Earyn McGee facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Earyn McGee
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McGee at Biosphere 2 in Oracle, Arizona
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| Known for | Black Birders Week #IfThenSheCan The Exhibit |
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| Fields | Herpetology |
| Institutions | University of Arizona |
Earyn McGee is an American herpetologist and science communicator. A herpetologist studies reptiles and amphibians like lizards and frogs. A science communicator shares science with everyone. Earyn is an ambassador for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) IF/THEN program. She also helped start Black Birders Week. This event celebrates Black people who love nature and birds. It began after a Black birdwatcher, Christian Cooper, faced unfair treatment while birdwatching.
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Early Life and School
Earyn McGee grew up in Inglewood, California. She went to Howard University for her first college degree. There, she studied conservation biology. This field focuses on protecting nature and wildlife.
During her summers, Earyn studied Yarrow's spiny lizards. She researched them in the Chiricahua Mountains. Later, in 2018, she earned her master's degree. She studied wildlife conservation at the University of Arizona.
Studying Wildlife
Earyn McGee earned her PhD from the University of Arizona. Her research focused on how stream drying affects lizard groups. She studied this in the Chiricahua Mountains of Arizona.
She is an AAAS IF/THEN Ambassador. In this role, she explores how social media can encourage more African American women to work in land and water management.
Sharing Science with Everyone
Earyn McGee is great at sharing science. In 2019, the Discovery Channel made a video about scientists. People noticed it didn't show many women. Earyn and other female scientists made their own video. It showed many different women doing science.
In 2020, she became a Mass Media Science & Engineering Fellow. This program helps scientists write for newspapers. Earyn wrote for the Las Vegas Review Journal.
#FindThatLizard Challenge
Earyn is very active on Twitter as @Afro_Herper. Every Wednesday, she hosts a fun challenge. It's called #FindThatLizard. She shares pictures and facts about lizards. People try to identify them.
Her work has also been featured on podcasts. One popular podcast is Ologies with Alie Ward.
Black Birders Week
Earyn was a key organizer of Black Birders Week. This was a social media event. It celebrated Black naturalists, scientists, and birdwatchers. The event started because of unfair treatment faced by a Black birdwatcher, Christian Cooper. This happened during a birdwatching trip in Central Park.
The hashtags #BlackInNature and #BlackBirdersWeek became very popular. They were used thousands of times. Many news outlets covered the event. These included National Geographic and Scientific American. The project also worked with the National Audubon Society.
Awards and Recognition
In February 2020, Popular Mechanics magazine recognized Earyn. They named her one of ten important women in science communication. Forbes magazine also honored her. She was on their 30 Under 30 list for "Science" in 2021.
As an AAAS IF/THEN Ambassador, Earyn has a special statue. It's part of #IfThenSheCan The Exhibit. This exhibit celebrates women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math).
Awards
- In 2021, Earyn received the National Conservation Young Leader Award. This award came from the National Wildlife Federation.
