AFS-Management-Comm-Call-7-19-11-Notes

NotesManagement Committee Wayne Hubert, President Bill Fisher, President-elect John Boreman, 1st Vice-president Bob Hughes, 2nd Vice-president absent Don Jackson, Past President Phil Dow

AFS Management Committee Call, July 19, 2011 Notes

Management Committee

Wayne Hubert, President

Bill Fisher, President-elect

John Boreman, 1st Vice-president

Bob Hughes, 2nd Vice-president (absent)

Don Jackson, Past President

Phil Downy, Northeastern Division, President-elect

Randy Schultz, North Central Division, President

Brian Murphy, Southern Division, President-elect

Lori Martin, Western Division, President (absent)

Jesse Trushenski, Fish Culture Section, President (absent)

Joseph Margraf, Fish Habitat Section, President (absent)

Robert Curry, Fisheries Administration Section, President

Ken Beal, Marine Fisheries Section, President (absent)

Ira Adelman, Constitutional Consultant

Gus Rassam, Executive Director (absent)

Mentees/members attending:

None

Call was called to order by President Hubert

Executive Director's Report, Gus Rassam, Executive Director (presented by Wayne Hubert)

1 2011 annual meeting in Seattle There are more than 1,000 people registered to date, a much higher number than in recent years at this time The three hotel blocks are filling Rooms at the government rates are still available The trade show will be very large: 97 booths (79 are paid); 7 are provided to large donors This exceeds all previous records

2 2015 annual meeting A proposal was anticipated from the CO-WY Chapter, but will not occur The Colorado Division of Wildlife could not support participation of its personnel in planning for the meeting The Oregon Chapter will be stepping up with a bid Most likely for a location in Portland

3 The audit is almost complete The ED should have the report to the Audit Committee within 2 weeks

4 Sale of AFS interest in the Sullivan Building Negotiations continue The ED is asking for cash plus conversion of lease interest in the Glascock Building to actual ownership

5 Taylor & Francis transition appears to be benefiting AFS Impact factors for

Fisheries, TAFS, NAJFM have all increased Fisheries is the fourth highest ranked

fisheries journal Submissions to the JAAH have increased three fold this year with over 80% of the submission coming from outside of the U.S and Canada A representative of T&F will make a brief presentation to the GB in Seattle

6 The Ed is continuing to develop the USFWS Scholarship Program to enhance

diversity among federal employees This will involve a transfer of funds ($1M each year) from the USFWS to the AFS and TWS to administer the program for 2 years 20%

of this total will go to the societies for administration of the project The AFS and TWS will hire a full time coordinator to handle applications, marketing, and website

development The AFS will receive approximately $35K to cover administrative and staff costs The ED will also get involved with marketing and travel to all AFS division meetings The program will involve scholarships for 90 students annually Selections will be made by a three-person panel in each of the USFWS regions Panels will consist

of a representative from AFS, TWS, and USFWS A document describing the project was provided to President Hubert on Friday, July 15th An agreement has been signed between the AFS and TWS regarding their relative responsibilities A planning meeting

is planned with TWS ED in near future

A request was made that the USFWS Scholarship Program document provided to President Hubert be distributed to the MC for review and comment That

document is attached to the end of these notes Comments may be addressed to President Hubert and Executive Director Rassam via email

Officers' Reports

Wayne Hubert, President

1 Preparations for 2011 Annual Meeting continue Plenary Session agenda is planned Business Meeting agenda is being prepared All awards recipients have been identified and notified Reports for the briefing book for the GB meeting are being submitted Substantial progress by several AFS standing committees has taken place this year The agenda for the GB meeting is in preparation Gretchen Bolton, a representative from the financial management organization that AFS contracts to manage its investments, will make a presentation as part of the ED's financial report The ESAB will be presenting a report on the assessment of the AFS website by contractor, Canton Group The RPC will

be making motions to move policies on lead in sport fishing tackle and the needs for anesthetics/sedatives forward for electronic voting by the AFS membership

2 GB retreat will take place on Friday preceding GB meeting The topic will be

affiliates of AFS How do we create stronger ties of affiliates to the Society? Involves affiliates associated with chapters and with sections

