Have you ever witnessed harassment or hostile behavior but felt at a loss about how to interrupt or intervene? Field research—especially in remote locations—can create unique vulnerabilities. Join your LTER colleagues for an interactive training on safe and effective approaches to intervention.
Improving workplace climate: empowering individuals to become active bystanders
This interactive session describes academic practices and institutional structures that allow for sexual harassment, bullying, and other hostile behaviors to persist, discusses initiatives to address harassment as research misconduct, and provides training in personal intervention strategies to protect and support targets of harassment. As a result of this session, participants will be empowered to:
- identify different ways in which sexual and other types of harassment can manifest in research environments;
- intervene safely as bystanders, and
- utilize resources for cultural change in academic institutions and professional societies.
Friday November 13, 2020
Noon-3 pm Pacific Time / 3-6 pm Eastern Time
This workshop has passed.
Workshop Facilitators
Rebecca (Becca) Barnes is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Science in the Environmental Studies Program at Colorado College. She earned her PhD in Forestry and Environmental Studies from Yale University and Master’s degrees in Environmental Science and Public Policy from Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Her research program reflects this interdisciplinary training, with her work centered at the intersection of society, hydrology, and geochemistry. As a biogeochemist she is interested in how understanding how aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems process nitrogen and carbon and is particularly interested in unraveling how disturbance (e.g. nitrogen deposition, land use change, warming, fire) affects these critical global cycles. Barnes was recognized for her work in 2019 with the Sulzman Award for Excellent in Education and Mentoring from the American Geophysical Union. She has served in the leadership of the Earth Science Women’s Network since 2012, developing and facilitating professional development trainings; was co-PI of a NSF IUSE award (2014-2019) that developed evidence based mentoring programs that increase the retention of women in the geosciences (PROGRESS); and is a co-PI of ADVANCEGeo.
Asmeret Asefaw Berhe is Professor of Soil Biogeochemistry and Falasco Chair in Earth Sciences at the Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of California, Merced. She holds a PhD in Biogeochemistry from the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Berhe was previously a University of California President’s Postdoctoral Fellow at UC Berkeley and UC Davis. Dr. Berhe’s research focuses on biogeochemical cycling of essential elements (esp. carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus) in the soil system. Prof. Berhe was recognized as an Outstanding Women Faculty Leader at UC Merced. Prof. Berhe is a recipient of several national awards and honors, including the National Science Foundation’s CAREER award, the Geological Society of America’s Bromery Award, and is a member of the inaugural class of the US National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine’s New Voices in Science, Engineering, and Medicine. Prof. Berhe is the Chair of the US National Committee on Soil Science at the National Academies; Associate Editor of AGU’s Journal of Geophysical Research – Biogeosciences. Dr. Berhe is co-Principal Investigator of ADVANCEGeo and has developed and facilitated professional development workshop trainings.
Meredith Hastings is a Professor in the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences and the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society at Brown University. She holds a PhD from Princeton University. Her research interests span air quality, atmospheric chemistry, acid deposition and biogeochemistry. In 2014, she was awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award that supports both research and education initiatives that highlight Hastings’ dedication as a researcher, mentor, and teacher. A range of programs at the National Science Foundation have supported her research, including Arctic Natural Sciences, Antarctic Glaciology, Atmospheric Chemistry, Environmental Chemical Sciences and Ocean Sciences. In 2002, Hastings co-founded the Earth Science Women’s Network (ESWN, eswnonline.org), whose mission is to connect women in the Earth sciences to develop their careers, build community, provide informal mentoring and support, and facilitate professional development opportunities. She is the recipient of the American Geophysical Union’s Atmospheric Science Ascent Award and she was also named one of Insight into Diversity’s 100 Most Inspiring Women in STEM. She led an NSF ADVANCE PAID award (2009-2014) and is co-Principal Investigator of ADVANCEGeo. Over the last ten years, Hastings has developed and facilitated professional development workshop trainings, including the Heads and Chairs program of the American Geophysical Union and the Early Career program at the American Meteorological Society.
Blair Benson Schneider is an Associate Researcher and Science Outreach Manager for the Kansas Geological Survey (KGS) at the University of Kansas. She earned her PhD and Master’s degree in Geophysics from the University of Kansas, and her Bachelors of Science in Geology from James Madison University. She completed a postdoc at the University of Kansas Center for Teaching Excellence before beginning her position at the KGS, where she focused on STEM course transformation and multi-institutional collaboration. Dr. Schneider’s research focuses on two separate fields: near-surface applied geophysics for archaeological and forensic exploration, and broadening participation in the STEM workforce. Schneider was recognized for her work in 2019 with the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) Special Commendation Award, and in 2013 with the Association for Women Geoscientists Presidents Award. She currently serves as the chair of the SEG Women’s Network Committee and is a past-president of the Association for Women Geoscientists, an international organized devoted to recruiting and retaining women into the Earth Sciences. Dr. Schneider is co-Principal Investigator of ADVANCEGeo and has developed and facilitated professional development workshops on workplace climate for multiple institutions and professional societies.
Forest Isbell is the Associate Director of Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve and an Associate Professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior at the University of Minnesota. He earned his PhD from Iowa State University and conducted postdoctoral research at McGill University and the University of Minnesota. He was formerly the Haines Family Professor of Aboveground Ecology at the University of Georgia. Dr. Isbell’s research considers how global environmental changes alter plant communities and ecosystem processes, and how both ecosystems and people depend on biodiversity. This research builds on previous studies of biodiversity–ecosystem functioning relationships, biodiversity–stability relationships, nutrient enrichment, land use changes, and ecosystem services. Dr. Isbell serves on the editorial boards of Ecology Letters and Oecologia and was a lead author on two reports of the Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. He is an NSF CAREER awardee and is recognized by the Web of Science as a highly cited researcher in ecology.
Anne Kelly is the Director of Research and Education at the California State University Desert Studies Center. She earned a PhD in Earth System Science from the University of California, Irvine, and a BSc in Physics from the California Institute of Technology. Dr. Kelly also holds a teaching credential, and has taught high school sciences. After a career in astrophysics, Dr. Kelly’s scientific research has focused on climate change and land management impacts on landscape-scale ecological and hydrological processes. Much of her present work relates to improving access and diversity in STEM, and particularly in field sciences. Dr. Kelly is the principle investigator of an NSF-funded grant to develop best practices in preventing and responding to harassment in field and ocean sciences. She also serves in the leadership of the Organization of Biological Field Stations to build knowledge and support for best practices within the field station community.
Chris Gentry (he him/his) is a Professor of Geography in the Department of Geosciences at Austin Peay State University. Dr. Gentry earned a PhD in Physical Geography from Indiana State University and has research interests in biogeography, spatial analysis, and forest dynamics and disturbances. He was selected by the National Geographic Society as the Geography Steward for the State of Tennessee. Dr. Gentry has been a co-organizer and co-PI for the North American Dendroecological Field week and served on the executive board of the Tree-Ring Society where he helped develop codes of conduct and ethics for both organizations.
Hume Feldman is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Physics & Astronomy at the University of Kansas. Dr. Feldman earned a PhD and MA in Physics from SUNY and afterwards completed postdocs in Cosmology at the University of Toronto and the University of California in Santa Barbara. Before coming to the University of Kansas, he worked as a Research Fellow at the University of Michigan and as a Research Professor at Princeton University. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society, and currently serves on their Committee on the Status of Women in Physics. In 2018, he was an organizer and LOC Chair of the APS Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics hosted in Lawrence, KS.
