DR. KARIN ARDON-DRYER
Co-Chair of Professional Development and Networking
Karin Ardon-Dryer is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geosciences at the Atmospheric Science Group at Texas Tech University. Karin studies the effect that aerosols (mainly dust particles) have on climate, the environment, and our health. In particular, she takes an interdisciplinary approach and combines field and laboratory work to investigate the interaction between humans and climate; exploring the human effects on climate, and vice versa, namely, how climate may affect our lives (e.g. health) in the short and long term. Before joining TTU she was a Postdoctoral Associate in the Department of Earth, Atmosphere, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); and later a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of System Biology at Harvard Medical School at Harvard University. Dr. Ardon-Dryer received her Ph.D. in Atmospheric Science (in cloud microphysics) from the Department of Geophysics, Atmospheric and Planetary Science, and the Porter School of Environmental Studies at Tel Aviv University in Israel.
DR. SILVIA NEWELL
Co-Chair of Development and Stewardship
Silvia Newell is a Professor at Wright State University in Dayton, OH. She has worked on biogeochemical cycling of nitrogen in aquatic environments from the Gulf of Mexico and the Arabian Sea to Lakes Erie and Taihu. Currently, her work at Wright State focuses on nitrogen as a driver of harmful algal blooms in eutrophic Lake Erie, Lake Okeechobee, Lake Taihu (China), and Estonian lakes, as well as local research on Ohio wetlands through the H2Ohio program. She is currently the President of the Lake Erie Area Research network and was also the co-Chair of the Great Lakes HABs Collaborative from 2018-2020. She earned her Bachelor’s from Smith College and a Ph.D. in Geosciences from Princeton University, followed by a postdoc at Boston University.
DR. REHEMAT BHATIA
Co-Chair of Professional Development and Networking
Rehemat has been exploring research council life in the UK over the past few years. Up til very recently she facilitated panels and peer review for various environmental science themed funding calls. Currently she is adventuring in the world of strategy and planning. Outside of her work life, Rehemat loves taking part in science outreach activities, talking to the public and school/community groups about the awesomeness of earth & ocean sciences and foraminifera. Rehemat received her PhD in Earth Sciences from University College London. Her research focused on using the geochemistry of deep time planktic foraminifera to understand more about their palaeoecologies and responses to dramatic climate change. Rehemat also holds an MSci in Geoscience from Royal Holloway (University of London).
ANNA BUTUZOVA
Co-Chair of Member Engagement
Anna Butuzova is a learning experience designer, educational consultant, and public interest technologist. She helps organizations discover and create learning journeys that promote learners’ enjoyment, skill development and mastery of real-life knowledge application. Anna is passionate about building connections between nonprofits, entrepreneurs, public interest technologists and educators. Her past clients include Boston University, American College of Rheumatology, Vital strategies, and various non profits from around the world. She is currently advising startups and also serving on the Board of Directors for Harvard Alumni for Global Women’s Empowerment, a non-profit dedicated to the empowerment of women through education, dialogue and connection among individuals working for women's rights and freedoms worldwide. While she serves as a community and classes manager at Book Passage in Marin County, California, she joined ESWN Associate Board of Directors to help strengthen the ties with local communities of women scientists and global environmental research centers. Anna has a Master’s degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a Bachelor’s degree from John Cabot University. Anna is originally Russian, and when she was 17 years old she moved to Rome, Italy, where she organized student political discussions and was responsible for customer success and strategy in a wine logistics agency in Rome, Italy.