William Fisher, President Elect

1 Preparations for the 2012 Annual Meeting are ramping up Working on identification

of chairs for committees

2 GB retreat in Seattle will focus on affiliate members of chapters and sections

President-elect Fisher provided more detail on the intent of the retreat

John Boreman, First Vice-president

1 The Membership Committee has selected two mentees for the upcoming year: Bradley Ray and Ben Batton Mentors will be Steve Chipps and Brian Murphy

2 Surveys that are part of the Executive Director Succession Planning Process are being planned RFPs are being solicited for two surveys: (1) survey of AFS staff

(approximately 20 people), and (2) survey of AFS partners and stakeholders (options of

25, 50, or 75 contacts) Another survey of GB members will be conducted by AFS Reports on these surveys should be available for presentation to the GB at the annual meeting in Seattle

Don Jackson, Immediate Past-president

1 What is the status of the Native American travel scholarships? President Hubert answered that he did not know and would follow up with inquiry to Executive Director Rassam

Division Representatives

Phil Downey, Northeastern Division, President-elect

1 Planning for the 2012 annual meeting of the division beginning April 18th in

Charleston, WV

2 Southern New England Chapter recently held its summer meeting

3 Atlantic International Chapter has planned its annual meeting for September 2011 near Quebec City

Randy Schultz, North Central Division, President

1 Planning for Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference in December in Des Moines

Brian Murphy, Southern Division, President-elect

1 Planning annual meeting for January 26-29, 2012 in Biloxi, MS

Section Representatives

Bob Curry, Fisheries Administration Section

1 Planning for section meeting in Seattle

Discussion

Management Committee calls agenda, frequency, topics

President Hubert introduced the topic by reminding MC members of the function of the

MC as stated in the AFS Procedures Manual "The Management Committee functions

as an Executive Committee of the Governing Board, monitoring society activities to

ensure that policies and plans approved by the Governing Board are implemented

appropriately and guiding the Executive Director in these endeavors The Management Committee reviews the Executive Director's proposed budget and makes

recommendations for Governing Board approval." He also reminded the MC members of the stated frequency for communications "The Management Committee communicates monthly via conference calls at a time determined by the AFS President to discuss issues and through email as necessary."

Curry: addressed the three concerns Frequency, periodic, but not necessarily monthly Agenda, focus on ED and officers' reports Topics, officers concerns

Murphy: Focus on issues Frequency, schedule monthly, up to the President to cancel if not needed

Adelman: Let conference call be cancelled by President if not necessary

Fisher: Suggested change to Procedures Manual with insertion of "monthly as needed."

Jackson: Suggested change to Procedures Manual with insertion of "monthly or as needed." Went on to make suggested changes an agenda item for upcoming GB

meeting

Hubert: Suggested inclusion in Procedures Manual of a suggested agenda for MC conference calls

Fisher: Officers and ED should set the agenda during preceding officers' calls

Jackson: Need to think about Division and their input regarding issues Ask for agenda items from Division presidents

Schultz: Likes the idea of an agenda More MC members likely to participate

Adelman: Suggested modification of language by one or two officers and presentation to

GB as a motion in the briefing book

Hubert: Asked Fisher and Jackson to draft a motion identifying modifications to present language in AFS Procedures Manual Make draft available for discussion by officers during their August call (August 2, 2011) Will place motion in briefing book

Discussion wandered to bigger questions

Downey: Intertwined problems travel to mid-year meeting, MC calls, and GB size Hubert: Size of the GB voting members: 5 officers, 2 officers from each division, and over 20 section president About 35

Downey: Nonvoting members include ED, Constitutional Consultant, presidents of sections with less than 50 members, and presidents of chapters

Fisher: AFS governing procedures have developed in an ad hoc manner A large issue for the Society

New Business

None

Next Management Committee call will be August 16, 2011 at 1:00 pm Eastern time The discussion topic will be the structure and size of the Governing Board

Call was adjourned by President Hubert

DEVELOPING A SUSTAINABLE INTEGRATED DIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM TO

ENHANCE FEDERAL NATURAL RESOURCE AGENCY EMPLOYMENT

Gus Rassam and Michael Hutchins American Fisheries Society and The Wildlife Society

