Anita Marshall is an American geoscience education researcher and disability activist. She is known for her research on and personal experience with disability in geology.
She has been featured in a middle-grade book about scientists with unconventional paths through science, Breaking The Mold, by Dana Levy;[4][5] and had a small role in a documentary film, Brink of Disaster: Miami Sinking[6][7]
Marshall is recognized by the US Business Leadership Network and others as a leader in disability inclusion in STEM.[1][2][8][9][10] Research has shown that most geoscientists think that physical ability is necessary for a successful career in geology,[11][12][13] and disabled people are severely underrepresented in geology.[10] Marshall works to counteract this with her scholarship and activism.[14] She told PBS NewsHour, "If you think about it, the moon is also inaccessible. Mars is inaccessible. And yet we do science on them anyway."[2]
Marshall is the Director of Operations for the International Association for Geoscience Diversity, an American non-profit organization focused on geoscience and disability.[15][16] She led the GeoSPACE Project, an NSF-funded project that seeks to enable students with limited mobility to participate in geology field work.[17][18][19] The research team uses technology and collaborative teamwork to allow for full participation of student with disabilities in the field or working from home.[20][18][21]
Marshall is a member of the Choctaw Nation and advocates for increased diversity in STEM across multiple types of identities.[9][22] As a disabled indigenous woman in geoscience, she represents several groups that are underrepresented in STEM fields.
University of Florida College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Excellence in DEI Award, 2023[23]
EXCEL Media Gold Award[24] for DEI-focused feature article in a national society magazine for the article "Creating Spaces for Geoscientists with Disabilities to Thrive",[25] 2021
Rising Leader for students with disabilities, DisabilityIN, 2017[15]
