iDigInfo was honored to host the Executive Director of the Association for Advancing Participatory Science (AAPS), Dr. Jennifer Shirk, as a Visiting Scholar for a year (2023–4). Dr. Shirk earned her PhD in Natural Resources from Cornell University in 2014 and has published a number of foundational papers for the field of the participatory sciences (a field variously called “citizen science”, “community science”, and other things). While visiting, Dr. Shirk worked with iDigInfo Director Austin Mast to produce the inaugural Meeting for Advancing Participatory Sciences in Florida and the Biodiversity Theme of the 2024 Conference for Advancing Participatory Sciences (CAPS). Drs. Shirk and Mast also co-taught a graduate-level course entitled Public Participation in Science and wrote a National Science Foundation proposal to extend the impact of the Biodiversity Theme from the 2024 CAPS.