David A. Padgett Appointed as Member, Board of Directors

Youth Learning as Environmental Citizen Scientists (YLACES) Appoints David A. Padgett as Member, Board of Directors

Youth Learning as Environmental Citizen Scientists (YLACES), an organization committed to advancing students learning to think scientifically, has appointed David A. Padgett, Associate Professor of Geography and Director of the Geographic and Information Sciences Laboratory at Tennessee State University, to its board of directors. Padgett joins a distinguished group of dedicated practitioners to provide leadership to YLACES.

Padgett’s appointment comes at a particularly important time as the nation grapples with the health impacts of COVID-19, which disproportionately impacts minority communities. Through his work as the founder and director of Tennessee State University’s Geographic Information Sciences Laboratory, Padgett and his team of students provide geoscience and GIS support to help environmental justice communities both in Tennessee and throughout the US improve their local conditions and quality of life. Further, Padgett has trained and certified countless teachers and educators in the Nashville region in GLOBE environmental measurement protocols. In this way, Padgett has helped teachers and their students to adopt scientific habits of mind and to contribute to an improved understanding of our changing world.

“It is a privilege to join the YLACES Board of Directors. I look forward to contributing to the future direction of YLACES and to strengthening the organization’s environmental justice focus,” says David.

Padgett was awarded the 2020 YLACES Youth Environmental Science (YES) medal in honor of his work training youth and young professionals in geoscience and GIS and providing technical support to community efforts. An interview with David is available here.

According to Dixon Butler, Founder and President of YLACES, “It is an honor to welcome

David to the YLACES Board of Directors. He will bring new perspectives and allow us to grow our support of traditionally underserved communities.”