A message from AMS Acting Executive Director Brian Papa
At AMS’s recent Annual Meeting in New Orleans, I had the wonderful opportunity to meet and engage with many of you in my new role as Acting Executive Director. In a meeting of thousands of members of our community there were many that I did not have the pleasure to meet. For those I missed, and for all of our members, I want to briefly share some information about myself and even more importantly, I want to share AMS’s priorities for 2025 and some thoughts on critical aspects of AMS.
My background is in the atmospheric sciences with degrees from University of Wisconsin-Madison and McGill University. I’ve worked at AMS for 17 years in various capacities, starting in our Publications Department as a technical editor and most recently as one of the Associate Executive Directors of AMS overseeing the operations of the organization. In the Acting Executive Director role I am very fortunate to have the support of and work closely with all the AMS staff and volunteers.
Looking ahead to 2025
The upcoming year represents one filled with challenges and opportunities for AMS. Working with our Council and executive team, we have identified four overarching priorities for the upcoming year:
- Addressing challenges and opportunities in a changing environment
- Focus on transparency, communication, and collaboration
- Focus on fiscal stability
- Transitioning a stable society to a new Executive Director
In addition to these priorities, volunteers and staff will continue their work to make improvements across the AMS and bring new programs and services to our members and the broader community. Our focus is always on our mission to advance the atmospheric and related sciences, technologies, applications, and services for the benefit of society.
AMS is a robust non-partisan, global organization with the unique convening power of bringing together the public, private, academic, and nonprofit sectors to bridge differences, solve problems, and build community.
Since the AMS Annual Meeting there have been a series of executive orders, announcements, and changes made by the new administration, some of which have had direct impact on our members. As additional challenges and opportunities emerge, we can look on AMS’s core values to guide us:
- We value the integrity of science and the scientific process.
- We believe that a diverse, inclusive, and respectful community is essential for our science.
- We believe that decisions affecting society should be made in a transparent, evidence-based manner.
- We are committed to excellence, relevance, and agility in all our activities.
By following these basic core values, we can ensure AMS remains relevant and supportive of the scientific community, and that our work truly is for the benefit of society.
In the coming year I will be working closely with the extremely knowledgeable and insightful volunteers and staff of the AMS to ensure we continue to follow these values and focus on our priorities. You can expect additional communications as the year progresses regarding AMS’s actions and responses to new challenges, the search for a new Executive Director, and other updates.