Congratulations to the members of the Entomological Society of America recently elected to volunteer positions beginning in November 2023. The electronic ballot period for members began July 17 and was completed August 16. Below, the candidates elected to positions within the Society and several ESA Sections and Branches are listed.
All elected candidates begin their roles upon the completion of Entomology 2023, November 5-8, in National Harbor, Maryland.
ESA members also elected two new Honorary Members during the election period.
Click below to see the elected candidates for:
- ESA Society Elections
- Medical, Urban, and Veterinary Entomology (MUVE) Section Elections
- Physiology, Biochemistry, & Toxicology (PBT) Section Elections
- Plant-Insect Ecosystems (P-IE) Section Elections
- Systematics, Evolution, & Biodiversity (SysEB) Section Elections
- International Branch Elections
- North Central Branch Elections
ESA Society Elections
ESA Vice President-Elect
Melissa Willrich Siebert
Corteva Agriscience
Bio: Melissa Willrich Siebert, Ph.D., is development leader for insecticides at Corteva Agriscience. She earned degrees from Texas A&M University (B.S.) and Louisiana State University (M.S. and Ph.D.) in entomology. Since 2004, Melissa has provided leadership for the development of insecticide and trait technologies, including Isoclast, spinosyns, pyraxalt, Widestrike cotton, and SmartStax corn. Her impacts have ranged from serving as an independent biology research contributor, leading teams as a project manager toward product launches, and leading a global team of project managers and discovery biologists to organizational design to meet scientific and operational excellence. Melissa received the ESA P-IE Section Recognition Award in Entomology in 2020 and has been an ESA member for 24 years.
Past ESA activity or other volunteer service: Melissa is a consistent volunteer leader. She served as 2017 P-IE President, guiding the influential "Science Policy Field Tour on Pollinator Health" and catalyzing four more tours. She previously served as chair, ESA Publications Council; subject editor, Journal Integrated Pest Management; P-IE secretary; and president, Mississippi Entomolgical Association. As Governing Board Representative, she served the Ethics & Rules Committee, modernizing and advancing Society policy; served on a team to clarify and simplify the Fellows nomination process; chaired the Leadership Development Committee, a notable impact being webinars executed to increase volunteer leaders; and currently serves on the Awards & Honors Committee. Melissa has served as associate editor, Journal of Cotton Science. She currently chairs a global IRAC working group.
Candidate statement: As a volunteer leader, I have recognized the power of ESA members in shaping the strategy and overall success our Society enjoys today—core strengths exemplified in meeting execution, publications, members, science policy. Furthermore, I believe ESA has a key role, as an organizational platform and through its talented membership, for addressing entomology-related issues and grand challenges in science. As such, I am passionate about our Society continually assessing and responding to member needs as our science changes, ensuring that we have a strong culture of inclusiveness where all current and future member talents are welcomed and embraced, and invigorating a strong opportunity for volunteer leadership.
ESA Vice President-Elect Statement: If elected, I am committed to ESA's mission of serving the professional and scientific needs of entomologists and related disciplines. A strong ESA platform, for its scientists and the science, is needed to solve the numerous global challenges that intersect with entomology: vector-borne diseases, food security, climate change, and biodiversity. To be well-positioned for the future, ESA must maintain publications, meetings, and membership as key areas of focus. I am in support of routinely assessing these core strengths to ensure member needs are met and that they are adapted to meet contemporary trends, with fiscal stewardship fully considered. To fully support these core strengths, ESA should continue to explore new innovative approaches to generating revenue, including continued participation in federal-funded programming and growing ESA certification programs. Programming and activities that will increase retention of our student and ECP membership and underrepresented groups within the field of entomology needs to be a priority. An adjacent core strength of ESA is our influence in Science Policy and Grand Challenges. I am passionate about the active role our members can take in these initiatives, using the platform of ESA to influence key issues on which our membership are leading experts. I am excited as well about the opportunity, if elected, to shape and execute upon ESA's new Strategic Plan, with focuses on maximizing knowledge sharing increasing awareness and visibility of entomology—all key features that will enable a strong ESA for the next decade.
Medical, Urban, and Veterinary Entomology (MUVE) Section Elections
MUVE Section Vice President-Elect
Alexander Ko
Envu
Bio: Alexander Ko received his Ph.D. in entomology from North Carolina State University in 2016. He was a regional technical manager for McCloud Pest Control Services in the Chicagoland region before joining Envu (formerly Bayer) as a product development manager and senior scientist. Currently, Alex manages the development of new products from concept to launch for the pest management industry, ranging from traditional baits, dust, and sprays to novel and innovative technologies. His experience and involvement in professional pest management have given him a unique position in understanding the problems the urban pest management industry faces and the potential solutions that could be created to solve them.
