Election Results

Michael Paolisso
SfAA President

The election results are in for 2023. I want to thank all the candidates for their willingness to stand for election. The SfAA’s ability to support members is closely linked to the expertise, experience and commitment of members who step forward to serve in elected positions. As in past years, the ideas and experience of this year’s candidates were diverse and forward-thinking and will be of great benefit in the coming years. I also want to note that a few of the runner-up candidates have graciously accepted my offer to serve on SfAA committees. I hope they will consider running for elected office again. Finally, below I want to acknowledge and thank our outgoing elected members.  

We have two new board members:  Dr. Hedda Haugen Askland of the University of Newcastle, Australia and Dr. David Himmelgreen of the University of South Florida. Both will join the board at our annual meeting in Cincinnati in late March. Dr. Askland is a social anthropologist whose work focuses on the impacts of displacement and rupture in the context of significant socio-political and environmental change, the application of anthropological knowledge and skills to the interdisciplinary field of architecture, design and construction management, and the ethnographic study of mining-affected communities in rural New South Wales, Australia. Her work informs policy and planning while also raising awareness about the injustice that takes place in the name of economic progress, development and public good. Dr. Askland is particularly interested in amplifying applied scholarship that makes a difference in the communities in which we work, and in bringing an international lens to the work of the Society. 

David Himmelgreen is a longstanding SfAA member and sustaining fellow. He is a nutritional anthropologist with expertise in maternal-child nutrition, growth and development, food insecurity, dietary change, and community nutrition and health promotion programming. He has conducted research in Costa Rica, Lesotho, India, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. His past SfAA service includes co-program chair of the 2007 annual meeting in Tampa and serving as a co-editor of Human Organization, the latter a position he held until December 2022. He has also served on the executive board of the American Anthropological Association (AAA) and as president of the National Association for the Practice of Anthropology (NAPA). Dr. Himmelgreen’s experience and expertise will be drawn upon to help the SfAA increase membership of practicing anthropologists and students, develop information sessions and workshops to raise the visibility of SfAA, create opportunities to connect with biological anthropologists and public health researchers, and develop new fundraising opportunities. 

Our heartfelt thanks to outgoing board members Drs. Keri Brondo and Lenore Manderson. Their many contributions over these past few years have been instrumental in guiding us through the pandemic and helping us emerge as a stronger and more resilient organization. They have helped the SfAA strengthen efforts to be a more inclusive and global organization, and this legacy will continue to influence the board in coming years. I know the SfAA will continue to benefit from their involvement and guidance. In the case of Dr. Manderson, that involvement includes serving as the new editor for Human Organization. 

I am very pleased to welcome Dr. Shirley Fiske to the Nominations and Elections Committee. Dr. Fiske is also a longtime SfAA member and sustaining fellow. She is both a practitioner and applied researcher with interests in climate change, environmental justice, disasters, and immigration, among other topics. She has been an advocate for involving practitioners and policymakers in the SfAA. She has supported members engaged in social equity and environmental justice in the context of climate change, development of energy infrastructure, oil and gas extraction, and equity for frontline communities.

Finally, a deep thank you to Dr. Maria Cruz-Torres who is stepping off the Nominations and Elections Committee. Over the past four years, Dr. Cruz-Torres helped the committee improve its efforts to be more transparent and inclusive in its outreach and communication with members and the board. We have all benefited from her commitment to the SfAA. 

©Society for Applied Anthropology 

P.O. Box 2436 • Oklahoma City, OK 73101 • 405.843.5113 • info@appliedanthro.org