COMMUNITIES WORK TO REMOVE BARRIERS TO INCLUSION OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES TO BETTER ACHIEVE "GEOLOGY HAS NO BORDERS" UNIVERSALLY

STEM-minded stakeholders continue to focus upon increasing the number of K – higher education students experiencing quality educational practices and opportunities, with longer term goals that include increasing representation of a more diverse cross-section of Society in technical careers. Notably, recent efforts have been taking more comprehensive reflective steps toward action regarding Diversity, Equity and Inclusion within our learning, working, and professional spaces in the Earth and Space Sciences. This review is to bring forward foundational understanding and important considerations for increasing engagement of learners more inclusively, with special emphases on Persons with Disabilities. Universal Design is a way to design and implement strategies with the goal of reaching all learners that then become professionals --including the more historically marginalized groups within STEM fields. Interdisciplinary groups in various stages of existence from those established for over a decade (e.g. DO-IT , IAGD, AHEAD, and CAST) to those having just formed in recent years (e.g. SciAccess and AccessADVANCE) will be highlighted to better connect our geosciences community with resources useful toward catalyzing efforts supporting more proactively effective inclusion of Persons with Disabilities. Only then will "geology has no borders” be better realized when a broader range of people that should be involved no longer are impacted by unnecessary barriers.