This talk explores the use of collective impact, a model for community engagement, to advance science and to make science responsive to community needs, especially communities that have traditionally been underserved. The status of geosciences in terms of diversity will be presented, highlighting where progress has been made, and the current climate for minority geoscientists.  I will introduce collective impact as a means of advancing science, and creating a culture of inclusion that, we hope, will transcends deficiencies in the culture of modern science.  The collective impact approach develops a network of community members, organizations, and institutions through the framework of a common agenda, centralized support, continuous communication, mutually reinforcing activities, and shared measurement. Finally, I will present two National Science Foundation funded projects that use collective impact as a means of advancing the geosciences: the Center for Collective Impact in Earthquake Science (C-CIES) and the Community-drive Inclusive Excellence and Leadership Opportunities in Geoscience (CIELO-G).

Speaker Bio:
Dr. Aaron A. Velasco is a Professor in the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Resource Sciences at UTEP. In addition to his roles as educator and researcher, he serves as Seismologist for the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC). As the RRC’s seismologist, Dr. Velasco serves on the Technical Advisory Committee for the TexNet Seismic Monitoring Program run by the University of Texas – Austin’s Bureau of Economic Geology. He also works with RRC staff in reviewing disposal well permit applications in areas of historic seismicity and advises the RRC on issues and policy related to seismicity and energy production in Texas.

Dr. Velasco received a B.S in applied geophysics from University of California Los Angeles in 1988, and a Ph.D. in seismology from University of California Santa Cruz in 1993.  After receiving his Ph.D., Dr. Velasco worked at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as a postdoctoral researcher, then shortly thereafter joined Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) in San Diego, CA as a staff geophysicist. After four years, he joined Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in 1997 to help build the nuclear treaty verification Department of Energy (DOE) Knowledge Base, a superset of data, research products, and information systems designed to improve the U.S. capability to detect underground nuclear explosions. He joined UTEP as an associate professor in 2002 and was awarded a full professorship in 2008.  He has served and is serving in different capacities at UTEP, including the Director of Interdisciplinary Initiatives at the University of Texas – El Paso, Associate Dean for Research for the College of Science, Chair of the Department of Geological Sciences, and as the Chair of the Graduate Council.  He currently serves as Chair of the U.S. National Committee for Geodesy and Geophysics for the National Academy of Sciences, a member of the Executive Council of the Faculty Senate, a board member of the for the Seismological Society of America, a member of the Scientific Earthquake Studies Advisory Committee for the U.S. Geological Survey, and a member of the nomination committee for the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science. He has served as Principal Investigator or co-Principal Investigator on over $35M in grants, written over 120 reports and peer-reviewed papers, co—authored a seismology textbook, given keynote addresses at various events, and contributed and/or gave over 170 scientific presentations.

Please reach out to Natalie Nevarez (natalie.nevarez@whoi.edu), Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer with questions. Please note, DEI Seminar Recordings can be accessed on the WHOI Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion webpage.