Our community is facing historic threats to our science, forecasts and technology, impacting both our federal colleagues and critical funding that fuels innovation across our sectors. AMS has taken important steps to have an authoritative voice this year and acted quickly to provide support to those most impacted by Federal science agency cuts. These efforts must continue, but to move through these challenges AMS needs creative and adaptable leadership, collaboration, resource mobilization and sound communications.

To mobilize resources in these changing times requires actions in a few areas. First, recognizing AMS’ educational mission, we need to share more broadly our stories about the human impact of forecasts and their underlying science and technology investments with decision makers and the public. My experience saving the Jason-3 ocean satellite mission from Congressional cuts in 2009 and doubling NOAA’s satellite budget in the early 2010s can help guide AMS in further amplifying its messages.

Also, AMS’ fundraising efforts need to grow and mature to address today’s challenges. Building on the AMS Centennial activities, individual and corporate fundraising needs to continue to expand. I was recognized for my fundraising efforts by my undergraduate institution with the inaugural "Bates College Best" award in 2010, and I have corporate fundraising experience supporting successful international Earth observation initiatives.

So much of AMS’ success has come through convening – bringing together our community and user stakeholders across sectors. Building on the remarkable flexibility of the AMS meetings team, creative convening that can adapt to shifting budgets is especially important right now. Volunteer leadership and engagement are also crucial to AMS’ success, and I recommend we do more to recognize meaningful volunteer contributions.

Continuing AMS commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion are also essential as so many employer-based support structures have been dismantled.

Renée A. Leduc (she/they) has devoted nearly 25 years to advancing weather and climate technologies for decision making. Thirteen years ago, Renée founded Narayan Strategy, a policy consultancy focused on weather, climate and Earth observations, where she advocates for the value of environmental technologies and services. Renée also works with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on behalf of Earth science organizations, highlighting the need for weather, water and climate technologies to have access to critical radio frequencies. 

Hurricane Gloria’s landfall in Connecticut in 1985 piqued her interest in weather and led to a winning science fair project on atmospheric pressure. But her use of Earth observation data to track desertification in wildlife areas of Botswana in the 1990s was what eventually led her to NOAA, where she served in NESDIS' International Affairs Office as a Presidential Management Fellow. Climate adaptation field work experience as a Fulbright scholar in Malawi prepared her to lead the early engagement of developing countries in the international Group on Earth Observations (GEO). She later served as a satellite policy adviser to two NOAA Administrators and developed strategy and outreach for the White House and Congress that led to the doubling of funding for NOAA satellite programs in the early 2010s. 

Renée attended her first AMS meeting in 2007 (ice storm in San Antonio!) and soon was engaged with the AMS Washington Forum. Some of her AMS activities include serving on the Board on Enterprise Economic Development for nine years, chairing the U.S.-International Partnerships Symposium since 2017, serving as a founding member of the RF Spectrum Allocation committee since 2016, and contributing to the AMS Enterprise Study working group on observations. In 2022, Renée was honored with the Kenneth Spengler Award recognizing her leadership working with the weather enterprise on international and RF spectrum issues.