Hello!
Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (PARC) is currently
accepting nominations to fill the Co-chair position of PARC’s Joint
National Steering Committee (JNSC)! The JNSC is the governing body of PARC
and guides its activities at the national level. This is a tremendous
opportunity to influence amphibian and reptile conservation across the U.S.
and into western Canada and the Caribbean, and to collaborate with a vast
network of partners!!
Please see bottom of email for a list of current JNSC members. If you want
to talk to either of the current Co-chairs, but don't have their contact
information, please contact Jen Williams at jen_willi...@nps.gov and she
will get you in touch with them.
DEADLINE FOR NOMINATIONS: Wednesday November 28, 2018
Length of term: 2 years, the first as Junior Co-chair and the second as
Senior Co-chair
Eligibility:
Anyone running for election to the position of National Co-chair must have
demonstrated leadership skills, including, but not limited to experience as
a/an:
- Regional Working Group Co-chair; or
- Member of the JNSC; or
- Active PARC member at the regional level; or
- Board member of a non-profit organization and with expertise in the
field of conservation.
Roles and Responsibilities:
- Schedule, coordinate, and preside over JNSC conference calls and
meetings; monthly conference calls have a standing time and day (currently
the 2nd Wednesday of every month from 12-1:30 pm ET; if this time does
not fit with your schedule, we can select another time)
- Serve on PARC’s Executive Committee (ExComm; consists of JNSC
Co-chairs and the 2 PARC National Coordinators) to assist in:
- Developing JNSC call agendas
- Setting PARC priorities
- Note: Planning calls are 1 hr/wk (currently on Wednesdays at 2 pm
ET; if this time does not fit with your schedule, we can select another
time)
- Make executive decisions following discussion with National
Coordinators
- Work with National Coordinators on the planning and content of annual
PARC meetings.
- Attend the annual in-person meeting
- Travel expenses may be covered by the co-chair’s agency or
organization, but may be covered by PARC if needed
- Held at the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources
Conference (March 4-5, 2019: Denver, CO; March 9-10, 2020: Omaha, NE)
- Evaluate PARC progress and success in meeting its mission including
active involvement from all Regional Working Groups.
- Coordinate closely with Amphibian and Reptile Conservancy (ARC)
leadership, including participating in monthly ARC conference calls when
possible.
- As funding allows, attend and represent PARC at national
herpetological and related conferences and events (or delegate this duty as
needed).
Prospective National Co-chairs should discuss the role with their current
employers to determine if the employers will approve and/or support their
involvement, including travel to National PARC meetings and the use of
office space, telephone, and the employee’s time for official PARC business.
Examples of tasks in which co-chairs have participated:
- Participating in selection process of PARC interns
- Writing or editing PARC policies or articles/presentations about PARC
to the general public
- Leading implementation of or facilitating completion of National PARC
projects
- Developing responses to emerging issues
- Serving as a point of contact for a National PARC topic or issue
- Reviewing/editing meeting minutes
Please think about your work plan from March of 2019 through February of
2021 when assessing whether you can fulfill the duties of this role. This
position will require a range of 1.5 – 3.0 hours per week depending on new
and ongoing PARC tasks and activities. Furthermore, regular email,
telephone and text messaging with other JNSC and ExComm members is a
requirement of this position.
Nominations:
Individuals may self-nominate or nominate others for this JNSC membership
position, but when nominating someone other than yourself, please be sure
that you have the nominee’s permission to do so. Please submit any
nominations and questions to parc_coordinat...@parcplace.org and include:
- Name
- Contact info (email and phone)
- Brief statement (1-2 sentences) of why you are interested in the
position (if self-nominating) or why you think this person would be a
strong candidate (if nominating someone else).
- Short bio of the nominee (200 words or less)
Decision and Notification:
The current JNSC members will vote in December or January; newly elected
members will be notified shortly thereafter.
Thanks in advance and we look forward to your nominations!