Past ESA activity or other volunteer service: As an active member of the ESA, Alex regularly presents research at the MUVE Sections at Annual Meetings and gives training presentations for pest management professionals (PMPs). Besides publishing research on bed bugs and ants, Alex has also authored numerous research publications on German cockroaches and has reviewed several book chapters for Biology and Management of the German Cockroach as well as the Mallis Handbook for Pest Control. Alex regularly contributes articles to PMP and PCT magazines for PMPs and presented the Highlights in Urban Entomology in 2020. Alex is also passionate about using technology in the pest management industry and has coded entomology mobile apps for the public.
Candidate statement: I am interested to serve the MUVE community in a new and more involved way, beyond research publications and presentations. My diverse experiences enable me to advocate effectively for academia, pest management professionals, and manufacturers. My primary objective in assuming this role would be to ensure the smooth operation of the MUVE Section. Additionally, I would like to further develop collaboration and communication among the diverse participants in MUVE. The values that I bring to the MUVE Section are integrity, collaboration, and innovation.
MUVE Section Treasurer
Sudip Gaire
Central Life Sciences
Bio: Dr. Sudip Gaire is a product development specialist and entomologist at Central Life Sciences (CLS), Dallas, Texas. He manages research projects from early to late stages for developing insecticides against urban, livestock, and public health pests. Prior to joining CLS, he was a postdoc in urban pest management at the University of Kentucky. He earned his Ph.D. in urban entomology from Purdue University (2020), his M.S. in urban entomology from New Mexico State University (2016), and his B.S. in agriculture from Tribhuvan University (2013). He has been an active member of ESA and MUVE since 2015. His research has been acknowledged through publications in peer-reviewed journals and press releases, and his accomplishments have been recognized through multiple national-level awards.
Past ESA activity or other volunteer service: Dr. Sudip Gaire has served in leadership roles in various professional and community organizations, such as the MUVE Diversity and Inclusion Subcommittee (member), ESA North Central Branch Early Career Professionals Committee (vice chair), Society of Overseas Nepalese Entomologists (award chair, president, president-elect, secretary, treasurer), Purdue University Entomology Graduate Student Organization (vice president, treasurer) and the ESA Diversity and Inclusion Committee (member). Additionally, he has organized various symposia at ESA, emphasizing insect pest management, and acted as a judge in several student competitions, such as MUVE oral and poster sessions. In addition, he has held executive positions in many community-based groups, such as the Purdue Nepali Students Society (president, treasurer).
Candidate statement: I am a proud member of the ESA MUVE Section and passionate about giving back to the community. Through my participation on the MUVE Section executive committee, I will keep working to foster an outstanding scientific community based on mentoring, support, tolerance, and respect for one another at all levels. With my prior experiences in a variety of leadership positions, including treasurer, I am confident in my ability to monitor the MUVE Section treasury, assist in budgeting, and keep accurate records of expenses, ensuring our Section remains fiscally responsible.
Physiology, Biochemistry, & Toxicology (PBT) Section Elections
PBT Section Representative to the ESA Governing Board
Richard Mankin
USDA-ARS Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology
Bio: Richard Mankin is a research entomologist at the USDA-ARS Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology. His research focusing on detection and management of hidden infestations of insects in stored products, soil, and trees has led to 126 peer-reviewed articles and patents on insect physiology, behavior, and pest management. He has served as PBT representative to Editorial Board for the Journal of Economic Entomology (2001-2005) and Annals of the Entomological Society of America (2008-2012) and on the Books and Media Reviews Editorial Board (2009-2012). He has served as a subject editor for PLOS ONE (since 2015), Insects (since 2020), and Florida Entomologist (since 2020) and as a reviewer of 50 or more manuscripts yearly over the last decade.
Past ESA activity or other volunteer service: Richard Mankin has served as PBT representative to the ESA Governing Board since 2020 and is a member on the Finance Committee. The Board supports efforts to maintain high-quality journals and Annual Meetings, ensure sound risk-management policies, and organize future ESA innovations. Richard served PBT previously in roles as Section treasurer and president and has supported student activities, educational outreach, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives during 45 years as an ESA member. He has presented in Acoustical Society of America and AAAS symposia and has served as president and webmaster of the Florida Entomological Society and president of the Foundation for Science and Disability.
