AFO Council
The AFO’s Council consist of both amateur and professional ornithologists, in recognition of the contributions that both make to ornithology. If you are interested in assisting with the governance of AFO, or if you would like to nominate a candidate for the AFO council, email the nominations committee.
Officers & Councilors
President: Valentina Ferretti
Vice President: Julie Jedlicka
Secretary: L. Scott Johnson
Treasurer: Scott Sutcliffe
Liaison to ARS: Dan Ardia, Reed Bowman
Past President: Dan Ardia
Editor, JFO: Gary Ritchison
Council
Class of 2021
David Cerasale
Matthew Reudink (2nd term)
Jennifer Smith (2nd term)
Angela Tringali
Claire Varian-Ramos
Class of 2022
Rob Aldredge (2nd term)
Ian Ausprey (2nd term)
Rebecka Brasso
Gustavo Londoño
Matthew Shumar (2nd term)
Class of 2023
David Aborn (2nd term)
Emily Choy
Allyson Jackson
Yula Kapetanakos
Sarah Sargent (2nd term)
Associate Editors
Daniel R. Ardia, Juan I. Areta, David N. Bonter, David R. Brown, Christopher E. Hill, Jeffrey P. Hoover, Miguel Â. Marini, Abby N. Powell. Spanish Editors: Pilar Benites, Leonardo Calle, Juan Pablo Gomez, Gustavo Londoño, Raul A. Pérez-Rivera.
Recent Past Presidents
Dan Ardia (2019-2020), Paul Rodewald (2017-2018), Reed Bowman (2015-2016), Kathryn Purcell (2013-2014), L. Scott Johnson (2011-2012), David N. Bonter (2009-2010), Cecilia Riley (2007-2008), Eugene Morton (2004-2006), Scott Sutcliffe (2003-2004), Jerry Jackson (2000-2002). For a more complete list of AFO’s past presidents, click HERE.
AFO Representatives for Other Organizations
Ornithological Council (representatives) – Scott Stoleson and David Aborn
North American Banding Council – Ian Ausprey and Luke DeGroote
Biological Research Institute (mist-net sales) – Patrick Keenan
AFO Committees
Click a committee name to expand for details:
Nominations Committee
Traditionally the Vice President takes the lead on working with the council to identify a slate of new council members and officers to be presented at the Annual Meeting. The committee has a minimum of 3 individuals.
- Julie Jedlicka (Chair, Vice President)
- Valentina Ferretti (President)
- Dan Ardia (Immediate Past President)
Membership Committee
Responsibilities: Develop and implement strategies to increase the number of AFO members. This includes developing effective ways of communicating with existing members to keep them informed of AFO’s activities and value and recruiting new members.
- Chair TBD
- Dan Ardia
- Darrell Ashworth
- Ian Ausprey
- Valentina Ferretti
- Diane Neudorf
- Matthew Shumar
- Scott Sutcliffe
- Christy Classi (ex-officio)
Finance Committees
Finance Committee Responsibilities: Responsible for oversight of the endowment funds. Develop an investment plan, identify investing trustees, who will then advise on investment firms. Review the performance of the investment company at least once per year, report to the AFO Council on performance and recommend continuation or otherwise with the current professional manager and the current investment guidelines.
LLC Board
- Dan Ardia (Chair)
- Sarah Sargent (Secretary)
- John Day
- Bob Hoguet
- Scott Sutcliffe
- Valentina Ferretti (ex-officio)
- Julie Jedlicka (ex-officio)
- Dave Cerasale (appointed AFO Council observer)
Investing Trustees
- Daniel Ardia (Ornithological Trustee)
- John Day (Financial Trustee)
- Bob Hoguet (Financial Trustee)
- L. Scott Johnson (Ornithological Trustee)
Neotropical Outreach Committee
Responsibilities: Coordinate AFO’s Neotropical initiatives, including recruitment of members from the Neotropics, and informing ornithologists in the Neotropics of AFO meetings, awards and other activities.
- Carla Suertegaray Fontana (Chair)
- Ian Ausprey
- Adrián Di Giacomo
- Alex Jahn
- Cecilia Kopuchian
- Gustavo Londoño
Publications Committee
Responsibilities: a) Work with Wiley-Blackwell Publishers on issues related to publishing the Journal of Field Ornithology. b) Work to increase the quality and “impact” of JFO. c) Work to maintain/increase library subscriptions/revenue.
- Rob Aldredge (Chair)
- Gary Ritchison (Editor of JFO)
- Dan Ardia
- Emily Choy
- Valentina Ferretti
- Julie Jedlicka
- Matt Reudink
Awards Committees
Bergstrom Award Committee
Responsibilities: Advertise Bergstrom Award, evaluate proposals, award gifts.
- Cecilia Kopuchian (Co-chair)
- Adrián Di Giacomo (Co-chair)
U.S./Canada Competition Reviewers:
- Dan Ardia
- Ian Ausprey
- Eugene Morton
- Matt Reudink
- Lee Robinson
- Scott Stoleson
- Jason Townsend
Latin American Competition Reviewers:
- Luiz dos Anjos
- Carlos Bianchi
- Dan Brooks
- Gustavo Sebastián Cabanne
- Renata Durães Ribeiro
- Valentina Ferretti
- Adrián Di Giacomo
- Cecilia Kopuchian
- Dan Lebbin
- James J. Roper
- Carla Suertegaray Fontana
Skutch Research Award Committee
Responsibilities: Advertise Skutch Award, evaluate proposals, award gift.
