image: Seven individuals have been elected to the Ecological Society of America's Governing Board and Board of Professional Certification. Clockwise from top left: President-Elect for 2026 Rese (Emily Therese) Cloyd, Secretary Shannon LaDeau, Governing Board Member Zakiya Holmes Leggett, Governing Board Member Kelly Ramirez, Board of Professional Certification Member Angela Sondenaa, Board of Professional Certification Member Justin Compton and Board of Professional Certification Member Joseph Bruseo.
Credit: Ecological Society of America
December 20, 2024
For Immediate Release
Contact: Alison Mize, alison@esa.org, (202) 833-8773
The Ecological Society of America is pleased to announce its recent election results for four Governing Board positions and three positions for its Board of Professional Certification. Those selected by the membership to serve on the Governing Board are President-Elect for 2026–2027 Rese (Emily Therese) Cloyd, District of Columbia Department of Energy and Environment; Secretary Shannon LaDeau, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies; Board Member Zakiya Holmes Leggett, North Carolina State University; and Board Member Kelly Ramirez, University of Texas at El Paso. Three Certified Senior Ecologists elected by the membership to serve on the Board of Professional Certification are Joseph Bruseo, Holyoke Community College; Justin Compton, Stonehill College; and Angela Sondenaa, Nez Perce Tribe.
ESA’s new president-elect for 2026, Rese (Emily Therese) Cloyd, is Associate Director for Fisheries and Wildlife at the District of Columbia Department of Energy and Environment. In their current role, they lead efforts to conserve the District’s fish, wildlife, plants and ecosystems. From 2016 to 2022 they directed the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s (AAAS) Center for Public Engagement with Science and Technology, fostering science communication and dialogue between the scientific community, the general public and decisionmakers. Prior to AAAS, they served as an interagency working group coordinator with the U.S. Global Change Research Program, and later led outreach and engagement for the Third National Climate Assessment.
“I am deeply honored to serve as President of the Ecological Society of America, an organization that has been pivotal in advancing ecological science and its applications to critical societal challenges,” said Cloyd. “Together with ESA’s members, I look forward to promoting ecological research, communication and education, while growing the Society and ensuring it can be a professional home for all ecologists.”
Cloyd’s participation in ESA includes serving as a member of the Professional Ethics and Appeals Committee (2019–current), as Chair of the Policy Section (2013–2015) and as Governing Board Member-at-Large (2016–2018).
“I am thrilled to welcome Rese Cloyd as the next president of the Ecological Society of America,” said ESA President Stephanie Hampton. “Their remarkable career spanning the nonprofit world as well as local and federal government, coupled with their passion for connecting people and nature, exemplifies the diverse expertise of ESA’s membership. I am confident their leadership will inspire and empower our community as we address the critical ecological challenges of our time.”
ESA is also pleased to welcome three additional governing board members for 2025–2028 who will share collective responsibilities in determining the strategic direction of the Society and providing oversight. These new members are Shannon LaDeau, who will serve as secretary; board member Zakiya Leggett; and returning board member Kelly Ramirez, who will serve a second term.
Shannon LaDeau, Secretary, is a Senior Scientist and G. Evelyn Hutchinson Chair in Ecology at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. She conducts research on complex socioecological systems, focusing on predicting and mitigating ecosystem dysfunction, including disease risk. A champion of equity in education and research, LaDeau has mentored diverse early-career researchers and was co-PI for the Cary Institute’s Research Experience for Undergraduates program. Since 2021 she has been a member of the National Ecological Observatory Network’s (NEON) Science, Technology and Education Advisory Committee, NEON’s external advisory body. LaDeau currently serves as Associate Editor-in-Chief for ESA’s journal Ecosphere, where she manages a team of subject-matter editors for the disease ecology track.
Zakiya Holmes Leggett, Board Member, is an Associate Professor at North Carolina State University. A forest soil ecologist, she also studies participatory science and diversity and inclusion in natural resources. At NC State she co-directs the Citizen Science/Participatory Science Campus and leads multiple career development programs, including the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program and the Scholars for Conservation Leadership Program, aimed at increasing diversity in conservation and natural resource fields. Previously, Leggett worked as a sustainability scientist with Weyerhaeuser Company. One of the first ESA SEEDS students as an undergraduate at Tuskegee University, Leggett has a lengthy history of service on the SEEDS Advisory Board and as a SEEDS mentor herself, in addition to serving on a number of other ESA committees, boards and task forces.
Kelly Ramirez, Board Member, is an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at El Paso. Ramirez is a soil microbial ecologist who works across research and policy sectors to bring awareness of soil biodiversity to the policy level. She has served on the leadership of the Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative, where she worked to advance soil ecology and promote consideration of soil biodiversity in environmental policy and land management decisions. As a postdoc, Ramirez co-founded 500 Women Scientists, a non-profit organization with the mission to make science more open, inclusive and accessible. This is Ramirez’s second term as a Board Member.
The Board of Professional Certification also welcomes three new members who will serve three-year terms, beginning on Jan. 1, 2025, and concluding Dec. 31, 2027. ESA’s certification program aims to serve the needs of ecologists who wish to establish and validate their professional credentials, to define minimum standards of education and experience for professional ecologists, to encourage all practicing ecologists to meet such standards and to create and maintain public confidence in the advice and opinions of certified ecologists by establishing a procedure for critical peer evaluation based upon defined minimum education, experience and ethical requirements. This year’s newly elected members are Joseph Bruseo, Justin Compton and Angela Sondenaa.
The current ESA Governing Board Members are President Stephanie Hampton, Carnegie Institution for Science, through August 2025; Immediate President-Elect Peter Groffman, Cary Institute for Ecosystem Studies/City University of New York, Advanced Science Research Center; Immediate Past-President Shahid Naeem, Columbia University; Vice-President for Finance Jeannine Cavender-Bares, Harvard University, through August 2026; Secretary Emilio Bruna, University of Florida, through August 2025; Board Member Angee Doerr, Oregon State University, through August 2027; Board Member Jay Lennon, University of Indiana, through August 2025; Board Member Alex Moore, University of British Columbia, through August 2027; Board Member Yude Pan, USDA Forest Service, through August 2027; Board Member Kelly Ramirez, University of Texas at El Paso, completing a first term August 2025 and re-elected through August 2028; and Board Member James Rattling Leaf, University of Colorado Boulder, through August 2026.
ESA thanks the dedicated ESA members who participated in the election.
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The Ecological Society of America, founded in 1915, is the world’s largest community of professional ecologists and a trusted source of ecological knowledge, committed to advancing the understanding of life on Earth. The 8,000 member Society publishes six journals and a membership bulletin and broadly shares ecological information through policy, media outreach and education initiatives. The Society’s Annual Meeting attracts 4,000 attendees and features the most recent advances in ecological science. Visit the ESA website at https://www.esa.org
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