Ana Spalding, Ocean Nexus Principal Investigator, has taken on a new role. She is currently leading a resilience initiative for the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) as she continues to support graduate students and other various diversity and equity initiatives at Oregon State University (OSU).
The Adrienne Arsht Community-Based Resilience Solutions Initiative
The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, or STRI, is located in Panama, and is the only Smithsonian unit based outside of the United States. The Initiative aims to work collaboratively with the other Smithsonian units to incorporate educational, cultural, historical, and art aspects into research, training, engagement, and solutions-oriented activities.
Earlier this year, Ocean Nexus Principal Investigator Dr. Ana Spalding accepted a new role at STRI as the Director of the Adrienne Arsht Community-Based Resilience Solutions Initiative. This Smithsonian-wide initiative is currently focusing on education, graduate and postdoctoral fellowships, and convenings. The Initiative, aiming to encompass a range of age groups, focuses on identifying strategies for individuals and communities to be more resilient to climate change, biodiversity loss, and social injustices. At STRI, Spalding works collaboratively with units and programs of the Smithsonian (e.g., the National Museum of Natural History, the Smithsonian Science Education Center, and the Center for Environmental Justice at the Anacostia Community Museum) in support of the Under Secretary of Science and Research’s vision for “Life on a Sustainable Planet.” In order to do so, the Resilience Initiative will advocate for science-based solutions to current environmental issues.
Spalding has taken on quite a few responsibilities in her new position. She currently leads the new Smithsonian Resilience and Sustainability Fellowship program that is co-managed by STRI and the National Museum of Natural History. This program also includes funding for two STRI-Ocean Nexus Fellows, one based at Ocean Nexus and the other based at STRI. Both exciting opportunities will focus on resilience and sustainability frameworks through the use of an equity and justice lens. Spalding also leads a Resilience Education program area that works with the Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC) and STRI’s Public Program’s office to create videos focused on stories of resilience and education modules on resilience as it relates to climate change and ecosystems. Through this program, the resilience initiative partners across the Smithsonian will train cohorts of teachers to incorporate the resilience modules into their teachings in the U.S. and Panama.
Furthermore, Spalding leads a “Convenings” program area that focuses on using interdisciplinary research, policy engagement, and diverse perspectives to inform resilience solutions to pressing environmental problems. For example, a 2023 publication led by Spalding on “Engaging the tropical majority to make ocean governance and science more equitable and effective” (which included Ocean Nexus Deputy Director Andrés Cisneros-Montemayor as co-author) was used for these purposes, and was featured at an event in late 2023 where she led in the Nature Positive Pavilion at COP28. Spalding is also working to further build leadership and science capacity needed to develop a Resilience and Sustainability Center.
In addition to leading the core Initiative activities, Spalding is working towards building a future Resilience and Sustainability Center that will be oriented around four pillars: Research, Engagement (or extension), Training, and Solutions. According to Spalding, the most exciting opportunities lie in partnering with external partners, visionary thinkers, and funders to design a research center that is focused on equity, interdisciplinary and actionable planning for the future, and supporting communities in the solutions.
How does this initiative relate to equity?
Equity and justice are at the heart of Spalding’s vision for the Adrienne Arsht Community-Based Resilience Solutions Initiative. By centering community-based solutions, this Initiative can reflect the needs, interests, and future visions of communities impacted by the changing climate, social injustices, and biodiversity shifts. “Although I’m new to the Smithsonian,” Spalding states. “I am hoping that by bringing the social sciences to the center of research at the Smithsonian, we can build a scientific community that doesn’t feel forced to include equity considerations.” By clearly committing to inclusivity and considering the implications of research and associated investments, Spalding hopes that the Initiative can bring light to the challenges associated with systems that limit participation from certain sectors of society.
Challenges and opportunities
“It is my hope that through the Initiative, and future Center, we are focusing on providing leadership opportunities for folks from across the global tropics and from other vulnerable communities, and that we are helping identify and provide scientific evidence for some of the most creative and applicable climate solutions,” says Spalding. Currently through the Resilience Initiative, STRI and the Smithsonian are working to support communities through interdisciplinary and use-inspired science.
Spalding wants to complement the legacy of excellence in tropical biodiversity research by including and legitimizing the use of social science. Leveraging the Adrienne Arsht funds to secure additional funding and build new partnerships will be the next step for ensuring that the Resilience Initiative is sustainable and will lead to the establishment of a successful Center. As part of this, Spalding aims to secure long-term, sustainable funding to build a team of researchers and engagement specialists to work with and better understand people and the ocean through an equity lens.
