AGU announces new board members to advance its bold strategic plan

Updated on 11 May: As Susan mentioned, the AGU Council voted on the Council Leadership Vice Chair position. AGU is excited to announce Sabine Stanley was voted as the new CLT Vice Chair position, which now completes the AGU Board for this term. These are the newly elected members to the Council Leadership Team:

• Sabine Stanley, Vice Chair
• Ciarra Greene
• Dominique Weis
• Kevin Noone
• Michael Mischna

They are joining the continuing CLT members:

• Lisa Graumlich, Chair and president-elect
• Gordon Grant
• Rosie Oakes
• Randy W. Fiser

On behalf of the AGU Board, I am excited to announce our new board members. These new members will be instrumental in the execution of our new strategic plan, which envisions a thriving, sustainable and equitable future supported by scientific discovery, innovation and action.

Throughout the strategic planning process, AGU members and volunteers challenged us to take bold steps so that we can realize greater societal impact.

With that challenge and a focus on our three strategic goals for the decade ahead, the Board understands that we need the engagement of people who are passionate about our planet and excited about both discovery and solution-based science. We also need individuals who have different expertise than the majority of us already on the board.

That’s why I am excited to announce the three individuals who have agreed to generously donate their time and expertise to help us achieve our ambitious plans. They will join David Shaw who is our new General Secretary.

Peter Schlosser, director, Vice President and Vice Provost for Global Futures and the University Global Futures Professor at Arizona State University. He leads the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory and is the Director of the Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation. The laboratory was launched to harness the innovative capacity of academia and develop options for sound management of the planet.

Peter is one of the world’s leading Earth scientists, with expertise in the Earth’s hydrosphere and how humans affect the planet’s natural state. His research adds to the basic understanding of ocean circulation and the ocean’s role in climate. Peter has published more than 180 articles in leading journals. He is a member of the German National Academy of Sciences, an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences and the Explorers Club. Peter is an AGU Fellow as well as the former president of the AGU Ocean Sciences section.

As the AGU Development Board Chair, Peter is also a member of the AGU Board. Peter has tremendous expertise in interdisciplinary research for sustainable development. He is known for creating connections among seemingly disparate organizations to address major challenges and create opportunities. He established the Science for Solutions Award to support a student or postdoctoral scientist who has made significant contributions in the application and use of the Earth and space science to solve societal problems.

John Podesta, at-large, founder and Chair of the Board of Directors for the Washington, D.C.-based think tank Center for American Progress whose values state that “we owe it to future generations to protect the planet and promote peace and shared global prosperity.” He is also a founder and Chair of the Board of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth.

John served as counselor to President Barack Obama and as White House Chief of Staff to President William J. Clinton. In addition, John served on the President’s Global Development Council and the UN Secretary General’s High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda. He is currently a visiting professor of law and a senior fellow at Yale University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs and a distinguished visiting professor at Georgetown University Law Center. John is also an advisory board member for Climate Power 2020, an advocacy group seeking to infuse climate policies into key elections across the country.

John is a tireless advocate who will provide insights and help create worldwide partnerships so that AGU can help protect our planet. His expertise in policy, grassroots advocacy and communications will be vital to expanding our outreach and engagement opportunities. Among his many career accomplishments, John served on the committee that created the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Tong Zhu, at-large, Dean of College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at Peking University. He established and was then appointed as the director of the Center for Environment and Health at Peking University.

Tong’s research is in atmospheric, environmental and physical chemistry with a focus on the health effects of environmental pollution; transport and transformation of air pollutants in megacities and surrounding regions; and air-surface exchange of air pollutants and greenhouse gases. Tong created and organized an international collaborative research project CAREBeijing (Campaigns of Air Quality Research in Beijing and Surrounding Region) with more than 200 scientist and students. He has published more than 280 papers in peer-reviewed journals. Tong is an AGU Fellow and also served on the AGU Leadership Development / Governance Committee and the Centennial Task Force. He was also an associate editor for AGU’s Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmosphere.

Tong was originally appointed to the Board by former AGU President Robin Bell. I asked him to extend his service for another two-year term. Tong is deeply engaged in geo-health research. For example, he served as the point person in Beijing during the Summer Olympics, ensuring that the air quality was safe for athletes from around the globe. Tong remains deeply committed to AGU and is keen to think broadly on the issues facing us.

Process:
For at-large positions, the AGU President presents his/her nomination to the Board and then the Board votes to approve.

The AGU Development Board Chair also serves as a member of the AGU Board.

After the AGU Council votes on the Council Leadership Vice Chair position in a couple of weeks, we will add that person’s name and information to this post, as that election will complete the AGU Board for this term.