2016 Diversity Luncheon

The Diversity Luncheon is an annual event at the ESA annual meeting organized by the VP for Education and Human Resources. 

VP for Education and Human Resources
2015-2018 Nalini Nadkarni,  University of Utah


The Diversity Luncheon this year, features

1) Jon Waterhouse

Indigenous Peoples Scholar with the NSF Science and Technology Center for Coastal Margin Observation and Prediction and the Oregon Health and Science University.  

2) 20th Anniversary celebration of SEEDS

ESA’s Presidential Award-winning SEEDS diversity mentoring program for undergraduate students is celebrating 20 years of mentoring, service and accomplishments! Cheers for our incredible students and the steadfast support of ESA’s key leaders, members and mentors.  www.esa.org/seeds 

Luncheon Talk 

Indigenous Amplification of Ecological Research

Join us for a stimulating presentation about the links between ecological systems and the diversity of people who live in those systems.  Jon Waterhouse will discuss how he is building a network at the nexus of indigenous knowledge and contemporary science that will connect people and cultures over vast distances around the globe. From the remote Amazonian Basin to the Lena River in Siberia, groups who are worlds away from modern scientific labs will collect water samples and make automated measurements of data on the natural environment of the type that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change identified as ‘missing’. Learn how these systems can be built so that research can be continued by people in the villages long after the research is over. Jon will share ways to replicate these experiences in different parts of the world. He will place this work within the context of ESA’s current efforts to build a more diverse cadre of ecologists, as ours is a field that we seek to be more welcoming to and accepting of people who learn, teach, understand, and communicate in a variety of ways. 

This talk highlights ESA Code of Ethics Article 7:

  1. Ecologists will, to the extent practicable, engage meaningfully with the communities in which they practice to promote teaching, learning and an understanding of their study; broaden the participation of underrepresented groups; enhance local infrastructure for research and education; and disseminate results broadly to benefit the local community.

About Jon Waterhouse

Jon Waterhouse is the Indigenous Peoples Scholar with the NSF Science and Technology Center for Coastal Margin Observation and Prediction and the Oregon Health and Science University.  A Native American of S’Skallam, Chippewa and Cree descent, Waterhouse seeks a global understanding of the interactions among the natural environment, people, culture and climate change, as viewed through an indigenous lens. Waterhouse believes that by incorporating traditional native knowledge with modern science, a clearer picture of the condition of our planet emerges. As former Executive Director of the Yukon River Inter-tribal Watershed Council, Waterhouse worked across the 326,000 square mile Yukon Watershed in Alaska and Canada hand-in-hand with tribes and First Nations People,  examining the human footprint and implementing ways to reduce its negative impacts on water.   In 2010, Waterhouse was appointed by President Barack Obama to the 15-member Joint Public Advisory Committee. Waterhouse is also passionate about providing education for underprivileged and disadvantaged youth. He guides educational programs in collaboration with the American Museum of Natural History, Center for Biodiversity, Goddard Research Institute, USGS, and NASA, and is a National Geographic Fellow and Explorer.