2022 Board of Directors ElectionThe AMMP Board of Directors would like to convey the following message from the Elections Committee, in regards to the results of the 2022 elections. The Board would like to thank the Elections Committee for their diligence in running a free and fair election, the candidates and those who nominated them, and all members who participated in steering the future of this organization. Before reporting the results I would first like to thank the candidates for running, those persons who nominated them, the other members of the Elections Committee and the Board of Directors for helping to ensure a robust election. I would also like to thank you, the members; this year a full 64% of members cast ballots. Congratulations to the elected officers, and with thanks again, Michelle Pinsdorf (AMMP Member at Large 1) Results for 2022 Board of Directors Election Time zone: Eastern Time (US & Canada) 83 of 129 ballots cast. Candidate: President (2022-2024 Term) Greg Brown: 51 votes (61.4%) Matthew Brown: 32 votes (38.6%) Greg Brown wins with 61.4% of the vote. Votes tallied: 83 Abstentions: 0 ********************************************************** Candidate: Vice President (remainder of the 2021-2023 Term) Marilyn Fox: 48 votes (57.8%) Lisa Herzog: 35 votes (42.2%) Marilyn Fox wins with 57.8% of the vote. Votes tallied: 83 Abstentions: 0 ********************************************************** Candidate: Secretary (2022-2024 Term) Jessica Barnett: 45 votes (55.6%) Kayleigh Johnson: 36 votes (44.4%) Jessica Barnett wins with 55.6% of the vote. Votes tallied: 81 Abstentions: 2 ********************************************************** Candidate: Member-at-large 1 (2022-2024 Term) Larkin McCormack: 43 votes (52.4%) Patrick Wilson: 39 votes (47.6%) Larkin McCormack wins with 52.4% of the vote. Votes tallied: 82 Abstentions: 1 ********************************************************** Candidate: Member-at-large 2 (remainder of the 2021-2023 Term) Christina Byrd: 53 votes (65.4%) Cory Redman: 28 votes (34.6%) Christina Byrd wins with 65.4% of the vote. Votes tallied: 81 Abstentions: 2 The candidates have each written a short biography and a summary of why they chose to accept their nomination for office. You can find their statements here: https://paleomethods.org/2022-Board-of-Director-Candidates/ |
General Update to the Membership
To the membership of AMMP,
The Board has released a general update to the membership compiling announcements and news, and detailing the Board's actions for the organization's service and governance. This document is being made available to current members through email and on a dedicated AMMP website page here.
The Board has appreciated the patience and understanding of AMMP members during the time needed to compile this document and pass it through legal review. The Board welcomes further discussion from the membership regarding this information. A form is available for members to submit comments and questions for the Board to answer in a future statement. Please submit questions by end of day Monday, April 11, 2022. The Board can also be contacted at any time through the officers' email addresses, and ammpboard@paleomethods.org as a collective.
2022 Annual Meeting Statement
December 28, 2021
The AMMP Board of Directors regrets to inform the membership that the 2022 annual meeting, being planned for Seattle, WA, is unable to occur and has been canceled. We would like to recognize the substantial efforts put forth by many in planning the meeting, proposing workshops, and submitting abstracts. In particular, the work by the Host Committee at the Burke Museum and the Annual Meeting Committee are deserving of our gratitude. Thank you for all of your efforts. We regret that this venue for our shared interests cannot be realized this year.
The cancellation of the 2022 meeting results from issues internal to AMMP, not in relation to the Burke Museum as the meeting's planned host, or to external contractors. The resolution of these issues will require reporting to and participation from AMMP membership, and the Board is committed to expediency and transparency in this regard. As always, we encourage members with any questions regarding AMMP to contact either the Board as a whole, or its individual elected members, through our organizational email addresses.
January 6, 2022
The AMMP Board is acutely aware of the membership’s need to understand organizational issues including the cancellation of the 2022 annual meeting. The AMMP Board has made fulfilling the obligation for transparency our highest priority in ongoing work. The Board will convey these perspectives specifically to the AMMP membership, rather than using open-platform social media for discussion. The Board is currently creating an upcoming opportunity for members to receive information, ask questions and give input from the membership to the Board directly. We will advise the membership as soon as possible once the event is formed and scheduled. Your patience is appreciated.
AMMP Webinar Series
The Association held its first webinar: FOSSIL PREPARATION IN A PANDEMIC: A COVID-19 WEBINAR.
This was the first in a new series offering virtual connections to members throughout the year. We hope to be able to provide regularly scheduled opportunities for training, demonstrations, new techniques, materials and institutional forces. Please visit the Webinar page for full details and opportunities to participate.
Stay tuned for information on the next Webinar.
Statement on Covid-19 Furloughs and Layoffs
The Association for Materials and Methods in Paleontology was founded to standardize conservation methodology for fossil specimens and collections around the world. Over the last decade, the Association has made significant strides in honing and refining best practices based on the research and experience of its member base. The knowledge accrued is the fruit of hundreds of careers and countless hours of work - effort and experience unique to each of our members and their positions in their home institutions.
The health and quality of care for a collection is inextricably tied to the presence of experienced, knowledgeable staff. Paleontological collections are irreplaceable archives for the history of life on Earth and require rigorous monitoring and specialized care. No two collections, or even two fossils, are the same, and so the expertise of existing staff is likewise unique. Furthermore, the proper protection and maintenance of paleontological collections is an avowed obligation often enshrined within institutional mission statements.
In response to financial fallout caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the current wave of furloughs and layoffs in natural history museums is concerning for several reasons, namely:
- In times of financial stress, collections professionals - including fossil preparators, collections assistants, collections managers - are often the first casualties of cutbacks, suggesting administrators view these positions as non-essential. They are essential.
- Short term savings via layoffs and furloughs of collections staff will compound future expenses necessary to remediate damage to collections resulting from lapses in care.
- Institutional prestige - based on research and discoveries - will be stunted by cutbacks of the staff who acquire, process and maintain the specimens upon which such research is based.
- Dismissal of experienced collections staff shirks institutions’ responsibility as repositories of our scientific legacy in the public trust.
- These difficult times have not dimmed the sense of mission felt by those entrusted with the care of natural history collections. We offer this statement of support for Association members, directed to administrators and board members of natural history institutions, legislators, public officials, and the general public.
AMMP strongly urges decision makers to ensure that the resources and personnel needed to meet professional and institutional obligations are given utmost priority and remain in place to the greatest extent viable.
Become a Member
Join a growing community of individuals interested in paleontology conservation and methodological best practices.
AMMP is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization of persons interested in the field of paleontological collections care and methodology. This includes conservation, preparation, sampling, and collection of fossil animal remains. Members have the desire to maintain and further the profession through increased communication with peers, and encouraging others with the desire and capabilities to enter the profession. Members promote better understanding of the profession by the general public, those persons requiring such services, and increase the respect for the profession by maintaining and encouraging high standards of competence and ethics.
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