An expanded networking event at the AMS Madison Summit will bring attendees together across the summit’s multiple conferences—in weather analysis and forecasting, severe local storms, weather warnings, mountain meteorology, and many more areas—with free food, a chance to chat, and semi-structured roundtables. The Women & Early Career Reception, hosted jointly by AMS partner organization Girls Who Chase and the AMS Board for Early Career Professionals (BECP), aims to create interdisciplinary engagement and promote career connections, with a special focus on women and early-career professionals. The event is free, although RSVP is requested. We spoke with event organizers Jen Walton (Girls Who Chase) and Jacob Carstens (AMS BECP) to learn more.
About the Women & Early Career Reception:
- Taking place at The Great Dane Pub & Brewing Downtown Madison, from 7 to 9 p.m. CT on Wednesday,
August 5th- Everyone is welcome—the event is Summit-wide!
- The reception is free to attend, but the organizers do kindly request your RSVP to estimate food and drink needs
What should an attendee expect walking into the Women & Early Career Reception?
Walton: All Girls Who Chase (GWC) events are designed to foster connection and belonging, and we’re excited to partner with the AMS Board for Early Career Professionals to expand the breadth and scope of who we can serve in this way. We’re hosting at a great venue and will have free food and drink for everyone to enjoy while chatting, so we’re hoping folks will walk away with full stomachs—as well as new connections, new mentors, new ideas, and more.
Approximately 75% of the event will be structured around connecting with experts of varying types in a “roundtable” format. Attendees are encouraged to visit the tables with topics most of interest to them, to chat with the experts and their colleagues. Roundtable topics will include speaking with experts in various sectors of interest; ideas for finding your calling when the market demands creative new approaches; best practices for effective allyship for women and underrepresented groups in your workplace; and supporting one another during difficult times.
At its core, this is intended to be an informal networking and connection event with a little extra structure to help maximize our time together. Attendees are not at all required to participate in the roundtable exercise, and we encourage everyone to enjoy the venue, food, and great company as they prefer!
This event is expanded from an event that took place at the last Conference on Severe Local Storms. Why did you feel it was important to extend the event?
Walton: That’s absolutely true; we’ve somewhat co-opted and adapted the SLS Women’s Dinner this year in a few ways, including making it Summit-wide. A big thank you to the folks who last organized the 2024 dinner event for helping fill in the historical gaps, and to the SLS planning committee for letting us take this event and run with it!
The Madison Summit is taking place during a difficult time in the history of the weather, water, and climate community. Waning funding, increasing distrust in scientific expertise and data, and a volatile job market all present challenges for those seeking a future in weather, particularly new graduates and underrepresented groups.
GWC is fundamentally dedicated to supporting and amplifying the efforts of women, and we’ve had to take a hard look at our modus operandi over the last 18 months as the world has changed around us, and at the ways those changes have impacted the sciences and groups like GWC operating within the scientific sphere. The question we constantly ask ourselves these days is “how do we show up in this moment?” and “how can we best serve?” The answer so far has been that we can best show up and serve by doing what we do best, which is building community, availing our extensive network, and reminding folks that we are not alone. We are all in this together.
And so accordingly, our focus, and the communities we serve, have expanded. We will always remain true to our core audience and purpose, which is why this event remains geared toward women and underrepresented groups. We have strategically partnered with the BECP, as we share similar goals and each of our communities navigate unique challenges. With this partnership in place, we can really maximize our efforts on behalf of the groups who need it most right now, including new or recent graduates.
Why is it crucial to provide structured networking opportunities for women and early-career professionals in the current environment?
Walton: We know, both statistically and anecdotally, that the job market (and the economy) right now is slowing and contracting in response to a political and financial environment we have never really experienced before in the U.S. We also know that when times get tough, company issues such as diversity in STEM and investments in young people (e.g., training and advancement) get deprioritized in favor of staying solvent. Compound that with the added pressure on women, underrepresented groups, and new or recent graduates to work even harder to find success, and we risk losing incredible talent to difficult times.
Historically, these times of contraction and recession have called for creativity, resilience, and interdisciplinary skill development to persist and find success—“thinking outside the box,” if you will. It could be years before we see some level of normalcy (whatever that really is) given the current scenario. In the meantime, we as a community must work together to ensure the road to a STEM career stays clear and open for these folks. One way to do that is to ensure the free flow of mentorship and network development for those groups who need it most. It’s important to remind people at every possible opportunity—you belong here.
What do you hope attendees will gain from the experience?
Walton: We hope that attendees walk away with new connections, new mentors, new ideas, and/or perhaps even a short-term strategy for taking some important actions. But at a minimum, we want folks to know they aren’t in this alone, and are surrounded by a tribe of like-minded colleagues who will go out of their way to see them through to the finish.
How can one get involved with Girls Who Chase and the Board for Early Career Professionals? What other events and networking opportunities do they provide throughout the year?
Walton: All of the various ways to engage with GWC are listed on our homepage at girlswhochase.com. Please follow us on socials (we’re most active on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn), and if you are a storm chaser or content producer, we’d love for you to tag us in your posts so we can share your work. We also produce 2–3 affordable online educational events per year, typically focused on the foundations of storm chasing, severe weather, and forecasting at an entry level, so if you’re interested in learning more definitely check out the trainings (and our aggregated list of free educational resources) at girlswhochase.com/education. We always love to hear from you with new ideas or collaborations, so reach out anytime!
Carstens: You can find BECP on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, and Bluesky. Our board is 24 members strong in 2026, with teams dedicated to social media and outreach, producing AMS webinars several times a year, and planning the annual Conference for Early Career Professionals at the AMS Annual Meeting. We’ve hosted virtual networking events in recent years and we keep looking for new ways to support the community. New member applications will open this Fall—contact [email protected] to learn more about what we do and how to get involved, and hang out with us in Denver on January 10–11, 2027!
