September 23, 2021
The ESA Governing Board meets at least four times per year to discuss strategic initiatives, oversee the work of staff and volunteers, and advance new ideas to benefit the Society. A summary of activities is published after each meeting to inform members about board activities and decisions.
The Governing Board met via video conference on September 23, 2021. During the meeting, the Board took the following actions:
- Passed a motion to engage Branches via listening sessions in 2022 regarding regional member needs.
- Passed a motion to create a task force to develop a new Honorary Membership rubric by December 2021.
- Approved the investment of up to $100,000 from strategic reserves to secure financial analysis and recommendation on an emergent business opportunity.
- Adopted a set of guiding principles for participation in future board meetings.
- Approved the appointments of new co-editors-in-chief of Insect Systematics and Diversity, to begin four-year terms on January 1, 2022.
- Approved a motion to adopt the common name “black fig fly” for Silba adipata McAlpine.
- Approved the July 29 and August 26 Executive Committee meeting minutes and April 23 Governing Board cyber minutes, and updated the March 2021 Governing Board minutes to reflect that the proposed Early Career Professional seat on the board would have a two-year term.
The Board also discussed the following topics:
- Consultants from Mariner Management continued the discussion about how ESA can best serve its members’ regional needs. Mariner outlined a series of recommendations that would increase member engagement while supporting volunteers and leveraging existing content.
- The board heard feedback from the Honorary Member Judging Panel on a series of recommendations that the Honorary Membership Task Force had made on ways to improve the program.
- The board discussed the need to diversify revenue streams in advance of a pending budgetary shortfall. Staff presented a new business opportunity that had previously been reviewed by the Executive Committee.
- Executive Director Chris Stelzig presented a headquarters update, including financial projections for the year, a review of the Strategic Initiatives Department’s primary activities, and a recommendation that ESA’s parliamentary rules be updated. The board agreed to engage the ESA Committee on Ethics and Rules in the parliamentary discussion.
- Director of Meetings and Membership Rosina Romano provided an update on the 2021 Annual Meeting including attendance projections and pandemic-related planning.
- Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Stacie East discussed the $500,000 grant ESA recently received from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and outlined the CDC’s goal of expanding the potential pool of entomologists from minority-serving institutions to help meet the public health entomology workforce needs.
- The board reviewed two recent surveys that analyzed the skills of existing board members. The discussion focused on what attributes would best serve the Society and whether board members should be trained on desired skills or recruited because they possess those skills.
- Director of Finance Neil Willoughby informed the board that some branches have requested ESA headquarters take over bookkeeping responsibilities. A new process is now in place for Branches that wish to take advantage of this streamlining opportunity.
Members with questions about the outcomes from the September 2021 Governing Board meeting can contact ESA Executive Director Chris Stelzig at cstelzig@entsoc.org.
See past news and updates from the ESA Governing Board.
Minutes from past Governing Board meetings are available online following Governing Board approval.
For more info, visit the ESA Governing Board page.