ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) welcomes new members to the AGI Board of Directors and congratulates Anna C. Shaughnessy as she takes office as AGI President. New and outgoing members of the Board of Directors are being recognized during the Friends of AGI Reception on September 24 at the Geological Society of America's GSA Connects 2024 meeting.

 

AGI welcomes the following members to their roles on the Board of Directors:

 

The new AGI President, Anna Shaughnessy, a retired geoscientist with the Earth Resources Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has expertise in energy and the role of applied geophysics in industry, academia, and society. She started her career as an interpreter geophysicist with Mobil Oil and worked in the energy industry for 30 years, primarily in exploration, technology development, and deployment. During her industry career, she held leadership roles at Mobil, Saudi Aramco, Texaco, and Kerr-McGee. Shaughnessy transferred to the academic sector in 2011 and became the Executive Director of the Earth Resources Laboratory at MIT. She also is a former president of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists and served previously on the AGI Executive Committee as Secretary.

 

The new President Elect, Claudia Mora, serves as Dean of the Jackson School of Geosciences at the University of Texas at Austin. Previously, she held positions as Deputy Division Leader (Chemistry) and Group Leader (Earth and Environmental Sciences) at Los Alamos National Laboratory (2007-2020) and as faculty and Department Head (Earth and Planetary Sciences) at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. Mora has served in many leadership roles, as past president of the Geological Society of America (GSA), councilor for the International Union of Geological Sciences, member of two U.S. National Committees, the National Science Foundation GEO Advisory Board, National Academy of Sciences Boards (BESR and DELS), and on the Governance Advisory Committee of the Science Foundation of Ireland Research Centre in Applied Geosciences. Mora is a member of GSA, the American Geophysical Union, and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG). She earned geology degrees from the University of New Mexico (BS), Rice University (MS) and the University of Wisconsin-Madison (Ph.D., Distinguished Alumnus).

 

The new Secretary, Maria Angela Capello (MAC) is a renowned leader in the energy sector and a relentless advocate of sustainability and geosciences. She is President of Red Tree Consulting LLC and Co-Chair of United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Women in Resource Management and has advanced leading roles in Kuwait Oil Company, Halliburton, and Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). She is a member of the GEO National Science Foundation Advisory Council and is the Chair of the Management Technical Section of the Society of Petroleum Engineers International (SPE), and the Sustainability Committee of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG). Her work has been recognized by the Italian Government through the "Star of Italy" honor (knighthood), and by the UNESCO endorsing her work leading the "Geosciences in Action - Advancing Sustainable Development." She is an Honorary Member of SPE and Lifetime Member of SEG, and has been a Distinguished Lecturer for SPE, SEG, and AAPG.  She is a Ph.D. in Earth and Environmental Sciences candidate at the University of Plymouth (United Kingdom) and has a M.Sc. in Geophysics from the Colorado School of Mines.

 

The new Member at Large, Dawn Garcia, is a hydrogeologist and a licensed professional geologist with over 35 years of experience in environmental permitting and compliance, mine life cycle planning, and hydrologic projects. She has worked in characterization, remediation, and reclamation projects at sites ranging from mineral development to operations to closure. She has strong experience in high-level reviews, due diligence, and preparation of documents associated with investor disclosure. She has visited hundreds of mineral development projects and mining operations. Garcia has served as the Geologist Member of the Arizona Board of Technical Registration by appointment of the Governor. She has been a member of the American Institute of Professional Geologists for over 30 years and received the Martin Van Couvering Memorial Award for distinguished service to the profession of geology. She served as 2023 President of the organization. Dawn is a Senior Associate with Stantec in Tucson, Arizona.

 

Continuing on the AGI Board of Directors are Past President Keri A. Nutter, Treasurer Doug Bartlett, Member at Large Shirley Jackson, and Member at Large Sandra Carlson.

 

Finally, AGI deeply thanks its outgoing Board of Directors members for their dedication and service to AGI:

 

Learn more about the 2024-25 Board of Directors on the AGI website.

 

The American Geosciences Institute (AGI), a federation of scientific and professional organizations representing over a quarter-million geoscientists, is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to serving the geoscience community and addressing the needs of society. AGI headquarters are in Alexandria, Virginia.

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Contact:

Geoff Camphire, Communications