OU Faculty, Alumni Participate in AMS ECLA

OU Faculty, Alumni Participate in AMS ECLA

Jason Furtado, Assistant Professor in the School of Meteorology and Ashton Robinson Cook, a Ph.D. alumnus of the School of Meteorology, recently participated in the Inaugural Class of the AMS Early Career Leadership Academy (ECLA) of 2018. Following a series of remote peer mentoring sessions and panels, ECLA held a 2-day workshop in Washington, DC in conjunction with the Annual AMS Washington Forum. ECLA is purposed to develop a diverse network of early-career professionals who are “effective in their professions, can support one another in their professional journeys, and can lead and inspire change”. This year’s theme was “Weather, Water, and Climate” (WWC), three emerging interdisciplinary areas in the atmospheric sciences. The Inaugural 2018 Class comprised of 34 participants and 5 steering committee members from the WWC community. The workshop consisted of a series of activities aimed at developing peer-to-peer mentoring, leadership skills, building trust, and fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion. Specialized topics in the emerging role of technology in the world, effective methods of strategic planning, and extreme weather risk management were also discussed. ECLA members will also build upon this workshop experience with continuous interactions on peer-to-peer levels to become more effective leaders and empower each other as their careers progress.

“The entire experience was incredible,” Furtado said. “The experiences I gained through participation in ECLA are already changing how I approach teaching, working with my graduate students, and doing collaborative research with other scientists. I have also built a great network of peers that I know I can turn to for peer-to-peer mentoring and professional development.”

“Planning the Academy was a great experience for me, ” Cook said. “The interactions before and during our in-person meeting in DC were excellent and really helped me forge community with my peers across the country.”

The ECLA is made possible by the generous support of IBM. More information on the AMS ECLA can be found here.