Posts in: Leadership in Action

The environmental history of the southeastern United States — as in many parts of the “New World” — was irrevocably changed by the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. European colonization decimated Indigenous and Native communities, and the need for resources and cheap labor drove economic growth as the world entered the Industrial Revolution. While the landscape ...

Ethical Space is a powerful framework for transforming relationships between Indigenous peoples and western science, but ultimately, creating Ethical Space depends on the individuals’ willingness to open their minds and invite others into the process. In this episode, Dr. Leigh Welling, Park Superintendent of Wind Cave National Park, joins Sarah Sunu, Gwen Bridge...

What’s the point of learning new skills without putting them into action? In early June, COMPASS led a policy engagement training in Washington, DC through a partnership with the ClimateWorks Foundation for scientists and experts in ocean carbon dioxide removal (henceforth referred to as ocean CDR).  Over the course of the daylong training, ocean CDR speciali...

Originally published in Federation of American Scientists In an environment where fire seasons are turning to fire years, and summer skies across North America are filled with wildfire smoke from as far away as another coast, the need for scientifically accurate wildland fire policy has never been greater. Over the past several months, COMPASS Science Communi...

While environmental regulations and policies are often fragmented across geographical, political, and social borders, environmental risks and impacts are transboundary. To fully address this paradox, science needs to reach across borders too. Wilburforce Leaders, Erin Sexton, Chris Sergeant, and Jonathan Moore, are doing just that. Chris and Erin are both res...

Science can have the greatest impact when scientists engage beyond the lab and field and build meaningful connections with the people who can most benefit from their work. But the path to connection isn't always clear or straightforward. What if there are existing challenges and tensions between different groups? How do we keep conversations from becoming polarized...