Episode 4: What makes Rick so successful? How can others replicate it? Liz: IÕm Liz Carter, a science communicator from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and this is Alaska Voices, a place where community members, friends, and scientists can share stories and place-based knowledge in order to build a better tomorrow for Alaskans and the world. [music and audio introduction] Liz: This miniseries is an interview style show that explores the life and career thus far of the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and PolicyÕs climate specialist Rick Thoman. During theseÊ four episodes we will examine how Rick found his way to Alaska, how his career has grown and changed over the last 40 years, some major impacts and successes, and how his career can teach others about how to best work within Alaskan communities.Ê Liz: In this final episode I hope to examine what makes Rick such a successful scientist and science communicator, especially in the context of Alaska, in hopes that others are able to learn from such a successful career. So, Rick, what are some things that you would consider essential to being able to effectively work throughout Alaska? Rick: One of the aspects of my work with the weather service in particular, to some extent also with ACCAP, is that through that job I was able to visit large chunks of Alaska that I never would have gotten to see. And there is nothing like getting to see a place with your own eyes, it conveys so much information. I think that has helped to shape and inform the work that I do because they arenÕt just places on a map, or nowadays they arenÕt just pictures on social media. But theyÕre more real in my mind because IÕve been there. It viscerally reinforced what you already know, that Alaska is a vast place. Having that feel again has helped to inform the critical importance of localizing, regionalizing weather and climate information. Seeing the diversity in communities, that diversity includes the people and the physical setting, the infrastructure that communities have, was and continues to be critical.Ê Liz: Are there other aspects of working with the weather service first, starting with an agency job, that have been particularly useful in transitioning into a more academic role at ACCAP? Rick: Because my experience, because my skill set, is very different from an academic career track, I think that by itself is a benefit for what ACCAP has always tried to do, which can be broadly put into this boundary spanning aspect of work, bringing many experts together from different fields, and operational weather forecasting and climate services at the operational level seems to me to be a natural part of the function of ACCAP. In a sense I got lucky in the way that at that time in the 2000 teens there was a significant push within some groups within IARC to see the value of bringing people with long agency experience.ÊÊ Liz: And are there any practical tasksÊ youÕve incorporated into your work that youÕve found has helped you in being successful? Rick: Well, I think one of my successes in working in rural Alaska is being available when people want me. And so that means one of the things I need to do to be able to respond to media inquiries on very short notice is basically to keep what might be called situational awareness. WhatÕs happening, whatÕs been happening. Part of my daily work flow, I usually do this right after I get up and IÕm working on my first cup of coffee, yÕknow whatÕs going on in the weather today around the state. Because I work statewide I canÕt just look at Nome, I canÕt just look at Fairbanks. I really have to keep up that situational awareness all around the state. That really informs my daily work flow in the sense that I am aware I could get a call from someone and I want to be able to provide them with the information they want in the timeframe they need. Liz: What does the day to day look like for you in your work these days? Rick: So, my standard elevator pitch is I spend a lot of time working in that translator space between western climate science and what do people, organizations, tribes need for that. With a special, but not exclusive focus in northern and western Alaska. So that involves everything from climate monitoring, whatÕs happening now, how unusual is this warm January? Being an authoritative voice for that sort of thing. Two, listening to what folks need and then, ok, is there anything that we can help people with. Sea ice is a big example of that. Sea ice is so important in northern and western alaska, whatÕs happening with the sea ice, whatÕs going to happen to the sea ice is in some ways much more important than will the temperature be above or below normal. Sea ice is where itÕs at. Having said that, I think at this point in my career I have to acknowledge an important role IÕm playing now is being this subject matter expert on climate change in Alaska. What do I do with my time? I spend a lot of time preparing and giving presentations about some aspect of our changing environment. And thatÕs a reasonable, an important thing from the ACCAP perspective, from the IARC perspective because every presentation I hope is building that ACCAP and IARC and UAF are a source of trusted information, reliable, authoritative information Liz: Trust is something that has come up a lot. How do you build trust through your work? Rick: Being there, showing up, listening, sharing, knowing whatÕs appropriate and whatÕs not, being able to acknowledge when you screw up. No one expects anyone to be perfect, but being able to apologize in a sincere fashion is important. And then thereÕs the one thatÕs the hardest, I think, especially in the kind of work that I do, is time. There is no way to compress a decade into a three day visit. And thatÕs the hardest thing, and thatÕs maybe why IÕm most successful, because although I didnÕt plan it in 1988 when I got off the plane in Nome or in 1990 when I moved to Fairbanks, having the time that elapses and still being there, still showing up, still being respectful matters a lot. And I think thatÕs the hardest thing in modern society to do. I think a lot of people have very good intentions, they really want to do right, and they do right, but to get to the next level requires the passage of time, and doing those things through that time. Doesn't mean you need to be out there every day for 20 years, but you canÕt fall off the radar and hop back in and expect that things will be just as they were.