Growing an Inclusive Ecological Professional Society for a Diverse Environmental Workforce: Wisdom Gained to Navigate Current and Future DEIJ Challenges

The Ecological Society of America (ESA) is a global leader in shaping the science, teaching, and culture of ecology. Since the 1980s, ESA has undergone transformational changes in its structure, governance, and how it prioritizes diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) endeavors in all its functions. ESA has excelled in responding to its membership's career development needs to meet the challenges and the skill set required for a diverse environmental workforce. We discuss ESA actions that have increased focus on DEIJ and reflect on the drivers, successes, and challenges faced along the way. We, the co‐authors, have developed and collaborated to implement the programming with the goal of improving ESA so that all its members feel supported and can create the network of diverse ecologists needed today. We chronicle the historical actions that have led to ESA DEIJ‐dedicated offices, committees, funding resources, and governance structure changes to build support for a diverse ecological leadership. We showcase how ESA has elevated the human dimension across its mentoring programs, publications, annual meetings, and work by sections and chapters with DEIJ priorities, while acknowledging that there is still room for growth. We also reflect on the importance of pursuing DEIJ‐related initiatives within and beyond ESA, despite external pressures that deter us from continuing these vital endeavors. We provide recommendations to ESA to continue developing a DEIJ‐focused community of care to help ecologists address global environmental issues effectively.