2024 TNAFS Virtual Business Meeting
Monday April 8th, 2024 | 8am-10am CST; 9am-11am EST
After a fantastic Southern Division meeting last month, it is time to come together (virtually) to take care of Tennessee Chapter business. The date for the 2024 virtual business meeting will be Monday April 8th, 8:00-10:00 CST/9:00-11:00 am EST. Please mark your calendars for the meeting. We will be voting in 2 new EXCOM members, President-Elect and Treasurer-Secretary, as well as voting on the proposed bylaws changes as detailed in the link below.
Only TNAFS members will receive the link to access the business meeting. You must become a member by Wednesday, April 3rd to receive the meeting link. If you are not currently a TNAFS member, you can do that two different ways:
1) Renewing or joining with the parent society,
— https://fisheries.org/membership/join/
— You can select Tennessee when renewing or joining and it will add the $10 dues fee to your final bill.
2) Paying directly through the chapter by credit card or check
— Instructions for that can be found here: https://units.fisheries.org/tn/membership/dues/
— If you are unsure of your membership status, please reach out to TNAFS EXCOM by emailing tennesseeafs@gmail.com well in advance of April 3rd.
Proposed Bylaw Changes (Click Here)
EXCOM Nominees:
President Elect
Shawna Fix
Hi, I’m Shawna Fix, and I’m the Aquatic Connectivity Teams Facilitator at SARP (Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership). I work with partners across the Southeast to inventory, prioritize, and replace barriers for aquatic organism passage. My background is in threatened and endangered freshwater fish, and I have a passion for conservation. My involvement in TNAFS leadership began in 2016 after becoming the Social Media Chair. In 2018 I was elected as the Treasurer-Secretary, and was re-elected for a second term in 2021.My favorite part about working with TNAFS is supporting and mentoring students, as they are the next generation of fisheries biologists and conservationists. I would like to be the next President-Elect to continue my many years of work with the society, as I believe that AFS is an invaluable platform for partnership and career building for all fisheries professionals in Tennessee.
Robert Paine
My name is Robert Paine, and I am a Post-Doc Research Associate in the Tennessee Tech Coop Fish Unit. I grew up on the Gulf Coast in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but my roots are in the panhandle of Florida (Go Gators!). Once upon a time, I was a marine eco-physiologist where I earned my bachelor’s in marine biology from the University of West Florida. I earned my PhD in Environmental Sciences from Tennessee Tech, where I now focus my research efforts on molecular ecology, including all things environmental DNA. My advisors pushed me into AFS when I started grad school because it was a good way to get involved and learn about Fisheries related research, which I had very little. What I really enjoy about AFS, now that I have been involved for several years, is learning how to collaborate with others and apply new techniques and theory to my own research. It’s also really fun to see undergraduate and graduate students year after year (who you may not even know personally) and see their progressive growth in their projects and careers. AFS has really given me the drive to be the best mentor I can be, for my current and future students.
Secretary-Treasurer
Alex Bybel
I’m Alex Bybel and I am currently a Fisheries Biologist at the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency managing sportfish and non-game fish in rivers and streams of TWRA Region 2. I received my Master’s Degree in 2018 from Iowa State University working on genetic and population studies of Endangered Topeka Shiners. Before coming to Tennessee in 2021, I managed anadromous and residential salmonids as a Fish Biologist for the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs in Oregon. My favorite thing about TNAFS is the opportunities it provides to highlight the research being done across the state and inspire future projects. I have been a member of AFS for a few years and am I excited for an opportunity to take a more active role.
Abbey Holsopple
My name is Abbey Holsopple, I am the Recovery Biologist at the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute in Chattanooga. I am originally from Western New York and got my Bachelors in Fisheries and Aquaculture from the State University of New York at Cobleskill. After Cobleskill, I got my masters in Biology from Tennessee Tech. During my time at Cobleskill, I served as both Treasurer and President of the AFS student subunit. I enjoy being involved with AFS because of the opportunities it affords for collaboration between professionals and students.
Please let us know if you have any questions, and we look forward to seeing you there!