Introduction

The U.S Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is working cooperatively with the American Fisheries Society (AFS) and The Wildlife Society (TWS) to develop a new scholarship/internship program intended to increase diversity in the Service’s workforce USFWS is concerned about the lack of diversity in its current workforce and

is experimenting with new ways to attract and develop a more diverse population of qualified students into the natural resources fields and into federal service Similarly, both AFS and TWS, have among their priorities the goals of helping to develop the next generation of natural resource professionals and to promote gender and ethnic diversity

in their fields

The Executive Directors and government affairs staff of both organizations met with a USFWS Committee chaired by Bryan Arroyo (Appendix I) for the first time on May 12,

2011 to discuss some of the particulars During that meeting, USFWS leadership expressed a desire to move quickly to implement the program and begin to develop a continuous conduit of new recruits beginning in high school and extending through college undergraduate and graduate training Since some of what we covered went beyond the scope of the original proposal discussed by USFWS and TWS, AFS and TWS were asked to develop a more comprehensive plan (and revised budget) for USFWS consideration In the following outline, we develop a comprehensive, sustainable program for increasing diversity in Federal natural resource agencies, while retaining as

a critical initial core, the original agreement between USFWS and TWS

Core Program Mission

The USFWS seeks to develop a continuous conduit of qualified diversity students from high school to undergraduate to graduate university programs that would be eligible and motivated to seek a career in federal service, and more specifically, with the USFWS This mission is deemed critical due to: (1) the current lack of diversity in the natural resources fields, (2) the coming retirement “tsunami” that could see one-half to three-quarters of current leaders in the field retire within the next decade, and (3) the growing diversity of our nation, which is predicted to become a majority-minority nation within the next 50 years

Method

The USFWS, working with its partners AFS and TWS, intends to develop a scholarship/internship program that would assist selected diversity students in finishing their undergraduate and/or graduate studies and also provide opportunities for “hands-on” summer internships that would help introduce them to careers in USFWS and, more specifically, to natural resources management and conservation Such a program, once fully developed and functioning, will then be marketed by AFS and TWS to other Federal agencies with the aim of building on the core FWS program, enlarge it, and make it sustainable on a long-term basis

Role of AFS and TWS

AFS and TWS will assist the USFWS in the following ways:

1 Flesh out the core program conceptually, working in cooperation with the USFWS committee

2 Develop a mechanism for selecting students, including an application process, criteria for selection, and mechanism for review and selection of qualified candidates (See draft in Appendix II)

3 Develop promotional materials, including a name for the program, a logo, brochures, and a web presence

4 Promote the program with relevant professional and scientific societies, selected colleges and universities and other groups concerned with diversity in the federal workforce (Appendix III)

5 Provide guidance and recommendations for USFWS on the nature of the internships provided for students and the mentoring that will be provided for the student-participants (It is recognized that the type and quality of mentors will

be vital to the success of this program)

6 Inform successful and unsuccessful applicants about the results of the selection process

7 Distribute scholarship funds to the students

8 Develop tools for evaluating the success of the program, using a variety of methods, including participant surveys and a self-updated web site directory for program graduates that will track their future progress

9 Provide the program participants membership in AFS and TWS to demonstrate the value of professional and scientific societies in networking and career development This would also make them eligible to use existing online mentoring programs, career centers and other student member amenities

Role of USFWS

1 Establish a Diversity Program Committee, with regional components, to work with Society partners in establishing the goals of the program, monitor its progress, and evaluate its results

2 The USFWS will assign members to the regional selection committees as they are formed and also identify mentors for the student participants

3 The USFWS will be responsible for developing and implementing the student internship programs based out of regional USFWS offices Pay stipends to the student interns during their internships

4 Provide funding for the program, including the cost of administering and managing the program

Time line of Completion for Core Project (First year)

In order to ensure the timely implementation of the project, we have developed a rough timeline of necessary actions for the first year:

July 2011: Program Coordinator hired by AFS and TWS to assist with various aspects of

program administration and development

August-October 2011: Promotional materials developed.

