Donna Charlevoix

Donna Charlevoix is the Director of Education and Community Engagement for UNAVCO, a science facility of the National Science Foundation. Her work is primarily centered on management and administration at an NSF science facility supporting geophysics and geodesy. She oversees a portfolio of activities that help scientists and the public engage with science, including: internships, curriculum development, formal and informal education and outreach, technical short courses, and science workshops.

As an atmospheric scientist by training (BS and MS), Donna’s background is rooted in science. She returned to graduate school to earn a PhD in science education– in part because of her love for helping others see the excitement and value in science but also for the practical reason of being part of a dual career couple. Donna met her husband Glen when he was a (non-traditional) graduate student at the University of Illinois where she was a member of the faculty (non-tenure track). She decided to branch out her areas of expertise to help ease the transition to find jobs they both loved. Ultimately, she resigned her faculty position when Glen was offered a position at NCAR. She was offered a position at UCAR with the GLOBE Program as the Director of Science and Education.

Keeping active within the science community is a priority for Donna – she is an adjunct faculty member with the University of Illinois and continues to co-author a textbook Severe and Hazardous Weather. Her current work is with a different group of scientists – mainly geophysicists – and she is identifying many areas of overlap. Having connections in two science communities has been beneficial in helping link people and projects together.

Service to the community is very important to Donna. She has volunteered with the American Meteorological Society for over 15 years. She is also the education editor for the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, and is engaged locally as a member of the Board of Directors for a local children’s science museum.

Donna is married to a scientist and has two daughters (elementary and middle school aged). As the girls get older, managing everything has become more challenging and sometimes seemingly impossible. Staying connected with other professional women provides the mental check-in often needed to stay on track. ESWN is one of those resources. She decided several years ago to more carefully separate work and home – for example, not working between the hours of 5 and 9 pm (unless absolutely necessary).