AGU Student and Early Career Leadership

The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is the largest single organization dedicated to the advancement of geophysics in order to promote discovery in Earth and space science for the benefit of humanity. AGU unites scientists across disciplines by promoting collaborative advances in Earth, atmospheric, oceanic, hydrologic, space, and planetary sciences. One critical strand of AGU is the volunteer leaders who work together with AGU staff to ensure that the voice of the AGU membership is heard in all forms of decision making within the organization. Volunteer leaders include the president and president elect of individual Section and Focus groups, and importantly Student and Early Career (S/EC) representatives from across the AGU landscape. Here, we will describe the roles of past and current AGU S/EC leaders and how these roles have evolved from the onset of student and early career scientist representation on the AGU Council. We will also discuss current plans for solidifying the relationship between S/EC leaders and other S/EC volunteers within AGU (e.g. those who sit on the executive committees of Section or Focus groups). We will describe the process for becoming an AGU S/EC leader and the roles that current S/EC leaders fulfill on the AGU Council, the Board, the Council Leadership Team, and on various committees that enable decision making and progress within AGU (e.g. the Governance Committee, the Centennial Committee, and the Ethics Committee). Including S/EC volunteers within AGU leadership ensures that the organization indeed progresses forward to achieve the vision of AGU: to galvanize a community of Earth and space scientists that collaboratively advances and communicates science and its power to ensure a sustainable future.