Candidate statement: It's been an honor serving as on the Governing Board during a challenging pandemic in which ESA continued Annual Meetings and supported scientific achievement. The Board has supported early career entomologists and now is considering a new section for Formal and Informal Teaching for members primarily involved in teaching activities. If re-elected, I plan to cooperate with other ESA members, the PBT Section, and the Governing Board to continue progress in DEI initiatives and address potential changes in the fiscal climate, changes in patterns of publication and manuscript reviews, and positive and negative effects of artificial intelligence on ESA activities, as well as potential effects of global climate change and decreasing insect biodiversity on agriculture.
PBT Section Vice President-Elect
Ana M. Vélez
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Bio: Ana Vélez is an associate professor in insect toxicology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). She was born in Medellín, Colombia, and has a B.S. in biology from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, an M.S. in entomology from Universidad Nacional de Colombia, and a Ph.D. in entomology from UNL. Her research focuses on how insects respond and adapt to chemical stressors but has emphasized RNAi for managing western corn rootworms; she is considered an international expert on the topic. She has obtained $2.7 million in funding, published 49 peer-reviewed articles, given 40 invited national and international talks, and mentored 28 students and postdocs and and holds six RNAi patents. She is also passionate about mentoring and student mental health. Over the last four years, she has incorporated mindfulness in classes and mentoring to help students manage stress.
Past ESA activity or other volunteer service: Ana Vélez has been actively involved at ESA since 2014. At the national level she served as ECP Committee chair and vice chair, at the PBT Section as ECP and DEI Committee rep, and at the North Central Branch (NCB) as Executive Committee member-at-large and ECP chair. As ECP chair she coordinated the development and launch of the ECP awards, organized three events, and submitted the first lecturer and honoree female Founders' Memorial Lecture. As part of the NCB Executive Committee, she obtained $35,000 from industry to support the annual meeting and launched the NCB-ECP committee. She has also organized 16 ESA symposia and is a subject editor for Environmental Entomology. At UNL, she has served in the Association for Women in Science committee and the Institute of Natural Resources DEI Advisory Group and is currently a DEI Fellow designing resources for integrating DEI in research.
Candidate statement: Over the last decade, my service has focused on committees and initiatives that improve the status of minorities. As PBT VP-elect, my first goal will be to implement some of the initiatives I have learned from previous roles aimed at improving equity and inclusion. I will do this by offering a webinar series on creating inclusive and equitable research teams. My second goal will be to continue the reinvigoration of the Section of the last years by gathering members' feedback to determine what is being done well, what can be done better, and potential new directions. My final goal will be to find resources to develop a mini-grant program to support new ideas or research directions for students and ECPs. My inspiration for service comes from the idea of leaving every place better than when you arrived, and that is what I would like to do with PBT if elected.
PBT Section Treasurer
Kris Silver
Kansas State University
Bio: Dr. Silver is an associate professor and director of the Integrated Molecular Entomology Core Laboratory in the Department of Entomology at Kansas State University. He received his Ph.D. from Cornell University in 2005 and completed several post-doctoral positions. Dr. Silver has been part of the Department of Entomology at K-State since 2016 and was promoted to associate professor in 2022. His research interests are in molecular entomology and toxicology, RNA interference, and the effects of pathogen infection on vector physiology. His full publication record can be found at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/1VwC3jpkz_6sCm/bibliography/public/.
Past ESA activity or other volunteer service: Kris Silver has been a member of ESA and PBT since 2016. He has served as PBT treasurer for the past three years and volunteered consistently as a student competition judge at the ESA Annual Meetings.
Candidate statement: I have served as treasurer of PBT for the past three years and look forward to helping shape the course of the PBT Section over the next three.
Early-Career Representative to the PBT Section Governing Council
Caixing Xiong
Texas A&M University
Bio: Caixing received her doctoral degree in entomology from Texas A&M University in 2020, her master's degree in entomology from Auburn University in 2016, and her bachelor's degree from China Agricultural University. She works as an assistant research scientist at Texas A&M University. She has a broad research interest in insect behavior, physiology, endocrinology, neurobiology, and IPM of important agricultural pests. She received an ESA John Henry Comstock Graduate Student Award in 2021. She has authored and co-authored 10 peer-reviewed publications in top entomological journals such as Pest Management Science and Current Opinion in Insect Science.
