a just and fair scientific and workplace culture?

Papers:
Welcoming Remarks

10:45 AM
10.1
11:15 AM
10.3
Shifting the Paradigm: Cultivating Socially Responsible Atmospheric Scientists through Leadership and Action
Melissa A. Burt, Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO; and E. V. Fischer, K. L. Rasmussen, Ph.D., and K. Crosley Beem

11:30 AM
10.4
Elevating Diversity and Inclusion in Geosciences: Empowering Hispanic/Latinx Voices Through Personal Narratives
Nathalie G Rivera-Torres, NOAA, College Park, MD; and L. Medina Luna, D. Zietlow, M. A. Vara, and E. B. McUmber

11:45 AM
10.5
Storming the Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, One Latinx Student at a Time
Ivan Leonel Fontanez, SUNY, Aguas Buenas, PR; and L. Medina Luna, D. Zietlow, M. A. Vara, and E. B. McUmber

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