CW3E Researcher Agniv Sengupta selected for AMS ECLA

February, 15 2024

CW3E scientist, Dr. Agniv Sengupta, was selected as a member of the American Meteorological Society’s Early-Career Leadership Academy Class of 2023. “The American Meteorological Society’s (AMS) Early Career Leadership Academy (ECLA) aims to build and sustain a diverse network of early career leaders in weather, water, and climate science. ECLA will bring together a select group of early career individuals—in particular, women and underrepresented minorities—for an immersion experience in leadership, such as creative problem-solving, conflict resolution, building trust, and enhancing communication skills. We seek early career individuals from a wide range of professions, interests, perspectives, cultures, and experiences.” (from AMS’s website ).

This professional development program included four virtual leadership webinars and several peer mentoring calls, leading up to a three-day, in-person summit in Phoenix, Arizona. Webinars for the 2023 ECLA program began with participants taking an individual leadership assessment using the CliftonStrengths test. This assessment helped them identify personalized traits in strategic thinking, influencing, relationship building, and executing. The webinars also covered conflict management and resolution, as well as providing comprehensive diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training with dedicated reading and writing exercises.

During the in-person workshop, participants heard from several invited keynote speakers who shared their leadership journeys and how they navigated various societal and professional challenges. The workshop also included sessions on constructing personal leadership styles, research ethics, team building, enhancing communication skills, and bystander practice and intervention using real-life scenarios.

Dr. Sengupta expresses his appreciation to the AMS for developing ECLA and to the Planning Committee for their hard work in creating an immersive experience for the cohort. He found the overall experience enriching as it provided fresh perspectives, insights into unique leadership styles, and a high-quality, diverse network of peers and mentors. Dr. Sengupta highly recommends this career development opportunity to early-career scientists interested in leadership positions in the future.