Past ESA activity or other volunteer service: Caixing is an active ESA member and a PBT member since 2016. She is a third-year early career member. She has participated in six ESA meetings and presented in ESA Annual Meetings five times, two of which were in PBT Section symposia. She is the co-author of three other ESA presentations. She participated in the ESA Professional Advancement Career Training program in 2022-2023. She volunteered at the 2019 St. Louis ESA Annual Meeting to coordinate presentation uploads. She is an organizer and subcommittee member for career development and mentoring for the 2023 Intersections Science Fellows Symposium. She served as a board member of Aggie Women in Entomology (2020-2021).
Candidate statement: As an enthusiastic and dedicated early career professional, I am eager to represent the needs and aspirations of this vibrant community. I understand the unique challenge and opportunities that early career professionals faced. My vision for this role is to advocate for the concerns and interests of the group, to foster mentorship and support, to facilitate professional development, and to promote collaboration and networking. I have rich experiences in organizing and participating professional skill development workshops and symposiums for early professionals. I am committed to being a dedicated representative and will ensure the voice of early professionals are heard in the PBT Section Governing Council and ESA at large.
Plant-Insect Ecosystems (P-IE) Section Elections
P-IE Section Vice President-Elect
Lauren Diepenbrock
UF/IFAS Citrus Research and Education Center
Bio: Lauren Diepenbrock completed her Ph.D. at the University of Missouri studying insect ecology, completed a postdoc at North Carolina State University working on IPM for spotted wing drosophila, and is now a faculty member at the University of Florida. During this time, she has been active at the national level and regional levels in supporting the activities of ESA (see service section). Dr. Diepenbrock has a history of leadership to our profession and has been recognized for her efforts in extension and research through regional and national awards, including the ESA ECP Extension Award and the Southern IPM Center's Friends of IPM Future Leader Award. At UF, she is the lead for Citrus Entomology IPM, working with faculty, extension agents, and growers to ensure that IPM research and programming is meeting the needs of a diverse clientele.
Past ESA activity or other volunteer service: Dr. Diepenbrock served on the ESA Science Policy Committee for seven years. During this time, she worked on policy statements, helped develop infographics, and most importantly had a voice in shaping the future of ESA with regard to our voice in policy issues. While not formally involved in the committee, Diepenbrock remains interested and engaged in science policy and knows the importance of our voices in supporting the issues we care about. Lauren has become more involved in P-IE in the past few years, attending the 2018 Invasive Species Tour and now preparing to co-host the 2023 tour. Diepenbrock is in her second year serving on the Leadership Development Committee and actively supporting others to volunteer and help shape our Society!
Candidate statement: If selected for this role, I hope to strengthen the sense of belonging for all our members in the P-IE Section and challenge them to forge new outlets for our Section's goals. The P-IE Section has been working toward a more inclusive environment for years, and you can see it now in the number of business-meeting participants. As we continue to grow, this inclusive atmosphere encourages members to be more engaged in our initiatives. Field tours have been an important addition to our section, and I would like to see more member-driven initiatives like these. The tours discuss important topics while providing opportunities for interactions that many of us would never have had. During the 2018 tour, I spent days discussing issues with new colleagues, and now several are collaborators. I want to provide similar opportunities for ESA members in the future.
P-IE Section Treasurer
Timothy Nowatzki
Corteva Agriscience
Bio: Dr. Tim Nowatzki is a research entomologist and laureate with Corteva Agriscience and is presently a global biology leader in the biotechnology group. Tim obtained his B.S. in crop and weed science (1993) and M.S. in entomology (1996) from North Dakota State University. Tim completed his Ph.D. in entomology at Iowa State University (2001) and a postdoc at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (2003) where his research focused on the biology and management of corn rootworms. Tim joined DuPont Pioneer (2003) in Johnston, Iowa, where his roles within research and development have been the characterization, development, and technical support of traits for above- and below-ground insect control.
Past ESA activity or other volunteer service: Tim has been a member of ESA since 1995 and is an accredited Board Certified Entomologist. As a member of ESA, he regularly presents or co-authors research results at ESA national and Branch meetings and has published several articles in ESA journals. Tim has volunteered numerous times to judge ESA student competition paper and poster sessions at both the national and Branch meetings. Leadership roles within ESA have included chair (1998-99) and vice chair (1997-98) of the North Central Branch Student Affairs Committee. Tim is a member of the Certified Entomologists of Mid-America (2013) and has been treasurer since 2017. Currently, Tim is serving as acting P-IE treasurer.
Candidate statement: Currently, I have been acting P-IE treasurer since February 2023 and would very much like to continue serving in this role for another term to help create innovative learning and development opportunities for P-IE membership.