- Elissa Landre (Chair)
- Gabriel Colorado
- Dan Lebbin
- Manuel Marin
- Jason Mobley
- Jessica Oswald
- Ken Rosenberg
- Gary Stiles
- Carla Suertegaray Fontana (Portuguese & Spanish proposals)
Skutch Medal Committee
- Alex Jahn (Chair)
Best Student Publication Award Committee
Responsibilities: To identify the student-generated paper in each volume of the Journal of Field Ornithology that best exemplifies quality research and scholarship.
- Diane Neudorf (chair)
- Robert Aldredge
- Jessica Oswald
- Matthew Reudink
- Gary Ritchison
Travel Awards
Responsibilities: Organize and oversee awards for travel by students, post-doctoral fellows, and amateur/avocational ornithologists to annual meetings.
- Chair TBD
- David Aborn
- Rebecka Brasso
- Cecilia Kopuchian
Student Presentation Awards
Responsibilities: Organize awards and judge student presentations at annual meetings; serve as representatives or co-chairs on student presentation award committees at joint meetings.
- Claire Varian-Ramos (Chair)
Students & Early Professionals Committees
Graduate Students & Early Professionals Committee
Responsibilities: newly formed by Council in 2015.
- Chair TBD
- Ian Ausprey
- Vanesa Bejarano
- Allyson Jackson
- Matthew Reudink
- Samantha Rutledge
Undergraduate Affairs Committee
Responsibilities: newly formed by Council in 2020.
- Allyson Jackson (Chair)
- Dan Ardia
- Emily Choy
- Claire Varian-Ramos
Communications Committee
Responsibilities: To deliver the most timely information to our members and the wider ornithological community by utilizing email-based dynamic newsletters, the AFO website, and social media accounts. The committee oversees the following tasks: website administration, email-based newsletter administration, social media, content creation & solicitation, and language translation.
- Matthew Shumar (Co-chair, webmaster)
- Jennifer Smith (Co-chair)
- Valentina Ferretti (ex-officio)
- Julie Jedlicka (ex-officio)
- Henrietta Bellman
- Rebecka Brasso
- Nicolas Lois
- Juan Manuel Rojas Ripari
- Young Ha Suh
The following individuals have assisted with translating our websites into Spanish and Portuguese: Pilar Benites, Leonardo Calle, Pedro Develey, Valentina Ferretti, Carla Suertegaray Fontana, Cecilia Kopuchian, Alex Jahn, Molly McDermott, Ivan Celso Carvalho Provinciato.
Foreign Language Translators
Responsibilities: Translate AFO materials for/serve as a liaison with Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking members, researchers, and students.
Spanish Editors
- Alex Jahn
- Pilar Benites
- Leonardo Calle
- Juan Pablo Gomez
- Gustavo Londoño
- Raul A. Pérez-Rivera
Portuguese Editors
- Jason Mobley
Annual Meeting
2023 – 2nd Ornithological Congress of the Americas, Beni, Bolivia
- Joint meeting of the AFO, Aves Argentinas, Brazilian Society of Ornithology (SBO), the Bolivian Ornithological Society (ASBOR), and the Neotropical Ornithological Society (NOS)
- AFO Chair: TBD
2022 – Massachusetts (specific location TBD), USA
- AFO Centennial celebration
- AFO Chairs: TBD
2021 – Albany, NY, USA
- Joint meeting of the AFO, the Wilson Ornithological Society, and the Northeast Natural History Conference
- AFO Chairs: Valentina Ferretti and Julie Jedlicka
2020 – Virtual NAOC VII
- Steering Committee representatives: Jennifer Smith & Matthew Shumar
2019 – Cape May, NJ, USA
- Joint meeting of the AFO and Wilson Ornithological Society
- AFO Chair: Paul Rodewald
2018 – Chattanooga, TN, USA
- Joint meeting of the AFO and Wilson Ornithological Society
- AFO Chair: David Aborn
2017 – Ornithological Congress of the Americas, Puerto Iguazu, Argentina (August 8-11, 2017)
- Joint meeting of the AFO, Brazilian Society of Ornithology, and Aves Argentinas
- AFO Co-Chairs, Valentina Ferretti and Alex Jahn
- Pedro Devely, SBO President
- Cecilia Kopuchian, Aves Argentinas
2016 – NAOC VI in Washington DC, USA
- Steering Committee representative: Dan Cristol
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee
Responsibilities: This committee will work on a set of practices that AFO will adopt to welcome, support, and leverage a diverse ornithological community.
- Yula Kapetanakos (Chair)
- Emily Choy
- Cecilia Kopuchian
- Jen Smith
- Angela Tringali
Development Committee
Responsibilities: The Development Committee assumes the primary responsibility for raising funds to support AFO’s mission and programs.
- Angela Tringali (Chair)
- Dan Ardia
- Ian Ausprey
- Scott Johnson
- Scott Sutcliffe