{"id":379,"date":"2018-09-17T14:39:07","date_gmt":"2018-09-17T14:39:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/units.fisheries.org\/ifs\/?page_id=379"},"modified":"2025-08-28T19:23:33","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T19:23:33","slug":"work-plan","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/oldunitsstaging.fisheries.org\/ifs\/activities\/work-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"Work Plan"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\"\"<\/b>American Fisheries Society\"\"<\/p>

INTERNATIONAL FISHERIES SECTION<\/b><\/p>

\u00a02025 \u2013 2026 Work Plan<\/i><\/b><\/p>

Holly Embke, President<\/span><\/i><\/p>

Expand Membership,<\/b>\u00a0with a focus on individuals from Indigenous and Low- and Middle-Income communities<\/strong><\/p>

  • Increase the IFS membership with a focus on\u00a0individuals from Indigenous or Low- and Middle-Income (LMI) communities<\/li>
  • Build relationships with international organizations supporting individuals from Indigenous and LMI communities in fisheries sciences (e.g., ACARE, AWIS, SFS Africa Chapter, SFS Latin American Chapter, NAFWS, NexGen Mekong Scientists)<\/li>
  • Build on past presidential initiatives and collaborate with the Equal Opportunities Section to support the \u201cWomen in Fisheries\u201d committee<\/li>
  • Organize sessions, workshops, and networking opportunities at AFS 2026 (Columbus, Ohio) based on barriers and priorities identified by IFS members<\/li><\/ul>

    Support Global Conferences and Initiatives<\/b><\/p>

    • Support the 2026 World Recreational Fisheries Conference (South Africa)<\/span><\/li>
    • Support the AFS 2026 annual meeting (Columbus, Ohio)<\/li><\/ul>

      Build on Communication Strategy<\/b><\/p>

      • Update the listserv including OLAF and AWIS fellows\u00a0<\/span><\/li>
      • Maintain communication with membership through regular email blasts to members<\/span><\/li>
      • Improve and update the IFS website\u00a0<\/span><\/li>
      • Maintain Social Media presence and recruit people for the IFS social media team<\/span><\/li>
      • Promote the IFS Editorial Assistance Program<\/span><\/li><\/ul>

        Manage Directives<\/b><\/p>

        • Coordinate OLAF International Membership Awards (Paul Simonin, Gretchen Stokes)<\/span><\/li>
        • Maintain fiscal responsibility of section funds (Paul Simonin)<\/span><\/li>
        • Grant International Travel Awards (ITAs) from the Sullivan Family Endowment Fund (Spencer Weinstein)<\/span><\/li>
        • Ensure fair and equitable adjudication of ITA (establish transparent selection criteria)<\/span><\/li>
        • Coordinate FSBI-AFS Fellows Program (Spencer Weinstein)<\/span><\/li>
        • Grant Bern Megrey World Fisheries Congress Travel Awards (Bob Hughes)<\/span><\/li><\/ul>

          Contribute to AFS<\/b><\/p>

          • Host international symposium at AFS 2026 in Columbus, Ohio<\/span><\/li>
          • Represent international members to AFS\u00a0<\/span><\/li>
          • Support the continued and ongoing development of the Respectful Meetings Working Group in working with local Indigenous communities where conferences are held to ensure they benefit<\/li>
          • Coordinate with the Indigenous Fisheries Section to support Indigenous members and participation<\/li><\/ul>

            Vision for IFS<\/i><\/b><\/p>

            The IFS has an influential position on the global stage with the capacity to facilitate international collaboration, which can amplify voices of marginalized communities in the fisheries sector. Past presidential initiatives have made strides in this space, such as those of Andrea Reid, Elizabeth Nyboer, Luis Silva, and Sara Cannon. I am excited to have the opportunity to lead initiatives aimed at supporting increased involvement from Indigenous and low- and middle-income communities. As president of the IFS of AFS, I would focus on expanding the sections\u2019 capacity to support this goal through relationship building with key partners. Three relevant partners with whom I am heavily involved include the Native American Fish & Wildlife Society, NexGen Mekong Scientists program, and World Recreational Fisheries Conference (WRFC). In my role as president of the IFS, I envision working with these partners to develop joint networking opportunities (e.g., virtual, in-person events), travel support for conferences (e.g., supporting travel to WRFC), and facilitating opportunities for knowledge sharing and collaboration (e.g., IFS sponsored training courses, webinars). This focus builds on past presidential initiatives to facilitate international collaboration and expands on the focus of accessibility for Indigenous Peoples, women from low-to-middle-income countries, and individuals from developing nations prioritized for past presidential terms. In addition, I remain committed to delivering and enhancing core IFS activities such as membership communications, ensuring IFS perspectives are considered in AFS and World Council of Fisheries Societies decisions, strengthening relationships with other international fisheries societies, and providing travel support for international members.<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            American Fisheries Society INTERNATIONAL FISHERIES SECTION \u00a02025 \u2013 2026 Work Plan Holly Embke, President Expand Membership,\u00a0with a focus on individuals from Indigenous and Low- and Middle-Income communities Increase the IFS membership with a focus on\u00a0individuals from Indigenous or Low- and Middle-Income (LMI) communities Build relationships with international organizations supporting individuals from Indigenous and LMI communities […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99,"featured_media":0,"parent":131,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-379","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","odd","first-child","last-child"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldunitsstaging.fisheries.org\/ifs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldunitsstaging.fisheries.org\/ifs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldunitsstaging.fisheries.org\/ifs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldunitsstaging.fisheries.org\/ifs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/99"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldunitsstaging.fisheries.org\/ifs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=379"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/oldunitsstaging.fisheries.org\/ifs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/379\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":937,"href":"https:\/\/oldunitsstaging.fisheries.org\/ifs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/379\/revisions\/937"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldunitsstaging.fisheries.org\/ifs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldunitsstaging.fisheries.org\/ifs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}