Systematics, Evolution, & Biodiversity (SysEB) Section Elections
SysEB Section Representative to the ESA Governing Board
Andrew Short
University of Florida
Bio: Dr. Short is professor and chair of the Department of Entomology and Nematology at the University of Florida. Dr. Short received his Ph.D. in entomology from Cornell University in 2007, subsequently joining the faculty at the University of Kansas as a curator of entomology until moving to UF in 2023. His research centers on the taxonomy and evolutionary biology of aquatic beetles, as well as the biogeography of South America. He has published more than 120 papers in this field and participated in more than 40 expeditions to survey aquatic insects across the Neotropical region. He has taught a variety of courses in entomology and biodiversity monitoring.
Past ESA activity or other volunteer service: An active member of ESA for more than 25 years, Dr. Short is finishing his first term on the Governing Board as the SysEB representative, where he currently also serves on the Board's Executive Committee. He has previously served as president of SysEB, chair of the SysEB Awards Committee, co-coordinator of the LGBTQ+ mixer at the Annual Meeting, Board liaison to the Early Career Professionals Committee, and at-large member of the ESA Publications Council. Dr. Short also serves on the Taxonomic Certification Committee for the Society for Freshwater Science. He has previously served on the board of directors for the Natural Science Collections Alliance and the Coleopterists Society.
Candidate statement: I have found my first term on the Governing Board representing SysEB to be extremely rewarding and productive. Should I have the privilege serve a second term, I would continue to focus on (1) Providing the board with perspectives and expertise from the fields of Systematics, Evolution, and Biodiversity. With growing concerns about global insect declines, it is critical that our Society continue to engage on the science and policy around biodiversity; (2) Working to ensure that ESA and entomology more broadly are welcoming to all and representative of our modern society. Our Society has made great progress in creating a culture of belonging, and I am committed to continuing that progress; and (3) Helping the Society navigate a dynamic fiscal climate. ESA is financially healthy, and continued vigilance will ensure this remains true moving forward.
SysEB Section Vice President-Elect
Jessica P. Gillung
McGill University
Bio: Jessica is an assistant professor at McGill University, where she also serves as the director of the Lyman Entomological Museum. Brazilian-born and raised, Jessica received her bachelor's and master's degrees from the Federal University of Paraná and University of Sao Paulo, respectively. She completed her Ph.D. at the University of California, Davis, in 2018, and she subsequently worked as a postdoctoral associate at Cornell University. Her research program combines field work, morphology, DNA sequence data, bioinformatics, and comparative methods to unravel the evolution of insects and elucidate their patterns of diversification, encompassing multiple taxonomic rankings, from species to higher-level relationships.
Past ESA activity or other volunteer service: Jessica joined ESA as a student member in 2014, and she has been actively involved in the Society since then. She has presented her research at most Annual Meetings, and she serves as subject editor for Insect Systematics and Diversity. She participated in the UC Davis Entomology Games team in 2015–2016, winning four times. Her leadership roles within ESA include co-organizing career fairs at Pacific Branch Meetings, serving in vendor tables for the UC Davis Graduate Student Association, participating in elevator-pitch competitions, and serving as judge for the Pacific Branch awards. She also serves as associate editor for Ecology and Evolution, as director-at-large for the Entomological Society of Canada, and as member of the board of directors of the North American Dipterists Society.
Candidate statement: I am extremely motivated to serve the ESA as SysEB VP-Elect, not only to strengthen my own connections and promote insect systematics but also to support the upcoming generations of entomologists. I recognize the challenges underrepresented groups in higher education face, and I look forward to serving the diverse SysEB community. My commitment to fostering equity, diversity, and inclusion is informed by my personal experiences as a Latina woman, a first-generation college and graduate student, and an international scholar living in North America. As VP-elect, I plan to contribute to and develop strategies to increase inclusion and accessibility, boost student and community engagement, and empower people from underrepresented groups in systematics and entomology.
