The votes have been tallied and we have the results of our 2015 APAEA Election! Please join us in welcoming the new APAEA National Chair and Executive Committee members for the January 2016-December 2017 term:
National Chair
Chinling Chen
Executive Committee
Arvind Bhuta
Irvin Fox-Fernandez
Anne Poopatanapong
Feliciana “Fely” Schaible
Chinling has been an APAEA Executive Committee member for the last two years and will transition into the Chair role next month. The newly elected Executive Committee members will join Joan Louie, as she continues on into the second year of her term in 2016. We had 60 members participate in these elections and it was a very close race. I wanted to thank all of the nominees for their submissions, as all of the candidates would have been outstanding Executive Committee members. We had a great turnout of candidates and voters. I also wanted to thank Danielle Cochran, Joan Louie, and Annette Delos-Santos for the work they put into running this election and analyzing the survey results.
We received some excellent feedback as part of the optional member survey. We asked members what they would like to see from APAEA in the coming year and if members had any other suggestions or feedback. We heard everything from the need for more engagement to training to thank you’s and appreciation. Attached is a more detailed summary of responses. These responses will provide a starting point for the new APAEA leadership, as they plan projects and activities for next year and beyond.
Please remember that we are always recruiting new members for APAEA (http://www.apaea.org/membership/) and our APAEA working group. Chinling is currently leading the working group and you can contact her at cchen@fs.fed.us with any questions you may have or to get added to the mailing list.
Lastly, I wanted to let you all know that it has been a great honor to serve as your Chair for the last two years. Thank you for the continued support you have provided APAEA and I look forward to opportunities to connect with you in the future.
Liz Berger, Regional Forester’s Liaison, R5 RO
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