Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility Resource Center
Advisory Committee
Service is at the heart of the LPI’s mission. As we support and serve members of our diverse planetary science community, we want to take actions to ensure we facilitate a culture and a profession that is inclusive, diverse, equitable, and accessible (IDEA). As a mechanism for direct community feedback and accountability, we have formed an IDEA advisory committee. The goal of the LPI IDEA Advisory Committee is to provide guidance to the LPI on its institutional practices in order to foster an inclusive, diverse, equitable, and accessible environment at LPI organized activities, such as meetings, conferences, public and planetary community engagement activities (e.g., scientist engagement efforts, internships, early career development programming), including community engagement forums (e.g., social media, newsletters, publications, and websites).
The advisory committee is primarily composed of external community members and two LPI staff members. The committee reports to the LPI director and provides findings and recommendations on specific topics, such as the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. In support of transparency, the committee’s recommendations along with LPI’s responses and progress towards those activities is provided below.
Committee Members
Benita Bell
(she/her)
Committee Member
Research Scientist
Morgan State University
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Kat Gardner-Vandy
(she/her)
Committee Member
Assistant Professor
Oklahoma State University
Citizen of Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
Jerrell Jones
(he/him)
Committee Member
Digital Initiatives Coordinator
Rice University
Fondren Library
Rhiannon Mayne
(she/her)
Co-Chair
Oscar and Juanita Monnig Endowed Chair of Meteoritics and Planetary Science
Texas Christian University
Christine Shupla
(she/her)
Committee Member
Science Engagement Manager
USRA/Lunar and Planetary Institute
Julie Stopar
(she/her)
Co-Chair
Senior Staff Scientist
USRA/Lunar and Planetary Institute
Past Committee Members
- Dr. Edgard Rivera-Valentín, USRA/Lunar and Planetary Institute, Co-Chair (2021–2022)
- Dr. Kathleen Vander Kaaden, JSC ARES (Jacobs), Co-Chair (2021–2022)
Recommendations Progress Tracking
The LPI IDEA Advisory Committee met with LPI managers in January 2022 to discuss meeting planning and support, especially for LPSC 2022. Our conversation and their resulting report led to several actions by the LPI that were prioritized for implementation in 2022 and 2023 and beyond.
LPI Actions Completed (LPSC 2022 and Other Meetings)
- Physical and online accessibility
- Wi-Fi bandwidth
- Offering support for diverse planetary affinity groups
- Balancing IDEA prioritization with science
- An update to the LPI Code of Conduct
LPI Actions under Investigation (LPSC 2023+ and Other Meetings)
- Indigenous land acknowledgements
- Training in biases and inclusion for LPSC program committee members
- LPSC location and community polling
- Demographic data collection
The LPI IDEA Advisory Committee has recurring meetings according to the scope, guidelines, and period of performance of LPI's agreement with NASA.
Reference:
Vander Kaaden, K.E., Rivera-Valentine, E.G., Bell, B., Gardner-Vandy, K., Jones, J., Mayne, R., Shupla (2022) The Lunar and Planetary Institute’s Independent Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility Advisory Committee, Advancing IDEA Conference, abstract 2017.
