USGIF Announces Scholarships and a Diversity Working Group

Diversity working group – At the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation’s (USGIF) GEOINT Symposium today, Maxar and Evona announced commitments to multi-year USGIF scholarship donations designated to increase diversity in the GEOINT talent pipeline.

Concurrently, USGIF Chief Executive Officer Ronda Schrenk announced the Foundation’s intent to form a new working group focused on increasing diversity, inclusion, and belonging in the GEOINT community. She also announced the co-chairs for the new working group, Aaron Kelley from UpSlope Advisors and Jennifer Krischer from Maxar. Kelley and Krischer plan to gather input from the community and formulate the working group’s charter and plan of action over the next few months.

This announcement comes on the final day of USGIF’s annual GEOINT Symposium and reflects a focus throughout the week’s activities related to diversity, inclusion, and belonging in the GEOINT community. Several GEOINT Symposium speakers addressed matters related to diversity, inclusion, accessibility, and belonging, including PDDNI Dr. Stacey Dixon, Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security Ronald Moultrie, NCTC Director Christine Abizaid, and both NGA Director Robert Sharp and NGA Deputy Director Tonya Wilkerson, all of whom noted the positive impact that increased attention to such matters will have on the community’s ability to execute and implement new strategies to deliver to the GEOINT community and its customers.

Schrenk noted, “USGIF is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment in all areas. The Foundation recognizes that the formation of this new working group is just the beginning, and the work requires actionable strategies and input from the GEOINT community. Together, we are constantly learning and implementing new tactics and approaches. Our hope is that this working group will identify ways to create an environment where everyone can feel valued and respected, that their input matters, and that to achieve this is a responsibility shared across our community.”