Ê . Liz: And what have been some practical ways youÕve maintained that trust over time? Rick: The media, especially in rural Alaska, itÕs often very short timelines. There isnÕt the luxury of IÕm producing this piece and itÕs gonna air in 3 weeks, yÕknow IÕm producing this piece because weÕre flooding right now in Kotzebue at levels no one has ever seen before. What can you tell me? And so it is important to be available and to be able to speak knowledgeably and that whole flooding in Kotzebue coinciding with travel, being able to know when to say I cannot make this work right now is important. Part of the problem, part of the challenge of being a trusted authoritative source is it takes a long time to build that up and itÕs easy to blow it up if you get something really wrong. And I don't mean you relay a forecast that doesnÕt work out. If you give factually wrong information it can hurt that authoritative status really quickly. ItÕs much better to say I donÕt know, I canÕt help you right now, if you need this right now hereÕs a place to go, I can call you back in X hours. But knowing how to do that and when to do that is an important skill set. Liz: What has been your inspiration in continuing to serve AlaskaÕs communities? Rick: Certainly, a big influence on my life of course was my midlife crisis, where I couldÕve bought a hotrod car but instead I pursued graduate work in Athabaskan Dene linguistics. That was very important to me in shaping my appreciation of Alaska indigenous culture, which started from the hours I got off the plane in Nome, but that really brought that home. Spending many hours, in my case with elders in the Tok and Tanacross area hoping to document the Tanacross Dene language and getting invited to potlatches is a nontrivial honor and IÕm very grateful that I got to do that. I have a treasured pair of moccasins that a Tanacross elder, Laura Sanford, made for me. TheyÕre nicely beaded, and IÕve only ever worn them once or twice, I donÕt want to soil them. But they're a treasured gift. That whole experience continues to shape my life everyday.Ê Liz: And are there any moments that stick out so far as highlighting this relationship youÕve built with rural communities? Rick: So, one of the most vivid experiences for me and very impactful in the way I think about and do things. The fall of 2019, I think I was with ACCAP, I had gone to Nome for whatÕs turned into an annual October trip and Gay Sheffield, the Sea Grant agent in Nome and UAF faculty, had arranged for one on one community calls with the tribal councils on Saint Lawrence Island, Shishmaref, Daimede, just to talk about sea ice. This was following the two terrible terrible years of sea ice and people were very conscious of ice, and concerned about ice. And that was really powerful to me to be able to do those and I donÕt think IÕm breaking any confidence when I say Gay Sheffield really impressed upon me that ÒGamble tribal council wants to talk to you, that is not something they do with everyone, thatÕs a big dealÓ so that kind of message just reinforced my desire to serve people in Alaska. So, that certainly stands out. Certainly some of the work that IÕve done with ACCAP has been a big deal. Last year I got to give a keynote at AlaskaÕs Forum on the Environment, that was a big deal to me. ThatÕs a big gathering, an important gathering in the state. I feel like I think ultimately I feel like IÕve made a difference in a positive way and thatÕs a good feeling when youÕre in your 60s, and IÕm not there yet, but yÕknow most of my career is behind me and to think IÕve made a positive difference is an important feeling for me.Ê Liz: And as we wrap up this podcast miniseries, what can we expect to see from you moving forward? Rick: Well, IÕm gonna keep giving presentations and keep talking about environmental change in Alaska with the goal to help people to understand whatÕs happening and to adapt to whatÕs happening. Projects that especially help to capture some of my lived experiences and before, to make that information available now and in the future is a big deal and thatÕs why our extreme events project that we started a couple years ago is so important to me, because it does make available information from the past that I think is immediately relevant and it brings it together in a way that for many people they wouldnÕt otherwise come to it. So, IÕm particularly interested in moving forward with any projects that help to make information like that more readily available to folks with the hope, and the expectation, that that will help inform decisions about the future for Alaskan communities.Ê [outro music] Liz: Alaska Voices is a place for communities to connect through conversation.Ê This mini series was created by Liz Carter, an Alaska Fellow at the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy. ACCAP is housed at the University of Alaska Fairbanks,Ê International Arctic Research Center and is one of several Climate Adaptation Partnerships teams funded by the NOAA Climate Program Office. ACCAP works to build healthy and thriving Alaska communities, economies and ecosystems in a changing climate.Ê This project was supported by the Alaska Voices team.. If you are interested in more conversations or information, please visit Alaska Voices.org.