AFWA elects Sara Parker Pauley as president

Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies members elected Sara Parker Pauley, director of the Missouri Department of Conservation, as the organization’s new president during its virtual annual meeting on Tuesday. Pauley is the first woman to hold that position.

“It is a huge honor to be selected to serve as President of AFWA, including being the first female to serve in this role since AFWA’s beginning in 1902,” Pauley said in a press release. “As people have flocked to the outdoors in record numbers during this pandemic, this is a crucial time for state agencies to look closely at how we connect with our diverse mix of citizens, some personally experiencing the positive benefits of nature for the first time.”

Pauley will serve as AFWA President through September 2021. She has served as director of the Missouri Department of Conservation since November 2016, when she became the first woman to hold that post as well.

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