Sherilyn Williams-Stroud

Texas A&M University

2026 Randolph W. "Bill" and Cecile T. Bromery Award

Dr. Sherilyn Williams-Stroud, Professor of Practice and Director of the Berg-Hughes Center at Texas A&M University, has a 30-year history of exemplary contributions in structural geology, energy resource management, and broadening participation in the geosciences. Her professional accomplishments span Federal and State-level geological surveys, energy companies, and academia. She has applied her expertise to lead major initiatives in understanding fault and fracture development in subsurface reservoirs and guide sustainable practices in natural resource management. During her distinguished career, Dr. Williams-Stroud developed programs designed to increase the number of Black students in geology and create career pathways for underrepresented scientists in the energy workforce. As a Research Scientist at the Illinois State Geological Survey she identified potential stakeholders for future partnerships between Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Predominantly White Institutions. Her exceptional professional history and dedication to furthering opportunities for others truly embodies the spirit of the Bromery Award.

It is an honor to receive the GSA Randolph W. “Bill” and Cecile T. Bromery Award! I especially love that the award name includes Dr. Bromery’s wife, Cecile. I had the special honor of meeting them, when I was a new graduate student at Johns Hopkins University. I’d already noticed the wall of pictures of alumni from the Department of Earth Sciences (nearly all men at that time) and I was pleased to see a black man among them, Dr. Bromery. I was so excited when I was invited to a departmental reception to honor him where I could meet him in person! He had been the Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts, and the other thing I remember is being very intimidated by it all. I spent a lot of time chatting with his lovely wife, who was especially gracious and helped put me at ease. This reminds me of the importance of support from your spouse or partner in one’s career endeavors, and I want to take the opportunity to thank my husband, who has been my champion, supporting the twists and turns my career has taken, and he never hesitates to let me know how proud he is of me. So proud, that he wore until it was so faded that you could no longer read it, a t-shirt that said “You don’t scare me. I have a wife with a PhD!” I also want to thank all my colleagues and friends who have supported and entertained and commiserated with me for several decades – especially the NABG crowd! I hope that our efforts continue to support black and other geoscientists of color and they continue to be inspired to excellence and to giving back by the legacy of Dr. Bromery.