News - North America
Building Community and Setting Goals at 2026 Virtual NARM
Seventy-one GLOBE Partners, educators, and leaders from the United States and Canada met virtually over three days for the North American Regional Meeting (NARM). The GLOBE U.S. Coordination Office and North American Regional Office, based at the Leitzel Center at the University of New Hampshire, organized and hosted the 2026 Virtual NARM.
Between Tuesday 27 January and Thursday 29 January, participants met for two and a half hours each day to discuss the strengths of GLOBE and opportunities to collaborate.
Each day focused on a theme.
- Tuesday: The strengths of GLOBE
- Wednesday: Future directions and resilience
- Thursday: Collaboration and goal setting
Participants brainstormed ideas to maintain their commitments to GLOBE through more than two hours of breakout room discussions over the three days of the NARM. The participants strengthened their relationships and made new connections through these discussions.
Dr. Michael Odell, GLOBE Partner from the University of Texas at Tyler, presented about the upcoming GLOBE book that will be published by Springer Nature, “The GLOBE Program: From Observation to Action—Connecting Youth, Educators, and Scientists.”
Additionally, five GLOBE community members presented lightning talks to share ways they use GLOBE and opportunities to extend GLOBE by collaborating with other programs.
- Connecting Students and Scientists – Dr. Michael Odell, University of Texas at Tyler
- Managing AWRI’s Outreach Data– Amanda Syers, Annis Water Resources Institute
- Local SRS Quick Start Guide – Haley Wicklein, University of New Hampshire
- GLOBE in Grant Writing – Kevin Czajkowski, University of Toledo
- Schoolyard SITES Model – Lara Gengarelly, University of New Hampshire
To keep participants engaged throughout the NARM, the GLOBE U.S. Coordination Office prepared quizzes that highlighted GLOBE Partner success stories. The team also set up a participant slide deck where registered attendees could use a slide to introduce themselves, including their favorite GLOBE memory and something they could offer to the community. Participants were encouraged throughout the NARM to look through the slide deck and comment on each other’s slides.
GLOBE Program Officer Amy Chen from NASA helped welcome participants and sponsors from the National Science Foundation and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration gave their words of thanks.
Extra special thanks to the 2026 Virtual NARM Committee:
- Tracy Ostrom, UC Berkeley (retired)
- Jessica Taylor, NASA Langley
- Amanda Syers, Grand Valley State University
The GLOBE U.S. Coordination Office would like to thank all of the 2026 Virtual NARM participants for their enthusiasm and engagement. This is a community that is committed to the continuation of GLOBE.