SysEB Section Treasurer
Will Kuhn
Discover Life in America
Bio: Dr. Will Kuhn is an entomologist and aspiring naturalist. Kuhn earned his bachelor's degree in biology at University of Texas, Austin, and his master's in entomology at Virginia Tech. For his Ph.D. at Rutgers University, Newark, he developed machine learning-based image classification for dragonflies and damselflies. He received an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in biology to extend these methods and also served as senior personnel on an NSF Advancing Biological Infrastructure grant, which stemmed in part from his dissertation work. In 2018, he began as director of science and research with Discover Life in America, a nonprofit seeking to catalog every living species in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Past ESA activity or other volunteer service: Over his roughly 15 years as an ESA member, Kuhn has presented nearly every year, he's co-organized two symposia (2013 and 2021) and a workshop (2018) at ESA Annual Meetings, co-organized an Eastern Branch Meeting symposium (2019), and is co-organizing another symposium at this year's Annual Meeting. He served as the SysEB representative on the Early Career Professionals Committee from 2016 to 2019. This year he has thoroughly enjoyed mentoring a budding entomologist under the EntoMentos program. He received a SysEB travel grant in 2014. He has also served as webmaster for the Worldwide Dragonfly Association since 2017 and co-organized the 2019 International Congress of Odonatology in Austin with that organization.
Candidate statement: I am excited for the opportunity to give back to ESA, a society that has been an integral part of my academic upbringing and whose meetings are a deep source of fulfillment and enjoyment. As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, I've been heartened to see the actions that ESA staff and leadership have taken to create a welcoming and encouraging environment for its diverse membership. As an ECP Committee member, I enjoyed being part of ESA's mission to nurture students and early-career professionals. If given the chance, I would love to once again be a part of ESA's forward momentum to continue to build a better society that grows and nourishes happy, healthy, world-changing entomologists!
SysEB Section Representative to the ESA Publications Council
Phil Barden
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Bio: Phil is an associate professor at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and an evolutionary biologist interested in eusocial arthropods and the social insect fossil record. He received a bachelor's degree from Arizona State University and his Ph.D. from the American Museum of Natural History, and he completed a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellowship at Rutgers University. His work centers around understanding patterns of diversity, ecological impact, and the evolution of complex behavior using a blend of morphological, paleontological, and genomic methods. To ask questions with a deep-time perspective, his lab is primarily focused on ants and their fossil record as systems for testing concepts related to extinction and ecological turnover.
Past ESA activity or other volunteer service: Phil currently serves as the SysEB representative to the Publications Council, elected to the position in 2019. In 2020, he was appointed by Jessica Ware as a co-chair to the Annual Meeting Program Committee; as part of this appointment, he has assisted in organizing the 2021, 2022, and 2023 Annual Meetings. Prior to joining the Publications Council, Phil was a member of the Journal of Insect Science Editorial Board from 2017 to 2019. As an ESA member since 2010, Phil has also volunteered as a session moderator, student competition judge, and panel contributor during Annual Meetings. He currently serves as an editor at PLOS ONE and has peer reviewed for over 40 journals.
Candidate statement: I currently serve as Publications Council representative and, if elected, I would continue into a second and final term. Over the course of my current term, two issues emerged as especially pressing in my view. First is ensuring that we members feel empowered to contribute to and shape ESA's nine journals—this includes helping authors and readers feel welcome, recruiting and retaining diverse editors, and helping to make the publication process as transparent as possible. Second is navigating the future of open access as the publishing landscape changes rapidly before us. If reelected, these would be my core focus. More important than my own perspective, though, I hope to hear from membership to make sure our journals reflect our ambitions for our Society. Thank you for considering my nomination.
Early-Career Representative to the SysEB Section Governing Council
Emily L. Sandall
AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow at USDA Foreign Agricultural Service
Bio: Emily's passion for natural history was kindled during her childhood on her parents' farm in central Illinois, and she found passion in insect biodiversity in the Frost Entomological Museum at Penn State University. She earned her bachelor's degree in biology from Loyola University Chicago in 2013 as the first person in her family to go to college and then earned her Ph.D. in entomology from Penn State University in 2020. Emily then continued her research in dragonfly biogeography as a postdoctoral research associate in the Yale Center for Biodiversity and Global Change. She is currently a 2022-2023 AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow, placed as a science advisor on biodiversity-related issues in the Office of Trade Policy & Geographic Affairs at the Foreign Agricultural Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Past ESA activity or other volunteer service: Emily has been a member of ESA since 2015, serving as the SysEB representative to the Early Career Professionals Committee since 2020. On the ECP Committee, she serves as a coordinator for the Entomology Today Standout ECP Series and on the social media committee. Within ESA, she additionally serves on the Insect Biodiversity Task Force and has participated as a judge for the student competition of the annual meeting, evaluated symposia, and awards. She has also held roles on the social media committee of the World Dragonfly Association and has been actively involved in public engagement and outreach opportunities, particularly during her Ph.D. at Penn State University. She has been an instructor at Art & Science in the Woods, a day camp for youth in central Illinois that provides programming in an engaging outdoor setting, as well as an instructor at a natural history summer camp at Penn State.
