Message from the (now past!) President
Dear landscape ecology community,
This is my final note to you all, as our new President of IALE-North America, Kim With, takes the reins. It has been tough being the “pandemic President,” with communication restricted to Zoom and email. I think that coronavirus taught us all that although there are effective modes of online communication, there is no substitute for in-person dialogue. I am looking forward to when we can gather again in person.
I have been extremely fortunate to have worked with a wonderful group of people who served on the Executive Committee (Caitlin, Payton, Kate, both of the Kristins, Betty, Li, Jessica, Jeff, Tom, Jelena, Yessica, Steve, and Kim), Leslie Pelch of Delaney Meeting & Event Management, and members of all of the standing and ad-hoc committees. Their hard work led to several notable achievements:
All of these efforts will continue to positively affect us far into the future. I am so proud of this organization; thank you all for giving me the opportunity to serve as its President.
Sincerely,
Nancy McIntyre
President Emeritus, IALE-North America
Department of Biological Sciences
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, TX 79409-3131 USA
nancy.mcintyre@ttu.edu
This is my final note to you all, as our new President of IALE-North America, Kim With, takes the reins. It has been tough being the “pandemic President,” with communication restricted to Zoom and email. I think that coronavirus taught us all that although there are effective modes of online communication, there is no substitute for in-person dialogue. I am looking forward to when we can gather again in person.
I have been extremely fortunate to have worked with a wonderful group of people who served on the Executive Committee (Caitlin, Payton, Kate, both of the Kristins, Betty, Li, Jessica, Jeff, Tom, Jelena, Yessica, Steve, and Kim), Leslie Pelch of Delaney Meeting & Event Management, and members of all of the standing and ad-hoc committees. Their hard work led to several notable achievements:
- In response to membership needs, a new Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity Committee was formed to identify ways of increasing representation among our members. Led by Kristin Byrd with input from a large number of people (Nathan Alexander, Shyam Thomas, Xavier Haro-Carrión, Falk Huettmann, Georgina Sanchez, Kristin Brazunias, Li An, Dave Bell, Kusum Naithani, Miguel Villarreal, Sophie Taddeo, Kelly Green Guilbeau, Yessica Rico, Yolanda Wiersma, and Sandra Haire), this committee solicited member feedback and developed a statement of diversity, equity, and inclusion that was codified into a thoughtful and thorough five-year Strategic Plan. We have already started implementing action items in this Plan.
- Members of the EID and Communications Committees are putting the final touches on an Ambassador Program to help promote membership in IALE-North America.
- A mentorship program was developed and implemented, pairing students and early career professionals with seasoned landscape ecologists.
- Conference accessibility was increased by providing content in multiple languages and by additional financial support for attendance from non-US students and from members of traditionally underrepresented groups.
- A small grants program is being developed to financially support research in landscape ecology conducted by students and early career professionals.
All of these efforts will continue to positively affect us far into the future. I am so proud of this organization; thank you all for giving me the opportunity to serve as its President.
Sincerely,
Nancy McIntyre
President Emeritus, IALE-North America
Department of Biological Sciences
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, TX 79409-3131 USA
nancy.mcintyre@ttu.edu
April 2022 |