Earyn McGee

Growing up in Inglewood, California, McGee showed an early interest in science and animals. She completed an undergraduate degree in conservation biology at Howard University, where she was an Environmental Biology Scholar.[1][2] Her summer undergraduate research involved studying Yarrow's spiny lizard in the Cave Creek Canyon of the Chiricahua Mountains. In 2018, McGee completed a Master's degree in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment at the University of Arizona, with a focus in wildlife conservation and management.[3]

McGee is currently pursuing a PhD at the University of Arizona, where she studies the effects of stream drying on lizard communities in the Chiricahua Mountains of Arizona.[1][2][3] She is an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) IF/THEN Ambassador.[4] McGee also studies how to use social media to bring more African American women into careers involving water and land management.[5]

In April 2019, Earyn McGee was part of a team of women who criticised Discovery's response to science through song.[6] Their response was a lip-synched music video set to "Let Me Blow Ya Mind", and portrayed a diverse bunch of women doing science, demonstrating that science is for everyone.

In 2020, McGee was selected by the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (AAAS) to become a 2020 Mass Media Science & Engineering Fellow, where she contributes to the Las Vegas Review Journal.[7][8]

McGee is active on Twitter as @Afro_Herper. Each Wednesday at 5PM MT, she hosts a two-day Twitter identification challenge #FindThatLizard where she shares images and facts about lizards under the hashtag, #FindThatLizard.[9][10] Her research and science outreach efforts have also been featured in several podcasts, including the science and comedy podcast Ologies, with Alie Ward.[11]

In addition to Corina Newsome, McGee is also one of the co-organizers of Black Birders Week, a social media campaign aimed at celebrating Black naturalists, scholars, and birders.[1][12] The initiative was a direct response to series of events including the racism faced by Black birder, Christian Cooper in Central Park[13] and police brutality against Black Americans such as Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd. The hashtags created by the initiative, #BlackInNature and #BlackBirdersWeek, were used several thousand times. Black Birders Week garnered worldwide media coverage, including a feature in National Geographic,[14] Scientific American,[15] and Forbes.[16] Additionally, the inaugural Black Birders Week produced unique content in collaboration with the National Audubon Society and the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

In February 2020, Popular Mechanics chose McGee as one of ten influential women in science communication and for science content.[17] Forbes named McGee as one of their 30 Under 30 in the "Science" category for 2021.[18]

Outside of her work, McGee enjoys hiking.[2] McGee is an aspiring natural history TV show host.[3][2]

• Earyn McGee, Sarah Manka-Worthington, Michael Bogan. "Novel Fecal Collection Technique". Herpetological Review. 2019.
• Chandler Puritty, Lynette R Strickland, Eanas Alia, Benjamin Blonder, Emily Klein, Michel T Kohl, Earyn McGee, Maclovia Quintana, Robyn E Ridley, Beth Tellman, Leah R Gerber. "Without inclusion, diversity initiatives may not be enough". Science. 2017.
• Courtney J Robinson, Laricca Y London-Thomas, Leon A Dickson, Tiffany A Clinton, Hana Baig, Maude Bute, Mohammed Fahad, Kanhai Farrakhan, Neshaun Grady, Nicholas E Guthrie, Ruoa Hafid, Jayla Harvey, Kellie Hunnicutt, Victoria L Larsen, Taashaylaray McDuffie, Earyn N McGee, Jillian Y Pailin, Bria Peacock, Antolice Thomas, Winston A Anderson. "Genome sequence of mycobacteriophage ErnieJ". Genome Announcement, American Society for Microbiology. 2016.