Over the past decade, we have witnessed an increase in extreme weather events due to human-caused climate change. The climate crisis and its related weather, wildfire, and water disasters, are expected to accelerate and pose even greater threats to people’s livelihoods. To cope with this crisis requires the collective efforts of the Earth system science community that includes the development of global observing systems, the improvement of predictive capabilities, the development of climate adaptation and mitigation strategies, as well as educating and training the future generation of scientists. AMS can play a key role in fostering collaboration among government, academic, and private sectors to address these important challenges both in the U.S. and internationally. Addressing climate and weather issues requires innovation and creativity of all the talents of the Earth system science community. Diversity, inclusion, and retention are critical in fostering innovation and creativity. AMS should make an effort to attract participation from systematically marginalized communities while maintaining a welcoming and inclusive environment for all its existing and new members. 

Throughout my career at NCAR and UCAR, I have nurtured partnerships between the research and operational community in the development and operational applications of advanced weather forecasting models. I have implemented innovative global observing systems using radio occultation measurement techniques for weather, space weather, and climate applications through international collaboration. I’ve been active in mentoring and supporting undergraduate, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and early career scientists with a diverse background.

I will work with the Council to develop partnerships and collaborations to address important climate and weather issues. I will ensure that the AMS takes a firm stance against prejudice and discrimination and follow the guiding principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion. The voice of every member should be heard and valued while supporting an equal opportunity to contribute, serve on AMS committees and/or boards, and be considered for leadership positions and AMS awards. All members should have an equal opportunity to succeed, regardless of their background or culture.

Ying-Hwa (Bill) Kuo is the Director of UCAR Community Programs at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. In this capacity, Bill oversees eight community programs that provide real-time data, software analysis tools, internship and fellowship programs, and educational resources to support the Earth system science community. Bill holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Meteorology from the Pennsylvania State University.
 
In the early part of his career, Bill led the development and community user support of NCAR/PSU model models (MM4 and MM5) and contributed to the development of the Weather Research and Forecasting Model. In 2020, Bill and his NCAR colleagues received the Kenneth C. Spengler Award for “enriching and supporting a community of research and operational weather modeling through the Advanced Research version of the Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF-ARW)”.  Bill directed the Developmental Testbed Center (DTC) from 2009 to 2018 and fostered the collaboration between research and operational NWP communities.  Bill led the development and implementation of the world’s first GPS radio occultation satellite mission, known as the COSMIC (Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate) mission from 1997 through 2015. COSMIC, a joint Taiwan-U.S. satellite mission, has provided critical observations to support atmospheric research and operational weather prediction. Bill also played a key role in the development of the follow-on COSMIC-2 mission, which has been providing ~6,000 radio occultation sounding profiles over the tropics since its launch in June 2019. 
 
Bill has mentored more than 70 undergraduate, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and early career scientists with diverse backgrounds. He has published over 200 journal papers, as well as numerous conference articles and reports. With a goal to support the professional development of Chinese American scientists and engineers, Bill established the Colorado Chapter of COAA (Chinese-American Oceanic and Atmospheric Association) in 2015 and served as founding President from 2015 through 2017. Bill Chaired the AMS Richard A. Anthes Symposium in 2019.