Ms. Beverly Walker appointed interim executive secretary for the Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee

Ms. Beverly Walker will be temporarily serving as the Executive Secretary for the Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC) for six months. Ms. Walker will be replacing the current Executive Secretary, Sara Bowden, who is retiring at the end of May. She will be taking on this role in addition to her other duties with the Office of Polar Programs (OPP).

Ms. Walker is a Science Analyst at the National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs. She works to build bridges within and across all elements of polar science, most recently by serving as the Executive Secretary for the Advisory Committee for Polar Programs as well as the Polar Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion, and by coordinating logistics for Distinguished Visitors to the U.S. Antarctic stations. Prior to joining OPP, Ms. Walker supervised laboratory operations at the Crary Science and Engineering Center (CSEC) at McMurdo Station, Antarctica for six years. She received a B.A. in Marine & Freshwater Sciences from Colgate University and a M.S. in Earth & Environmental Sciences from Vanderbilt University, completing field work in the Pacific Ocean, Alaska, Puget Sound and in the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica. Ms. Walker is passionate about polar science and driven to develop a more equitable environment that allows all interested individuals to thrive throughout the polar science ecosystem.