Dear Colleagues,
I am writing to let you know about an organization I support, and I think is really making a difference. The Earth Science Women’s Network (ESWN) was founded in 2002 — by a group of then students and post-docs, including my friend Tracey Holloway. Coincidentally, I met Tracey and several other members of the ESWN Board <https://eswnonline.org/welcome/leadership/> as they were “the best and the brightest” that participated as DISCCRS Scholars in various years. In my view, there is simply not a brighter bunch of female scholars working to understand and save our planet! It has been exciting to see how ESWN has grown and all that it has accomplished. Today, it is the largest international organization of women in the geosciences, with extensive on-line and in-person activities. Some of these are funded by NSF — like a project to combat sexual harassment <https://madison.com/ct/news/local/education/university/q-a-erika-marin-spiotta-is-working-to-develop-strategies/article_227b12d1-bf55-516d-aba3-5313de53fcd5.html> in science led by ESWN Board Member Erika Marin-Spiotta or a <https://eswnonline.org/welcoming-women-into-geosciences/> project to support first-semester undergraduate women in STEM led by ESWN Board Member Emily Fischer. But, the funds that allow ESWN to grow and tackle new challenges are provided through private donations. ESWN’s only big fundraiser is Science-A-Thon, going on now. You can donate at https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/science-a-thon-2018 You can even supporting scientists you know who are participating (I support Tracey <https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/science-a-thon-2018/traceyholloway2> !) And, if you want to learn more and/or participate in Science-A-Thon, you can register for Science-A-Thon, just go to https://www.scienceathon.org/how Note that Science-A-Thon is open to men and women, all fields, scientists, science professionals, and even anyone who wants to be a ‘scientist for a day.’ You may not have heard of ESWN before, but they are really making an impact. In fact, they received a 2018 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring, the top U.S. award for STEM mentoring! They have the support of a lot of big names, and you can see the long list <https://www.scienceathon.org/participating-scientists> of participants in their public outreach fundraiser and impressive keynotes <https://www.scienceathon.org/meet-our-keynotes> . Science-A-Thon asks participants to share 12 photos over 12 hours for a “day of science” in mid-October — a clever way to combine fundraising with the “public outreach and role model” mission of ESWN. If ESWN raises $50k, it will be matched by $25k by the Madison Community Foundation — this offer ends this year, so the push is on to hit the $50k mark in donations. This support will add to the fledgling endowment for ESWN, providing a steady stream of support to cover basic expenses. Funds raised above $50k will be used to launch a new, STEM-wide public outreach initiative called ScienceForward - providing advice and diverse role models in STEM for high school and college students. Thanks for considering - if you have any questions, or want to get involved further, I’m happy to introduce you to Tracey or other members of the ESWN Board <https://eswnonline.org/welcome/leadership/> . Best, Ron -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "gep-ed" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