DR. MARWA EL-SAYED
Co-Chair of Communications
Dr. Marwa El-Sayed is an assistant professor in Environmental Engineering in the Department of Civil Engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) and the director of the Sustainability and Environmental Engineering Laboratory (SEEL) and its outdoor sampling facility, the Atmospheric Interdisciplinary Research (AIR) facility. El-Sayed earned her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and holds an M.Sc. in Sustainable Engineering from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. She also holds an M.Sc., and a B.Sc. with honors in Chemical Engineering from Cairo University in Egypt. She was also a postdoctoral fellow at the Atmospheric Science Department of Colorado State University. El-Sayed’s research interests lie in characterizing the processes and sources of air pollutants in the atmosphere to better understand how humans perturb these processes to ultimately quantify their impact on climate change, policy making, and human health. Her current work receives funding from the US EPA, the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), and the Department of Energy’s Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory. Research projects lie in aerosol characterization, micro- and nanoplastic in the atmosphere, use of low-cost air quality sensors to characterize Environmental Justice. With over a dozen publications and presentations at national and international conferences, El-Sayed was honored as the Department of Civil Engineering Researcher of the Year in 2024. El-Sayed served as a Director of the Environmental Division at the American Institute for Chemical Engineers (AIChE) in 2020-2023 and was recently awarded the Division’s Early Career award. El-Sayed serves on the American Association for Aerosol Research (AAAR)’s Board of Directors, and a member of the Associate Board of Directors of the Earth Science Women’s network (ESWN).
DR. STEPH DESISTO
Co-Chair of Communications
Steph is a Senior Education Specialist in the Office of Research Experiences & Education at Underwriters Laboratories Research Institutes (ULRI). She received her Ph.D. in Environmental Geochemistry from Queen’s University and was a Postdoctoral Fellow with Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Centre for Mineral and Energy Technology (CANMET) Mining. Here she worked on problems at the interface of climate change, mineral resource extraction, and mine waste remediation and mentored undergraduate and graduate students involved in projects to understand contaminant mobilization and optimize climate change adaptation best-practices for the mining sector. Steph also holds certifications in university teaching and learning, inclusive STEM teaching, and supporting student resilience through trauma-informed practices in higher education. Prior to joining ULRI, Steph held various faculty appointments with a focus on creating and leading equitable STEM research experiences, advancing inclusive and equitable STEM pedagogy, and supporting student persistence in the geosciences. In her current role, Steph applies her STEM background and education expertise to lead postsecondary program development that increases access to and disrupts inequities in STEM higher education and career pathways by building partnerships between universities and industry to develop internship and fellowship opportunities supported by mentorship and other connective practices.
DR. LEIAKA WELCOME
Co-chair of Development and Stewardship
Coming soon...
DR. ALESSIA CORAMI
Co-Chair of Member Engagement
Alessia Corami completed the degree in earth science at the University of Rome La Sapienza with a dissertation “Characterization of mortars and plasters from the archaeological site of Elaiussa Sebaste (Turkey) and from Quintili’s Villa on the ancient Appian way in Rome” in 1998. Later, I won a fellowship regarding isotopic chemistry at Geokarst srl AREA Science Park, analyzing organic and inorganic samples. In 2001, I won a fellowship at the Georesources and Geoscience Institute of Italian CNR for “Investigation on ancient emeralds to determine the original mine.” In 2002, I won a Ph.D. fellowship at University of Rome La Sapienza for “Phosphate-induced heavy metals immobilization in aqueous solutions and soils.”
During my Ph.D. work, I spent seven months in the United States at Miami University (Ohio) working with Professor John Rakovan, attending the GLG 699.E course “Scanning Probe Microscopy: Theory and Application,” and analyzing samples with AFM under Professor Rakovan’s supervision. Later, I spent a period at University of California, Merced, working with Professor Samuel J. Traina and analyzing samples at high temperature and high pressure. In 2005, 2006 and 2008, I went to ESRF in Grenoble, working with Dr. D’Acapito and analyzing her Ph.D. samples. From 2007, she was a professor at Guglielmo Marconi University for five years, teaching two courses, Environmental Geology and Geomorphology. In 2014, I was a visiting professor at Karl Eberhard University of Tübingen (Germany) teaching (Bio)- remediation Technologies and Climate Change. During my career, I published articles about archaeometry, geochemistry and remediation techniques. I am a thesis supervisor and reviewer, and I am on the international editorial boards for some scientific journals as well as a member of many scientific organizations. After two years as visiting assistant professor at University of Louisiana, Lafayette I joined le Cerege at European Centre Research and Teaching in Geosciences de l’environment Technopôle de l’Arbois-Méditerranée.
Past Board Members