PARC Leadership
PARC JNSC Membership
- 2 National co-chairs serving at-large (2 seats, 2 votes)
- 10 Regional co-chairs, 2 from each of the 5 Regional Working Groups
(10 seats, 5 votes)
- 2 Co-chairs from PARC’s Federal Agencies Steering Committee (2 seats,
1 vote)
- 2 Chair (1) and Vice Chair (1) of the Association of Fish and Wildlife
Agencies (AFWA) Amphibian and Reptile Subcommittee (2 seats, 1 vote)
- 3 At-large, non-agency members (Industry, Zoos & Aquariums,
Non-governmental Organization), as appointed by the JNSC National
Co-chairs, and subject to approval by a majority vote of the voting body of
the (3 seats, 3 votes)
- 2 National coordinators (2 seats, 2 votes)
- 1 DoD PARC representative (1 seat, 1 vote)
Current Members:
1. Michelle Christman, PARC JNSC Senior Co-chair (Fish and Wildlife
Biologist, US Fish & Wildlife Service, New Mexico Ecological Field Services
Field Office)
2. Chris Petersen, PARC JNSC Junior Co-chair (DoD PARC National Program
Representative)
3. Vacant, PARC National States Coordinator (Program Manager, Amphibians
& Reptiles, and Invasive Species, Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies)
4. Jen Williams, PARC National Federal Coordinator (PARC National
Federal Coordinator, hosted by National Park Service)
5. Allison Sacerdote-Velat, Midwest PARC Senior Co-chair (Curator of
Herpetology, Chicago Academy of Sciences, Dept of Biology)
6. Bob Brodman, Midwest PARC Junior Co-chair (Associate Professor of
Biology, Buena Vista University)
7. Noelle Rayman-Metcalf, Northeast PARC Senior Co-chair (Endangered
Species Biologist, US Fish & Wildlife Service, New York Field Office)
8. Anne Stengle, Northeast PARC Junior Co-chair (Graduate Student in
Organismic & Evolutionary Biology at UMass Amherst)
9. Katy Weil, Northwest PARC Senior Co-chair (Senior Management Analyst,
Oregon Metro Parks and Nature, Conservation Program)
10. Vacant, Northwest PARC Junior Co-chair
11. Katie Parson, Southeast PARC Senior Co-chair (M.S. Student,
University of Georgia)
12. Becca Cozad, Southeast PARC Junior Co-chair (Research Biologist,
Nokusa Plantation)
13. Melissa Amarello, Southwest PARC Senior Co-chair (Co-Founder and
Director of Education, Advocates for Snake Preservation)
14. Cristina Jones, Southwest PARC Senior Co-chair (State Turtle
Biologist for the Arizona Game and Fish Dept)
15. Dave McNaughton, DoD PARC Representative (Assistant Wildlife Program
Manager, Pennsylvania Dept of Military and Veterans Affairs)
16. Jessica Homyack, Industry Representative (Manager, Environmental
Research North for Weyerhaeuser Co.)
17. Michael Starkey, Non-governmental Organization Representative
(Co-Founder and Executive Director, Save the Snakes)
18. Shelly Grow, Zoos and Aquariums Representative (Director of
Conservation Programs, Association of Zoos & Aquariums)
19. Dave Hu, Federal Agencies Steering Committee Senior Co-chair
(National Fisheries Biologist, Bureau of Land Management)
20. Will Fields, Federal Agencies Steering Committee Junior Co-chair
(Ecologist, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center)
21. Catherine Sparks, Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Committee Chair (Assistant Director,
Bureau of Natural Resources, Rhode Island Dept of Environmental Management)
22. Thomas Eason, Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Amphibian
and Reptile Conservation Committee Vice Chair (Assistant Executive
Director, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission)
23. JJ Apodaca, Past JNSC Co-chair; Ex-officio (Assoc Executive Director
and Director of Science, Amphibian and Reptile Conservancy; Lead Scientist
and Founder, Tangled Bank Conservation™) **Non-voting member**
24. Jeff Holmes, Ex-officio (Executive Director, Amphibian and Reptile
Conservancy) **Non-voting member**
25. Emily Uhrig, PARC Conservation Communications Specialist
**Non-voting member**
