Dear IAGD Community,
With a new year comes a transition in leadership for the IAGD. Anita Marshall is resigning as Executive Director, and Sean Thatcher is also resigning as Director of Operations. Chris Atchison will be acting as Interim Director while the Executive Committee elects a new ED. It has been our honor and privilege to serve this organization as co-leads since 2019 and we are incredibly proud of the community that blossomed in that time.
In the five years since we started leading the organization, we have made some great progress. We shifted our focus more directly on geoscientists with disabilities. Collaborative research projects like the ASCEND RCN, GeoSPACE, and Classroom to Career have centered the experiences of disabled geoscientists at all career stages and are helping to reshape our discipline into a more inclusive place for people with disabilities. Community events like virtual meetups during the pandemic and accessible field trips at conferences provided further opportunities for network building and community connection. We also became a formal member of the associated societies of the American Geoscience Institute and Geological Society of America, putting us in an even better position to influence positive change in our discipline. Additionally, new opportunities for students were also created providing them with leadership opportunities as Student Ambassadors and funding through the Student Pathways Scholarship.
Visibility is important in our mission to create a more inclusive discipline and this past year we were more involved with public engagement than ever before, participating in 3 professional conferences. At GSA Connects, we had a very busy booth in the expo hall, continued our participation in the On To The Future student mentoring event, and ran our first ever tri-lingual field trip in English, Spanish and American Sign Language. We also participated in the InDSTEM conference hosted by the Society for Chicanos and Native Americans in STEM for the first time – participating in panels on disability in STEM and co-leading a field trip. We were also active at the American Geophysical Union Fall meeting, participating in the Inclusive Science reception, hosting informal meet-ops and giving talks on topics important to accessibility in the geosciences. Our leadership also gave dozens of invited seminars, lectures and workshops about disability inclusion across the US and Canada. Since the summer, our social media team has been increasing our presence on new platforms like LinkedIn and BlueSky to promote these and future initiatives.
Both Sean and myself were drawn to the IAGD by a need to find community and a sense of belonging with other disabled geoscientists and within the geoscience discipline. We are so glad this community exists for others like us! We know the IAGD will continue to grow and evolve to serve the needs of disabled geoscientists and the educators, employers and allies who work with them and look forward to seeing the bright future of the organization continue to unfold.
Sincerely and with gratitude,
Anita Marshall and Sean Thatcher