Candidate statement: I am interested in continuing my time as the Early Career Professional representative to the SysEB Governing Council. As someone with a rural background and a non-academic career, I am especially eager to continue advocating for diverse programming and training opportunities for early-career entomologists and ensuring that insect biodiversity is prioritized in not only ESA but also other entomological research, training, and application opportunities. I see great value in preparing entomologists broadly because there are so many arenas in which they can contribute to how we study and care for the natural world. I greatly value scientific integrity, ethics, accountability, and holistic thinking—at the institutional, policy, and societal level.
Student Representative to the SysEB Section Governing Council
Judicaël Fomekong Lontchi
Brigham Young University
Bio: Judicael is a student from Cameroon. He holds a master's degree in zoology (specializing in entomology) from the University of Yaoundé 1 (Cameroon) and is currently doing a Ph.D. at Brigham Young University, in Provo, Utah. His research interests include taxonomy, morphology, and ecology of Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies). His current research project will contribute in the ongoing effort to infer the relationships between dragonfly species and identify the drivers of the diversification process in Odonata. His research experience also includes understanding how dragonflies' communities respond to disturbances to their habitats in the Congo Basin Forest and determining which species could be used as reliable bioindicators of the health status of freshwater ecosystems in Africa.
Past ESA activity or other volunteer service: As a member of ESA, Judicael attended his first ESA meeting in Denver in 2021. He was recently a participant in ESA's Professional Advancement Career Training, which aimed at equipping mentees with the tools to make them future leaders. Before ESA, he was a member-at-large in the Education and Student Affairs Committee of the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) where he actively contributed in finding initiatives to increase students' membership and their participation in SCB's activities. He currently serves on the policy committee of the Africa Section of the SCB where, with other team members, they edit and validate all the policy statements for which the authors need an endorsement from the board.
Candidate statement: I am running for student representative because I want to contribute to our Society, which has benefited me in so many ways in just the couple of years for which I have been a member. As someone who has served on other committees, I believe I have a lot to share, and I look forward to bringing my experience to serve the students I will represent. If chosen, I will work to learn from the leaders in the Governing Council and all other sources available to represent this role to the best of my ability.
International Branch Elections
International Branch President-Elect
Véronique Martel
Natural Resources Canada
Bio: Dr. Véronique Martel has a M.Sc. (2003) and Ph.D. (2007) in entomology from McGill University. She then undertook two postdocs in Europe: Sweden (2007-2009) and France (2009-2011). She started as a research scientist for Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) in Québec in 2011, where she works on the ecology of forest pest insects and their parasitoids. She has received several awards for her research and her involvement in public outreach: the young researcher Léon-Provancher Award from the Entomological Society of Quebec, three recognition awards from the Canadian Forest Service, two recognition awards from NRCan; a service award from the Entomological Society of Canada, and two awards for excellence and leadership in Official Languages.
Past ESA activity or other volunteer service: Véronique has always been involved with societies. At the regional level (Entomological Society of Quebec), she has been the registrar (2012), vice president (2013), president (2014) and past president (2015). She also co-chaired the organizing committees of three annual meetings. At the national level (Entomological Society of Canada), she has been chair of the Bilingualism Committee (since 2005) and the Publication Committee (since 2021) and director-at-large (2015-18) and subject editor of The Canadian Entomologist (since 2012). For ESA, she has served as the International Branch secretary since 2020, being involved in different activities including chairing sessions for the Virtual Symposium. She is also a subject editor for the Journal of Economic Entomology.
Candidate statement: After almost three years on the governing board of the International Branch, I now have a good understanding on the Branch's objectives and business and would like to be able to do more for the members. The International Branch can make a difference for entomologists all around the world by allowing them to connect and network with their colleagues, without the need to travel, giving equal opportunities to share their research. It is thus important to keep the Branch active and visible to all members and also to non-member entomologists. If I am elected, I will try to keep the Branch vibrant and try to recruit new international members.
International Branch Secretary
Tania Zaviezo
Universidad Católica de Chile
Bio: Tania Zaviezo, Ph.D., earned a degree in agricultural sciences at Universidad Católica de Chile and a Ph.D. in entomology at the University of California, Berkeley. Currently she is a full professor at Universidad Católica de Chile. Her areas of interest are IPM and biological control. Her main research question is how biodiversity at different levels, from populations to landscape, influences biological control success. Also, she works in the use of pheromones for pest management, particularly in mealybugs. Additionally, she has worked in invasion biology and the use of citizen science to track invasive species. Most of her research includes collaborators from around the world.
