The Ecological Society of America (ESA) has announced the election results for its governing board members. Those selected by the membership to serve are Member-at-Large Zoe Cardon, Ecosystems Center at Marine Biological Laboratory; Vice President for Finance Jeannine Cavender-Bares, University of Minnesota; President-Elect for 2020 Dennis Ojima, Colorado State University; Vice President for Public Affairs Laura Petes, NOAA Office for Coastal Management; and Member-at-Large Sasha Reed, research ecologist.
“With the newest members elected to the ESA governing board, the Society will continue the tradition of strong leadership and dedication to the science of ecology,” says ESA President Osvaldo Sala. “I look forward to the new perspectives and experiences they will bring when their terms begin in August 2020, and I offer congratulations to each person joining the board.”President-Elect for 2020 Dennis Ojima is a professor emeritus at Colorado State University in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability and a senior research scientist at the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory. An ESA member since 1984, his research applies social-ecological approaches to climate and land use changes in dryland and grassland systems worldwide, including Mongolia, China, Central Asia, parts of Africa, and in the U.S. Ojima is instrumental in the development of many international science programs; he is named Champion of the Environment by the Mongolian government and is recognized for his contributions to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and the International Panel on Climate Change. He is also active in training young scholars and professionals in social-ecological system approaches to dealing with climate change impacts and responses in the United States and Asia.
“I am honored to be selected as President-Elect of the Ecology Society of America,” says Ojima. “Serving ESA over the coming years, and representing the members in their quest to pursue sound ecological research and to provide a platform to engage and communicate with civil society will be a role I will execute with integrity and with members’ guidance.”