The discussion will cover how to build an inclusive fieldwork environment and equip oneself for navigating potential power imbalances prior to heading to the Arctic this summer. Attendees will learn from an array of panelists who have ‘been there, done that’ and learned a lot along the way about what contributes to a positive fieldwork experience, and how to work towards that prior to stepping foot in the Arctic.

To reserve a spot in the event, go to: event webpage

Panelists for the event include:

Darcy Peter

Darcy L. Peter is ACF's Aleutian & Bering Sea Initiative Partnership Coordinator. Darcy is Koyukon and Gwich’in Athabascan from Beaver, Alaska located along the Yukon River. She grew up living a subsistence way of life: fishing, hunting, and trapping in Beaver. Darcy received her BS from Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. She has an in-depth understanding of Arctic policy, including tribe, city, corporate, state, academic, federal, non-profit, etc. She is on six boards that range from state-wide (Alaska) to international. At Darcy's previous job at Woodwell Climate Research Center, Darcy worked as a scientist helping other scientists learn how to work in more equitable and productive partnerships with Indigenous communities. She is a firm believer that all research, if properly communicated to locals and policy-makers, has the power to induce change. Darcy has also been an important contributor to the Steering Committee of the Northwest Boreal Partnership and is helping to lead the Indigenous Knowledges working group of the Northern Connections Project that Northern Latitudes launched in 2020.

Matthew Shupe

Dr. Matthew Shupe is a senior research scientist at CIRES and NOAA. He has been engaged in Arctic field-based research for 23 years, including projects in Alaska, Northern Canada, the Greenland Ice Sheet, and across the Arctic Ocean. These projects have involved extensive international cooperation and coordination concerning program planning, domain access, the use of facilities, defining stakeholder needs, managing data, developing products, building human capacity, communicating science, and conducting research. Most recently, he has been co-coordinator of the major international MOSAiC expedition, which has involved broad international interactions with the International Arctic Science Committee, the US Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee, the World Meteorological Organization's Polar Prediction Project, and many others. He has served on many US national and international scientific committees and currently has a Mercator Fellowship as part of a large German trans-regional Arctic research effort.

Melissa Ward Jones

Melissa Ward Jones is a Research Assistant Professor in the Water and Environmental Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She is interested in the causes, consequences and significance of geomorphic change and applying her knowledge of permafrost to sustainability topics, such as food security. She completed her B.Sc. (2012), M.Sc. (2016) and Ph.D. (2020) in the Department of Geography at McGill University, Canada. Melissa has extensive field experience, including remote winter and summer camping, and has completed 15 arctic field expeditions in places such as Axel Heiberg and Ellesmere Islands, Canada, Svalbard, Norway, and throughout Alaska, USA. Melissa is an advocate for making science and fieldwork more family-friendly and has been doing fieldwork with her daughter since she was two months old.

For questions, contact:
Mariama Dryak
Email: psecco@colorado.edu
Phone: 715-450-9298