Past ESA activity or other volunteer service: In her institution, Tania has volunteered for several University-wide committees, including Women in Academics, New Regulations for Failing Students, and General Education Curriculum among others. She organized the 4th International Symposium in Biological Control of Arthropods in Pucón, Chile, in 2013, and has served as part of the scientific committee for most of the meeting series since 2009. She also joined the international expert panel for the work on Environmental Risk Assessment of Generalist Arthropod Biological Control Agents carried out in 2018-2019.
Candidate statement: My interest for serving in this volunteer position is to foster new relations with the international entomological community and help in the inclusion of scientists from the Global South into international networks. I am also very grateful for the help I have received from volunteers in the past, and this is an opportunity to give back.
International Branch Early Career Professional Member-at-Large
Pauline Deschodt
Simon Fraser University
Bio: Pauline Deschodt is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Simon Fraser University. For her Ph.D., she studied pathogen interactions in the cabbage looper. As a postdoc, she continues to investigate the effects of mixed pathogen infections within a single host as well as the role of the gut microbiome in insect susceptibility to baculoviruses. Pauline obtained her master's degree in France, with a focus on plant protection and biological control. She worked on the olive fruit fly parasitoid at the European Biological Control Laboratory and studied beneficial arthropods in apple orchards analyzing the dispersal abilities of insect predators. Besides her research, Pauline is an active member of her department at Simon Fraser University. In 2020, she co-organized the Canadian Entomology, Ecology and Evolution seminar series with Dr. Paul Abram.
Past ESA activity or other volunteer service: Since she started her Ph.D. in Vancouver in 2015, Pauline has been involved in a few societies within British Columbia and internationally. From 2016 to 2018, she was the graduate student representative for the Professional Pest Management Association of British Columbia and again from 2019 to 2021. From 2018 to 2020, Pauline was also the student representative for the microbial division of the Society for Invertebrate Pathology. At Simon Fraser University, Pauline stayed involved in the biological sciences department, first by serving in a graduate student representative role on the scholarship committee (2016-2018), then by becoming the chair of the graduate caucus (2018-2019). Outside of the university, Pauline has been a volunteer judge for the annual Regional Science Fair since 2017.
Candidate statement: Being an active member of the entomological societies is being part of a community and that was an integrative part of my growth as an entomologist. I am a candidate for the Early Career Professional position because, as a freshly graduated Ph.D., it is particularly important to remain connected with my peers. I am at a stage in my career that enables me to be an intermediate between grad students and senior researchers. This position is also a great opportunity to better understand how the International Branch can guide junior entomologists all over the world. My experience as an international graduate student in Canada enables me to better understand the needs of both international graduate students and early career scientists. I would be honoured to be part of the International Branch of the ESA and help support the diversity of entomologists in the Society.
North Central Branch Elections
NCB Representative to the ESA Governing Board
Mary Gardiner
Ohio State University
Bio: Dr. Mary M. Gardiner received her Ph.D. in entomology from Michigan State University in 2008. She is a professor in the Department of Entomology at Ohio State University and co-director of the environmental science graduate program. Her research program focuses on the ecology and conservation value of urban greenspace, with a focus on vacant land. Mary is also a state specialist in extension whose programming focuses on managing urban habitats to support insect conservation. Toward this aim, she released a book titled Good Garden Bugs: Everything You Need to Know about Beneficial Predatory Insects in 2015. Mary currently advises five Ph.D. students and one M.S. student. She teaches graduate courses in presentation skills and grant writing.
Past ESA activity or other volunteer service: ESA North Central Branch past president (2022-2023), president (2021-2022), president-elect (2020-2021), and local arrangements chair (2016). Environmental Entomology subject editor (2013-2015) and associate editor (2010-2013).
Candidate statement: Membership in the Entomological Society of America has facilitated many of my career successes. Our organization provided me with opportunities to network and land job opportunities, build research and extension collaborations, present and publish, and be supported by so many mentors and friends. In prior service to the North Central Branch, I organized workshops and symposia to provide graduate students and early career professionals with skills to advance their speaking and writing skills, expand their research toolbox, and build their professional network. If elected to this new role, I aim to work with the Governing Board to identify unmet professional development needs of current and future members and seek ways for ESA support their growth in all aspects of our scientific discipline.