EAGER: DEIBA STARS (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, and Accessibility Skill-building and Transfer in the Atmospheric and Related Sciences)

This project meets the goals of the GOLD-EN EAGER framework by providing a mechanism to identify, recruit, promote, and support a growing cohort of diversity leaders. It will empower those leaders by developing their skill to champion diversity and by inserting them into the extensive volunteer structure of the American Meteorological Society (AMS).

That volunteer structure reaches across the academic, government, and private sectors. The project will involve experts in diversity, equity, and inclusion training to expand and hone the DEIBA STARS (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, and Accessibility Skill-building and Transfer in the Atmospheric and Related Sciences) curriculum needed for professional development to produce successful diversity leaders.

It will also offer a mechanism to apply that curriculum to early career members of the community and expand their impact across the breadth of the community as those individuals move into leadership roles.

The proposed DEIBA STARS project will work with DEIBA experts to hone curricula for use in expanded Early Career Leadership Academy (ECLA) programing. It will serve early career professionals by providing pathways to exercise their new leadership skills through volunteer service, while also building their professional networks in programs that align with their expertise and career goals.

It also engages individuals trained in DEIBA who have the skills to promote positive cultural change in the AMS volunteer structure in addition to other forms of engagement they can exercise at their home organizations. Critically, this approach will also help retain members of historically underrepresented groups by enhancing their peer networks, which can serve as a strong support system, and by providing these individuals with new opportunities for professional satisfaction and career advancement.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.