Fall 2025 Announcements

A Message from the Chair

Hi everyone!

I’m Vanessa Beauchamp, the current Chair of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of ESA. I’m a plant ecologist and professor at Towson University, and I’m excited to announce that Towson will be hosting the 2026 Mid-Atlantic Chapter Meeting on Saturday, March 28, 2026. Stay tuned for more details and updates at https://esa.org/midatlantic/.

We are seeking to fill key leadership positions within our chapter. Traditionally, the Chair-Elect and Secretary-Elect serve alongside the current officers to ensure continuity in chapter leadership, but these positions are presently vacant. The call for nominations below invites candidates for Chair-Elect and Secretary-Elect for the 2025–2026 term. Individuals elected will subsequently assume the roles of Chair and Secretary for 2026–2027. The Chair-Elect will also host the 2027 Mid-Atlantic Chapter Meeting.

Serving in one of these roles provides an excellent opportunity to contribute to the strength of our regional ecological community and to support the continued success of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter.

Call for Nominations

The Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Ecological Society of America (MA-ESA) invites nominations for Chapter Chair-Elect and Chapter Secretary-Elect. Primary duties of each position are described below. Nominations will be accepted through December 5. To submit a nomination, include your name, position, email address, and a short statement describing your interest in the position in an email to ESA.MidAtlantic@gmail.com. Following a short review period, electronic ballots will be sent to the membership for voting. Winners of the election will immediately become Chair-Elect and Secretary-Elect, whose duties include contributing to the work of the Chair and Secretary and assuming their duties whenever those individuals are unable to act. The Chair-Elect and Secretary-Elect will assume the duties of the Chair and Secretary, respectively, during the chapter business meeting at the annual national meeting of the ESA in Salt Lake City, Utah, July 26 – 31, 2026.

· Chair: Organize and preside at chapter meetings (including hosting the annual chapter meeting in the spring 2027), authorize and manage expenditures of chapter funds, represent the chapter at the Council of the Society, and appoint leaders of committees to promote the interests of the chapter. Term: 1 year

· Secretary: Keep records of the chapter, contribute to the work of the Chair. Term: 1 year

Some benefits of becoming Chair and hosting the annual chapter meeting include raising the regional profile of your institution in ecology and supporting an amazing student event that draws hundreds of young ecologists together, many for their first conference experience and professional presentation.