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2020 Election to the Board of Directors

The Association for Materials & Methods in Paleontology is pleased to announce the candidates for the 2020 election for the positions of President, Secretary and Member-at-Large to serve as part of the Board of Directors. Each position is for a two year term beginning at the end of April.

The position descriptions are as follows: 

The President shall serve for a term of two years, be chairperson of the Board of Directors, shall preside at meetings of the Association and shall have the powers and duties usually pertaining to such office with the exception of those assigned by the Constitution to the Board of Directors. At the end of their term, the President shall become the Past-President and continue to serve on the Board until a new President is elected.

The Secretary shall be responsible for ensuring that the minutes of the Board of Directors and General Business Meetings are recorded. The Secretary shall be responsible for maintaining a current list of members’ names, contact information, and relevant information as the Board sees fit and shall act as liaison between the Board of Directors and the Membership Committee.

The Member-at-large shall  serve for a term of two years, represent the general membership on the Board, attend all Board meetings and assist the Board as requested

Members will receive a voting link via email to complete their ballot.

Elections will open on April 13 and close on April 24 at 4pm EST.

All members in good standing are eligible - and encouraged - to vote.


CANDIDATES FOR THE OFFICE OF PRESIDENT

Lee Hall

Lee Hall is the Preparator for the Cleveland Museum of Natural History’s Department of Vertebrate Paleontology where he has managed the fossil preparation lab and supervised fieldwork since 2015. His prior professional background includes mitigation paleontology consulting in Los Angeles, California, as well as several years running paleontology field camps for the Museum of the Rockies in Montana. He has conducted fieldwork in northeast Ohio, the western United States, southeast Alaska, Alberta, Canada, and Mongolia. He has published research on the evolution and function of sauropod claws, and is interested improving preparation techniques, taphonomy, stratigraphy, and lunar geology. He holds a BS in paleontology from Montana State University – Bozeman. He and his wife currently reside in Cleveland, Ohio.

Our association plays a central role in developing and establishing standards of practice for paleontological techniques, but how do we ensure that others in our field – both professionals and amateurs - receive and integrate this knowledge? It is important that AMMP provide the means to preserve, access, and share the expertise of our multi-generational, multi-cultural society. As President, my initiatives would include promoting outreach, increasing committee participation, attracting new membership, and working to increase the visibility of AMMP beyond the core professional sphere of academic paleontology. I believe we must maintain and nurture the unique culture of paleontological innovation in which our members continue to excel, and as President I would be honored to serve the membership to that end.



Shawn Haugrud

I began my fossil preparation and field training at a small museum affiliated with Shenandoah University in 1997. In 2005 I was hired by East Tennessee State University to work at the Gray Fossil Site as a lab and field technician. Greg Brown visited our site to teach personnel, and I was inspired by his methodology, critical thinking, and adherence to professional standards. I am now the Lab and Field Manager at the Gray Fossil Site, and over the years I have endeavored to apply these same principles within my institution. I am also an instructor in a paleo-techniques class offered each year at ETSU. I remain heavily involved with the students, making sure they understand all career opportunities within our field, or at least fostering an understanding and appreciation for what we do if they continue on the track of researchers, curators, and professors. I began attending AMMP meetings in 2018.

 

If elected, I would seek to advance the goals of this organization and uphold its principles. I believe that many of the challenges we face are intrinsically tied to each other. Many of us are employed by or affiliated with colleges, and we can help AMMP grow by attracting students and providing opportunities and knowledge for their continued growth within the community. We can identify regions or areas for which there is little representation within AMMP, and reach out to museums and institutions in those areas to increase involvement. I would be honored to serve AMMP as President.

CANDIDATES FOR THE OFFICE OF SECRETARY


Corinna Bechko

With a degree in zoology and a love of the ancient world that can be traced back to my first encounter with real fossils at the Smithsonian at the age of five, being hired as an assistant fossil preperator with the Dinosaur Institute at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County two years ago was the culmination of a life-long dream. Prior to that I worked in the lab as a volunteer for almost two years and have gone into the field with NHMLA for the past three years. My biography previous to this was varied but always involved animals and data when it didn’t involve writing, including five years under Dr. Cathleen Cox as a project leader in the Behavioral Research division of the Los Angeles Zoo and another half-decade as a wildlife vet tech at the California Wildlife Center where my duties included managing the hospital’s records. Throughout it all I maintained a strong commitment to volunteer work as well, contributing time to the Center for Biological Diversity and sitting on the board of Kitty Bungalow’s Charm School for Wayward Cats for a term.

It is a great honor to run for the position of Secretary for AMMP, an organization dedicated to the craft to which I am passionately committed. I believe that our fossil heritage is more than a collection of objects, it is a way to breath life into a bygone era, to engage the public, and to understand more about our present world. In short, the specimens we care for are a truly precious resource. If elected I would do my utmost to support our mission, communicate promptly and professionally with all parties (the Board, the members, and the public), and participate in any and all initiatives to grow the impact of our field. My association with AMMP has been shorter than some (having attended only the last three meetings) but my enthusiasm for what we do is boundless.



Myria Perez

Myria started volunteering at the age of twelve at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, where she learned to fossil prep, conduct fieldwork, and lead tours. Through her undergraduate years, she continued fossil preparation with Southern Methodist University for an exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. Through this project, she honed her skills on detail preparation, molding and casting, and fossil reconstruction. She has had the opportunity to present her projects and research at SVP, Dallas Paleontological Society, and events around the Dallas area. Now, she is works as an early career fossil preparator at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science as well and as an AAAS IF/THEN Ambassador empowering women in STEM fields.

 “I would love to become more involved in the preparation community and grow our organization in my field of passion. Although I am new to AMMP, I am eager to be an integral part of the community.”

CANDIDATES FOR THE OFFICE OF MEMBER-AT-LARGE

Larkin McCormack

My first experiences in field work, and fossil preparation were with the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Subsequently, I worked seasonally for three summers at Petrified Forest National Park, where I received excellent training in many fossil preparation techniques. I quickly realized that I love this field, and went on to get my Masters at University of Iowa. My thesis described a new species of the Cretaceous-Eocene crocodylian Borealosuchus. I am now working as the Paleontology Preparator at the Museum of Northern Arizona on a project focusing on repairing and rehousing half of our collections. 

I feel lucky to have received excellent opportunities and mentorship in fossil preparation and collections practices. I believe this field is lacking extensive formal training opportunities, while having many tools and techniques that must be mastered. I think AMMP provides an important platform for the community to share information and techniques. I have personally learned many skills that have helped my career at AMMP meetings. I hope to become more involved in the organization and represent this community through serving as a Member at Large.  




Michelle Pinsdorf

Michelle was first trained in vertebrate fossil preparation as an intern at The Mammoth Site of Hot Springs, Inc., before serving as a preparator and interpreter for the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology Museum of Geology, and a seasonal field excavator for Badlands National Park. She is currently a Museum Specialist at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History, whose responsibilities include vertebrate fossil preparation, volunteer training, public outreach, field work, exhibit fabrication, and CT scanning. Michelle has been a member and attendee of AMMP/FPCS meetings since 2011, and has presented on a variety of topics. She holds a B.S. in Geology from SUNY Albany and an M.S. in Vertebrate Paleontology from the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology.

"I feel that fossil preparation skills and professional standards can be best advanced and refined through open sharing of knowledge and techniques. AMMP is a unique organization in which all members have the ability to both learn and contribute toward innovation. If elected, I aim to serve as an accessible and communicative liaison to improve experiences for all members, and to be a reliable support for board leadership."

Association for Materials and Methods in Paleontology

Established 2014

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