The GSA Foundation Insider

May 2026

The GSA Foundation is proud to resume regular updates to its community of supporters. It has been a busy and productive time. In fiscal year 2026, the GSA Foundation provided more than $2 million in funding for a wide array of GSA programs, and we anticipate continuing this trajectory of impact in 2027 and beyond.

In 2025, the GSA Foundation welcomed Sean O’Brien as its new Executive Director and Becky Priest Santavicca as its Development and Communications Officer. Sean and Becky are grateful for the warm welcome of Operations Manager Jeff Tyler, Stewardship Coordinator A.J. Villa, and the GSA Foundation Board of Trustees as well as that of the GSA and GSA Foundation communities.

New Funds

The GSA Foundation administers more than 120 funds, most of which were created through the generosity of donors. Annual awards made through these funds are vital to GSA’s continued excellence and impact. These funds support GSA’s greatest needs as well as awards and scholarships for research, field camps, event travel, and recognition of outstanding scholarship, among other things.

New funds established in the past year include:

• The Brian G. Katz Environmental Research Grant
• The Leona and Alex Kish Research Grant
• The Jack Kleinman Memorial Award for Volcano Research
• The Judith Totman Parrish Graduate Student Grant
• The John D. Vitek Periglacial and Alpine Geomorphology Award
• The Richard & Annette Wohl Award for Graduate Student Research
• The Ed Evenson Field Camp Scholarship Fund (still raising funds to make awards)

Jason Drebber, 2025 J. Hoover Macklin Award recipient, standing in front of the Roberts Butte in East Antarctica during the 2023-24 Antarctica field season

• The Ben van der Pluijm Graduate Research Award (still raising funds to make awards)
• The Arthur Sylvester Field Camp Scholarship Fund (still raising funds to make awards)

We welcome new awards in alignment with GSA’s mission and priorities—and yours. Please contact Sean or Becky if you are interested in discussing new fund possibilities or ways to increase the impact of existing funds.

Estate Gifts

Through the generosity of legacy gifts, supporters make an impact that reverberates across geological time. Over the past year, GSA and the GSA Foundation have received almost $1 million in estate gifts. These thoughtful bequests provide crucial resources in an era of STEM funding uncertainty. They help ensure that GSA and its community can explore, share, and advocate for their work both now and in generations to come.

If you would like to leave a legacy for the future of geosciences, please reach out to Sean or Becky. The GSA Foundation makes certain all contributions honor donor intent while helping GSA achieve its mission.

GSA Foundation at GSA Events

The GSA Foundation attends GSA events to help the community understand our role in ensuring GSA’s preeminence and success.

Please stop by our booth at the next GSA meeting you attend to learn more about our work and how you are a vital part of it. We'll be at GSA Connects in Denver in October 2026!

GSA Foundation Executive Director Sean O’Brien and GSA Foundation Operations Manager Jeff Tyler at the Triple Joint Session Meeting in Memphis

GSA President-Elect Glenn Thackray, Sean O’Brien, and GSA Interim Executive Director and CEO Bridgette Moore at the Cordilleran Section Meeting in Loreto

Sean O’Brien, Md Mahfuz Alam, Former GSA President and GSA Foundation Trustee Steve Wells, GSA Foundation Development and Communications Officer Becky Priest Santavicca, and Zayed Razzak at the Rocky Mountain Section Meeting in Albuquerque

Some Death Valley Rendezvous photos, clockwise from top left: Group photo with leads Darrel Cowan and Steve Wells; Terri Bowers and GSA Foundation Stewardship Coordinator A.J. Villa; group photo from mine tour; GSA President Nathan Niemi and GSA Foundation Trustee Rhea Graham. More Death Valley Rendezvous photos can be found here.

The GSA Foundation just launched a new website. We invite you to visit gsa-foundation.org and welcome your feedback on how we can more effectively share our work and support the GSA and GSA Foundation communities.