Much of the shortcomings in recruiting and retaining minorities in geosciences seem to be related to the difficult social environments that these groups face in our disciplines classrooms and workplaces. The overarching goals of the GOLD Institute are to develop senior geoscientists as leaders in diversity through allophilia ideals. Our cohort will begin their training at a two-day GOLD Institute, designed to spark cognitive dissonance, and begin the process of personal reflection and change needed to transform existing leaders into champions for diversity. The research team will investigate how the guiding theoretical frameworks have influenced the change that occurs among participants. A goal is to provide explanations and supporting reasons for the best-practices that emerge from this project. The project team will employ mixed qualitative and quantitative methods to provide interpretations of the experiences, actions, and outcomes of the GOLD Institute utilizing the frameworks of allophilia, sensemaking, and systemic leadership. Specifically, the team will seek to understand how the senior scientists are able to make sense of their contexts to enact activities that are grounded in allophilia.