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Ed Danaher: Providing Guidance and Inspiration to Future Generations
by Jessica
Harper
NWS Communications Office/Public Affairs Intern
High school and college students can perfect something other than their backstrokes this summer. They can exercise their minds as much as they do their bodies. Supervisory Meteorologist Edwin (Ed) J. Danaher, who recently won a NOAA Diversity Spectrum Award for advancing the goals of the NOAA Diversity initiative, is one of the many senior level employees who give young people this option.
Throughout an 11-year management career at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction's (NCEP's) Hydrometeorological Prediction Center (HPC), he has been active in matching the skills and talents of young people with internships that maximize and improve their gifts. His co-workers in the Development and Training Branch have supported his efforts and put in many hours working with the interns.
"I would have loved to do an internship in meteorology when I was in college," Danaher said. "There weren't many student/mentor programs around then. I like that I can give kids that opportunity now and help interest them in the NWS."
In a time when teenagers and young adults are more interested in recreation than learning, the efforts of employees like Danaher, who has worked for NOAA since 1974, are needed now more than ever. His willingness to educate the next generation gives promise to the future of science and technology and proves that everyone-young or old-has something to share.
This is something that HPC summer intern Forbes Tompkins appreciates. "Ed finds ways to relate to me despite the fact that there is a significant age difference between us," Thompkins said. "He gives me work worth doing as opposed to tedious assignments. He treats me as an equal, and I have learned to be open to anything and everyone."
This inclusiveness is especially seen in the eclectic mix of high school and college students Danaher welcomes to participate in the intern program at the HPC. Some bring mathematical talents while others offer scientific ones. In any event, Danaher and his co-workers are able to help the students find their niche.
"One intern was a biology major who was unfamiliar with what we did from a meteorological perspective," Danaher recalled. "So, we had him create a spreadsheet, which we still use today. It's much easier to access information from that one spreadsheet than it is to do the same calculations using a pocket calculator."
Danaher demonstrates that even the most far-fetched skill can be put to good use, which is something that bright young people need and want to hear. As with any adult, a high school or college graduate likes to know that the work he or she does has value and is not something done in vain. Danaher sees this and strives to push these apprentices toward greatness.
"It's fulfilling to see how much they learn," he said. "We will give them an assignment we think will last them the entire summer and they end up finishing it in a week!"
Danaher's desire to see these interns excel extends beyond the office. After mentoring a deaf student one summer, he decided to take a sign language course at Gallaudet University.
"We would communicate by computer or pen and paper," Danaher said. "I wanted him to feel comfortable and not isolated from the rest of the group. It was that experience that inspired me to take a class in sign language."
Director of the HPC Jim Hoke has worked with Danaher for more than 10 years. Hoke, who is also the Director of the Ocean Prediction Center (OPC), admires his colleague's drive. He believes that Danaher's desire to learn sign language illustrates his ability to adjust to change.
"I think that mentoring a deaf student is typical of the challenges Ed thrives on," Hoke said. "He has compassion and empathy, and only seems uncomfortable when things aren't changing. I like that he is constantly working to make the organization better."
As Chief of the Development and Training Branch of the HPC, Danaher not only hopes to promote fairness in the workplace; he wants to inspire his employees to do good work as well.
HPC Science and Operations Officer Peter Manousos, who has worked with Danaher for a little over five years, agrees. "Ed has great vision and is very trustful," Manousos said. "He gives us the freedom to complete tasks the best way we see fit without micro-managing."
"I want to create an environment where employees are comfortable and also where they feel that they can learn something new," he said. "Each person has different skills and something unique to contribute. The products the HPC puts out are always changing and old ways of doing things don't always work. Because employees have to work closely together, they must be flexible and willing to accept that people have different views than their own."
The student interns who have the good fortune of working under Danaher do not limit their relationship with him to the office. He stays in contact with a number of them years after serving as their mentor.
"I write recommendations for them for college and grad school," he noted. "Some of them have even gone on to careers in the NWS."
Danaher, who enjoys bicycling, gardening and reading outside of the office, has succeeded at something few employees manage to do well-he has reached out to young people continually and has encouraged them to refine and hone their skills for something productive.
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