UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Mark Ortiz, a Presidential Postdoctoral Scholar in Penn State’s Department of Geography, is one of 15 geographers selected to the American Association of Geographers’ (AAG) first-ever cohort in the new Elevate the Discipline, or Elevate, program. Ortiz is one of 15 scholars from 11 states and the West Indies who were selected through a competitive process.

"I'm excited and honored to be among the first cohort of the AAG's Elevate the Discipline program focused on climate and society,” Ortiz said. “I look forward to working with the AAG and other cohort members to learn more about advocating for evidence-based, public policymaking on climate, greater awareness of climate change issues and communicating my research on youth climate justice perspectives to policymakers and the public."

Elevate provides training opportunities and resources to help geographers connect their work to public and policy arenas. According to AAG, by providing geographers with the skills and contacts to engage as public scholars in the world’s most pressing issues, they can increase public understanding of why geography matters; attract students to the discipline; educate decision makers and engage with funders in common cause with solving the challenges our world faces.

Elevate’s inaugural theme is climate and society. Over the next several months, the cohort will be trained in leadership, media skills and policy strategies and thereafter will connect and elevate their work in public discourse.

Rebecca Lave, AAG’s 2023-24 president and a professor of geography at Indiana University Bloomington, expressed her enthusiasm in supporting scientists in the program.

“It’s exciting to support the work of these scientists as they engage in community-oriented, justice-based work on climate change,” Lave said. “We want to open up avenues to value and protect geographers’ opportunity to do public and engaged scholarship.”

The program launched in July, with virtual meetings and a week-long intensive training onsite at AAG headquarters in Washington, D.C. AAG will subsequently work with the participants and their institutions to continue to promote their public scholarship.

Ortiz is a geographer with a strong background in youth and political geographies. His research, outreach and public-facing work focuses on transnational youth climate advocacy and climate politics. His current work on youth advocacy and climate politics specifically focuses on building collaborative research approaches which involve youth advocates, researchers, storytellers and content creators in the design and implementation of research projects surrounding climate and environmental justice.