November 2011: Initial promotion of the program begins with letters/brochures being

sent out to various universities, relevant organizations, web pages developed, etc announcing the program, providing application forms and describing application requirements and selection criteria A joint press release is developed to announce the initiation of the program

September-November 2011: Three person selection committees identified for each

USFWS region

August-November 2011: USFWS begins to identify mentors for summer internships;

conducts training on successful mentoring

December 15 2011: Applications due from students Applications evaluated for

completeness and forwarded to selection committees

January-February 2012: Selection committees review materials and make selections

based on selection criteria

End of February 2012: Successful and unsuccessful applicants names communicated by

selection committees to AFS and TWS

Early March 2012: Letters sent to successful and unsuccessful applicants informing them

of decisions A joint press release is developed to announce the successful applicants

April 2012: Initial scholarship checks sent to successful applicants Regional offices of

USFWS and summer internship mentors develop plans for summer internships

June-August 2012: Students do paid summer internships.

November 2010: Promotional materials disseminated seeking second year applicants

October-November 2012: Administer evaluation survey to participants Assess if any

current participants are interested in pursuing graduate school

December 2012: Write progress report

Conceptual Plan

While the current plan focuses on implementation of the program as originally conceived (i.e., a student scholarship/internship program), AFS and TWS were asked to think a bit bigger and to conceive how the fundamental mission of this program (see above) could be achieved This might involve some “thinking outside the box” and some additional funding There are still some questions to be resolved regarding the best level of students on which to focus our attention

AFS and TWS agree that the program, as originally conceived, should be focused on undergraduate and graduate students Undergraduates, who demonstrate an interest

in natural resources or a related field, could enter the program during their sophomore

or junior years Typically, these would be students who are already pursuing a degree in

an appropriate discipline (ecology, biology, zoology, botany, environmental science, wildlife and fisheries, conservation biology, etc.) During the summer months, when school is not in session, the students would participate in a “hands-on” internship program administered out of a USFWS regional office in the region in which they are studying For example, a student participant at Mississippi State University would participate in an internship organized out of the Atlanta Regional Office, but the student could be stationed at a site and working with a mentor in a Southeast regional national wildlife refuge or work out of the regional office itself These internship experiences must be interesting and actively involve the student in the inner workings of the agency,

including field research, community outreach and team-decision-making When originally selected, each student will be assigned a professional academic mentor who counsels the student on the best use of their scholarship funds and who monitors progress of the student during the scholarship period This mentor is to be distinguished from the internship summer mentors who will monitor the student/intern during their summer internship

Thinking outside the box, AFS and TWS recommend that USFWS:

-consider working with other partners to help engage younger children in thinking about natural resources careers and in fostering an interest in nature This would include Youth in the Great outdoors, 4-H, boy and girl scouts, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, No Kids Left Indoors, Disney and others that have existing youth education programs entered on nature and the environment More specifically, USFWS and AFS and TWS could work together to provide improved fish and wildlife career information

to such groups for dissemination to interested children and families Providing information to high school career counselors and biology teachers would also be important

-consider dropping the number of student participants from 90 to 45 (5 per region)/year and invest more in each student This would make it possible to develop a tiered program, wherein students who successfully complete their undergraduate degree and decide to go onto graduate school in an appropriate natural resources field (and were successful entering a program) would receive further support This kind of graduated approach would provide further incentive for students to stay in school and complete advanced training in an appropriate discipline and would reduce the risk of scholarship students switching to a totally different field

-consider adding attendance to at least one AFS or TWS annual conference to the student participant’s experience during their scholarship/internship program Attending

an AFS or TWS annual conference will provide the students with networking opportunities with professionals in the field, exposure to a wide variety of new concepts and challenges, and connections to the professional community in which they may be working in the future Students could be folded into already existing professional development programs, such as TWS’ Native American Wildlife Student Professional Development Program, which is now being expanded to other underrepresented groups USFWS and other agencies should continue their support of such programs, but begin to integrate them with the new scholarship/internship program

-consider increasing financial support of the program to include expansion of the proven AFS Hutton Program for high school students who are interested in careers in fisheries

to also include wildlife The Hutton program, which provides “hands-on” experiences under the tutelage of fisheries professionals, has been very successful in directing a diverse cadre of students into relevant college programs Expansion into a joint program managed by AFS and TWS and focused on both fisheries and wildlife, could