Resources for members and funding support

The last two areas to review in my plan of work are professional development and partnerships/fundraising. Regarding professional development, we have been discussing this lately and how best to offer ways for our members to gain knowledge at any point in their careers. What we have learned is that what we call this and how it is offered can determine the success of the course and attendance. Continuing Education courses are offered at all levels in AFS with many Chapters and Divisions providing these as part of their annual meetings. They are typically well attended and focused on topics of importance to the region. Continuing Education courses have historically been offered at AFS Annual Meetings on the Saturday and Sunday preceding the meeting and were generally well attended. More recently, Society-wide webinars have been offered throughout the year with many quite popular; most are free to AFS members. In April 2024, AFS convened a group of leaders to explore how to better coordinate educational activities, create a centralized clearinghouse of offerings, identify gaps in opportunities, and develop better collaboration with partners. The final report highlighted several outcomes of importance for the AFS Professional Development Program, including employers prioritizing professional development for their employees, opportunities being accessible to all fisheries professionals, and programs aligning with professional’s needs throughout their careers. The development of a comprehensive online clearinghouse was highlighted as a top priority from this workshop. In 2026, AFS received a multistate conservation grant to further develop this idea; the first action is development and preparation of surveys that will be sent before the end of the year to state and federal agencies to better understand staff needs and where there are gaps in courses. We are currently evaluating courses offered during the AFS Annual Meeting. Several courses in Columbus, Ohio, were cancelled due to low enrollment and others were offered, but with much smaller classes. I recall annual meetings when we offered dozens of courses that were filled and had waiting lists. We understand that things are evolving and we need to assess how best to offer hands-on, in-person courses at the AFS Annual Meeting. I value these experiences and hope others do as well—I get tired of doing everything virtually and am excited when I can sit in a room with others; it feels different and more engaging. I also understand that an extra day and night at a conference may not be feasible for many with various obligations at home and at work. As I mentioned in a previous article, we will be trying something a bit different in Pittsburgh next year. We may still provide some workshops on Sunday prior to the meeting but will also have opportunities on Wednesday afternoon as part of a community engagement and training session. If you have ideas for an activity during this time, please get in touch! The final area in my plan of work focuses on partnerships and funding. The American Fisheries Society and other professional societies are undergoing changes with traditional funding and revenue sources now providing less income. Our members are still a vital resource, and we continue to promote membership and encourage all fisheries and aquatic professionals to join AFS. The Society receives federal grants that support some of our core work (e.g., the Hutton Junior Biologists program) and specific projects (e.g., multistate grant for professional development) and we will continue to identify those that are relevant; however, these funds have become harder to obtain. The AFS Development Committee, whose general role is to guide and execute fundraising efforts, was challenged under Past-President Gary Whelan to identify nontraditional sources of revenue and evaluate developing partnerships with those companies that have an interest in clean water and fishing. There was some success in those efforts, with Coca-Cola a sponsor of the Grand Networking event at the AFS Annual Meeting in Columbus. While providing more opportunities, these nontraditional relationships need to be carefully evaluated, and we need to be sure we are not developing affiliations that could harm us in the future or restrict our revenue. I have charged the Development Committee with continuing efforts to assist the Society in identifying, cultivating, and approaching donors as well as identifying alternative sources of revenue for other organizational commitments. In addition, I have challenged the local planning team and Development Committee to identify sponsors with a goal of having all breaks and networking events fundraised in Pittsburgh next year. Finally, related to partnerships, I would like to focus some of my efforts this year on building stronger relationships with international members, in particular our Canadian members. We will continue AFS Officer visits to every Canadian Chapter and Section to continue to learn what they need from the Society. I will also work closely with President-Elect Marlis Douglas to lay the groundwork for her objective of improving AFS’s standing for European, Southeast Asian, Australian, South American, and African fisheries professionals including exploring the development of “international Emerging Leadership Mentor Award” positions. That concludes my overview of my plan of work. We will be most successful with engagement from all of our members! Please reach out at any time and share your thoughts about AFS.