Earyn McGee
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 scientist who studies reptiles and amphibians, like lizards and frogs. This field is called herpetology. She is also a science communicator, which means she helps explain science to everyone.
Earyn McGee is an ambassador for a program called IF/THEN. She also helped start Black Birders Week. This event celebrates Black people who enjoy watching birds. It began after a Black birdwatcher, Christian Cooper, faced racism in Central Park.
Early Life and Education
Earyn McGee grew up in Inglewood, California. She went to Howard University for her first college degree. There, she studied how to protect nature and animals.
During her summers, she researched a type of lizard called Yarrow's spiny lizard. She studied them in the Chiricahua Mountains. In 2018, she earned a master's degree from the University of Arizona. Her studies focused on protecting wildlife.
Research Career
Earyn McGee earned her PhD from the University of Arizona. Her research looked at how dry streams affect lizard groups. She studied these lizards in the Chiricahua Mountains in Arizona.
She is an ambassador for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) IF/THEN program. She also explores how to use social media. Her goal is to encourage more African American women to work in land and water management.
Science Outreach and Communication
In 2019, a video from the Discovery Channel showed scientists working. People noticed it did not feature many women. Earyn McGee joined other female scientists to make a response video. Their video showed many different women doing science.
In 2020, she became a Mass Media Science & Engineering Fellow. This allowed her to write for the Las Vegas Review Journal.
McGee is active on Twitter using the name @Afro_Herper. Every Wednesday, she hosts a fun challenge called #FindThatLizard. For two days, she shares pictures and facts about lizards. Her science work has also been featured on podcasts. One popular podcast is Ologies.
She was a co-organizer of Black Birders Week. This was a social media event. It celebrated Black naturalists, scholars, and birdwatchers. The event started because of racism faced by birdwatcher Christian Cooper. This happened during the Central Park birdwatching incident. The hashtags #BlackInNature and #BlackBirdersWeek were used thousands of times. The project gained attention worldwide. It was featured in National Geographic and Scientific American. They also created content with the National Audubon Society.
In February 2020, Popular Mechanics recognized McGee. They named her one of ten influential women in science communication. In 2021, Forbes included her in their 30 Under 30 list for science. As an AAAS IF/THEN Ambassador, Earyn McGee has a statue in the #IfThenSheCan The Exhibit.
Awards
In 2021, Earyn McGee received an important award. It was the National Conservation Young Leader Award. This award came from the National Wildlife Federation.
