David Curtiss and Susan Sullivan Recognized for Service to AGI

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ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Recognizing exceptional long-term service to the American Geosciences Institute (AGI), two outstanding individuals are named as 2024 William B. Heroy Jr. Award for Distinguished Service to AGI recipients: David Curtiss of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) and Susan Sullivan of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), University of Colorado, Boulder.

Curtiss has been recognized for a career of leadership for the geoscience community. He has provided sound counsel to AGI officers and staff throughout his career. In his role as Executive Director of AAPG and the AAPG Foundation, he has been a highly engaged supporter of AGI initiatives, including workforce development and education and outreach programs, particularly K-12 teacher professional development and Earth Science Week. Curtiss's geoscience expertise is in petroleum systems and basin modeling, and he has contributed to basin studies and global opportunity assessments internationally. In 2001-2002 he served as AGI's Congressional Science Fellow working for Rep. J.C. Watts, Jr. (retired), then chairman of the House Republican Conference. Curtiss holds degrees in geology, earth resources management, and business.

Sullivan served as Chair of the AGI Intersociety Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, which works to share society activities, promulgate best practices, and identify commonalities to address challenges. She also was instrumental in launching AGI's Internal Diversity Committee. As Director of Diversity and Inclusion at CIRES, Sullivan focused on workplace inclusion, and as Director of Education and Outreach, on building connections between geoscientists and educators. She served on a planning committee for the 2015 Summit for the Implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards in Earth and Space Science (NGSS-ESS). Sullivan fostered partnership between AGI and the National Association of Geoscience Teachers, helping to initiate the NGSS-ESS Working Group, which continues to benefit educators. Sullivan was a Member at Large of the AGI Executive Committee, beginning in 2019. She holds a Ph.D. in atmospheric chemistry from the University of Colorado.

"The extraordinary contributions of both of these individuals made it impossible for us to choose only one for this year's Heroy Award," said AGI Executive Director Jonathan Arthur. "Susan has strengthened the geoscience profession as a guiding hand in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion. David has enriched not only AGI but the entire geoscience enterprise with his insightful, steadfast leadership. AGI is proud to recognize them both this year."

The Heroy Award is named after William B. Heroy Jr.'s exemplary service to AGI. Heroy's professional accomplishments were exceeded only by his love of geology and his commendable modesty in the face of such achievements.

About AGI
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
gac@americangeosciences.org