Jeff Oslund, Vice-Chair of the GSA Foundation Board of Trustees and retired manager of Geoscience Career Development and Recruiting at Anadarko Petroleum, shares with us his belief in GSA as a comprehensive society capable of connecting geoscientists of different backgrounds to address the issues facing our world today.

What inspires you to give so freely of your time serving as a GSAF Trustee?

I know how important it is to give back to the profession that inspired me to get involved with the search for much needed energy resources for society. The GSA Foundation is an entity that helps to raise funds to provide training for future geoscientists and to fund research for all geoscientists who seek to improve living conditions for future societies, whether it is energy resources, environment, natural hazards, water resources, government policy related to geoscience, etc. I am personally involved because I believe GSA is the society that has the people and resources to connect industry, academia, and government in order to address all facets of geoscience.

What motivates you to give to GSA?

I give to GSA because I have been fortunate to be in a profession that allowed me to apply my geoscience education and make a decent living in doing so. I also know that GSA is striving to be a society that embraces a diversity of backgrounds and provides funding for education and research that furthers careers in all areas of geoscience.

What would you say to others thinking about making a financial commitment to the Society?

Please look at the large number of geoscientists in GSA who represent all ages, cultures, schools, and research topics at every scale—from nanoparticles to planets. The students doing the research of today will be the successful geoscientists of tomorrow in academia, industry, and government agencies. The professors doing research with these students are tackling topics that affect our world both now, and into the future—whether it is energy resources, water resources, searching for rare earth metals, natural hazards prediction and mitigation, or planetary exploration.

What would you like to say to other people who donate their time and resources to GSA?

Thank you for all you do to better the one society that strives to connect geoscientists to one another across industry, academia, and government to further the education and research that will help geoscientists continue to support society in so many critical ways.