2022 TWS Elections: North Central candidates

The ballot for The Wildlife Society’s 2022 elections includes nominees for the position of North Central representatives. See a previous article on candidates for TWS vice president.

Additional nominees may be submitted by any voting member in good standing, if supported in writing by 5% of the voting membership. The deadline for additional nominations is May 15.

Electronic ballots will be sent May 31 to all members with an email address. Members without an email address will receive a paper ballot in the mail. Voting will close June 30. Mailed paper ballots must be postmarked on or before June 30. Newly elected council members are scheduled to be installed at the 29^th Annual Conference in Spokane, Washington Nov. 6-10.

The candidates’ statements expressing their vision for The Wildlife Society and their interest in running for this council position are below.

Nominees for North Central Representatives

John P. Loegering

For 3+ decades, TWS has been my career partner. I joined the student chapter as a freshman, and TWS impacted my professional life through opportunities, mentoring and challenges. I have had the privilege of serving as a TWS officer at the student, state and section level, and that opportunity shaped me as a scientist, educator and leader. I enthusiastically welcome the opportunity to serve TWS and repay the decades of investment in my success. If elected, I pledge to tirelessly represent my colleagues in the section.

I believe TWS has several opportunities to remain strong and vibrant. I believe we must continue to recruit, retain and activate student members and early career professionals. Moreover, TWS will be better served by efforts to assure our membership continues to diversify and better represent societal demographics. The Women of Wildlife and Out in the Field initiatives are an excellent start, but we must do better to represent all the publics we serve. I also support TWS continuing an active professional development strategy needed to support the rapid career advancement of members coincident with the wave of retirements in the near future. I believe TWS’ role is essential in the policy arena both by directly working with policy makers (e.g., policy program staff work) and the grassroots efforts implemented through the Conservation Affairs Network. We must address conservation concerns about declines in governmental funding models and the public sentiment devaluing the role of professional wildlife management within the context of the North American Model.

See complete biographical sketch here.

Jason Riddle

We moved to the North Central Section about 13 years ago. I continue to be amazed at the work ethic, passion and professionalism of wildlifers in our section. I’ve witnessed these qualities in our students as the faculty advisor to the student chapter at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, in our members at the state-level as president of The Wisconsin Chapter, and across our entire region as president of the North Central Section.

I’ll be transitioning out of the North Central Section presidency in February, 2022. It is bittersweet. It has been a pure joy to get to know state chapter presidents from across the region and to work with the other officers and committee chairs. I believe we’ve been incredibly productive together as a team. We’ve continued to provide online services (such as webinars) to our members, allocated nearly 40 travel grants to professional meetings, and are even piloting a free student membership program to students in our section regardless of their membership status in other TWS units. The accomplishments of our team have given me even more energy and passion about our section and our members than I had when I began serving at the section-level.  I would love to harness that energy and apply it to representing the interests and needs of our section to Council. Similarly, I am excited to see how the North Central Section can continue to strengthen the entire Wildlife Society as we grow and become more established at a global level.

See complete biographical sketch here.