Carolyn Brinkworth

Carolyn S. Brinkworth (born 1979) is a British-born LGBTQ community activist and advocate of diversity and inclusion in STEM educational institutions and in the field itself, based in the United States.

She holds a PhD in astrophysics and a master's degree in education.

As chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer (CDO) at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) in Boulder, Colorado, Brinkworth has led DE&I initiatives, revamping hiring practices and changing the culture of the organization through training and professional development programs.

Her master's thesis included recommendations on how to create inclusive environments for LGBTQ individuals studying STEM.

She has also co-published research on the effectiveness of career development seminars in encouraging students from minority communities to pursue STEM professions.

In 2011, Brinkworth started a volunteer program with Learning Works, a Southern California school for in-crisis students, coordinating workshops and field trips on robotics and astronomy.

She also volunteered with The Trevor Project, a crisis intervention and suicide prevention program for LGBTQ youth ages 13 to 24, speaking about LGBTQ issues in the classroom.

Brinkworth currently serves on several boards of DE&I and related organizations, which include the American Geophysical Union's Diversity and Inclusion Task Force, the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy Workforce and Diversity Committee and the American Meteorological Society Board of Women and Minorities.

Brinkworth received the NASA Equal Employment Opportunity Medal in 2013 for her work with the Trevor Project – a nonprofit organization focused on crisis intervention and suicide prevention for LGBTQ youth.

Born in Coventry, United Kingdom, Brinkworth completed an undergraduate degree in physics and astrophysics at the University of Leicester.

She then started her graduate studies at the University of Southampton, assisting research on "a new high-speed camera designed to measure evolution rates in binary stars".

Brinkworth moved to the United States after securing a fellowship at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory working with the Spitzer Space Telescope.

She completed her PhD at Southampton, and did postdoctoral research at Caltech.

Her astronomy research focused primarily on studying the dusty debris rings orbiting around white dwarfs in order to give insight into the potential future of planetary systems similar to the solar system.

She later received a master's degree in education at Claremont Graduate School, focusing on "building safer spaces for LGBT+ people in STEM departments".

Brinkworth started her career as an astronomer at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC), based at the California Institute of Technology.

Brinkworth received the 2013 NASA Equal Employment Opportunity Medal for her outstanding leadership, dedication, volunteerism, mentoring, and activism for underrepresented student groups through science education workshops and programs.

In 2014, she joined the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in the newly created role of director of diversity, education and outreach.

At NCAR and its parent organization, the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), she worked with a team to introduce workforce training programs on gender and gender identity, racism and unconscious bias, and bystander intervention, including UNEION, a diversity training program.

She also co-organized the Inclusive Astronomy 2015 conference.

Her 2016 master's thesis, "From Chilly Climate to Warm Reception," explored the experiences of LGBTQ students studying STEM, and emphasized the need to for higher education institutions to create inclusive environments and support systems for LGBTQ individuals, particularly transgender students.

Brinkworth proposes several recommendations to address the challenges faced by this community.

Some of these suggestions are LGBTQ resource centers on campus, harassment prevention and intervention, inclusive and flexible student housing options, LGBTQ accessible healthcare, policy reform, and the ongoing education of faculty, staff, and students on the impact they each can make.

Her dedication to expanding the geosciences field was honorably recognized by her selection to the National Science Foundation's Geoscience Opportunities for Leadership in Diversity (GOLD) Ideas Lab in 2016.

In 2017, Brinkworth was promoted to chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer at UCAR.

One of her programs was Rising Voices, a collaboration with Haskell Indian Nations University in Kansas.

The program encourages dialogue between indigenous and non-indigenous communities on climate and weather-related topics.

Brinkworth's research interests have evolved to focus on the experiences of LGBTQ students, women, and people of color in higher education and the factors influencing public support for science and government funding for scientific research.

Brinkworth co-authored a 2017 study, "Long-term impacts of a career development workshop for undergraduates" published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.

According to the findings of Sloan et al.'s research, participants in career development workshops had increased communication and leadership abilities.

These improved abilities will help students stand out in the competitive field of STEM.

Their research concluded that effective communication and leadership skills are frequently the difference between pursuing and prospering in a STEM job.

Furthermore, these courses increase the chances of participants securing desired jobs in their chosen fields.

Marginalized students are better equipped to face the challenges that typically accompany STEM jobs because of the information and tools gained through these programs.

This not only benefits the individuals engaged, but it also helps to diversify the STEM workforce, resulting in more equitable and inclusive environments.

In 2019, Brinkworth co-authored an article in Journal of Geoscience Education, "Developing scientists as champions of diversity to transform the geosciences".

The article assesses the effectiveness of the Geo Opportunities for Leadership in Diversity (GOLD) Institutes in equipping senior geoscientists with knowledge of diversity, equity, and inclusion theories and practices which they could use to take action within their local communities of practice (COPs).