Call for members for the 2025 Conference Advisory Board
“Help us make the revitalized Public Anthropology Conference a success by becoming a member of our 2025 Conference Advisory Board. ”
Earlier this week, the AU Department of Anthropology excitedly announced that our annual signature event – the Public Anthropology Conference – is back. With new funding support from the AU Office of Research, we are revitalizing the Public Anthropology Conference – building upon past conferences’ successes and commitment to deep engagement while expanding the event's scope, offerings, and even physical location. This year’s conference will be a free-to-the-public, two-day event held at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in downtown Washington, D.C. on November 7 and 8.
As we plan this year’s conference and build a sustainable conference structure for future years, we are looking for people to join our 2025 Advisory Board.
The Role of an Advisory Board Member
The primary objective of the Conference Advisory Board is to offer guidance, considerations, and high-level support for conference planning. Advisory Board members will be centrally focused on:
Advising on conference structure and theme, major decisions, ethics, funding, accessibility, and more
Serving as ambassadors by circulating marketing materials and promoting the conference within their networks
Connecting the Conference Organizer with possible partners and organizations, particularly those interested in financial sponsorship
Acting as advisors on specific topics (accessibility, communications, organizational engagement, collaborative research)
Assisting with abstract selection
Participating in post-conference debriefs and surveys
Advisory Board Composition
The board will have 12 members plus the conference organizer. The 12 members will consist of individuals from important participant groups and AU Anthro’s Core Planning Team:
(1) Conference Organizer
(4) Faculty or staff from AU Anthropology (Internal Core Planning Team)
(2) Grant Administrators
(1) Department Administrator
(1) Faculty member teaching the conference-focused course
(2) Students from AU Anthropology
(2) Alumni from AU Anthropology
(2) Representatives of research partners or community organizations
(2) External scholars, whether from AU or other universities
Expected Time Commitment
Board members can anticipate approximately 25-30 hours of service over seven months (outside of the conference itself) between three major facets: board meetings, abstract selection, and ad-hoc requests.
Advisory Board Meeting Schedule (Second Mondays of the Month)
Estimated Hours of Commitment: 10
** The October meeting is the first Monday of the month, not the second.
Meeting 1
Monday, June 9, 2025
11:30 am – 1:30pm EST
Remote
Planning I
Conference
November 7-8, 2025
8am – 5pm
In-Person
Meeting 2
Monday, July 14, 2025
11:30 am – 1:30pm EST
Remote
Planning II
Meeting 5
Monday, December 8, 2025
11:30 am – 1:30pm EST
Hybrid
Debrief Meeting
Meeting 3
Monday, September 8, 2025
11:30 am – 1:30pm EST
Hybrid
Planning III
Meeting 4
Monday, October 6, 2025
11:30 am – 1:30pm EST
Hybrid
Final Pre-Conference Check-In
Abstract Selection
Estimated Hours of Commitment: 8, across 2 working sessions in July
Ad-Hoc or Specialty Requests
Estimated Hours of Commitment: 5-10
Next steps
If you are interested in serving as a board member, please take 5 minutes to fill out this interest form no later than Wednesday, May 28 at 5pm. Our Conference Organizer will review the interest forms and confirm board members on a rolling basis, with the hopes of having the board finalized by Monday, June 2, 2025.
For those who are interested in learning more – whether about the advisory board or the conference in general – we have upcoming information sessions.
Tuesday, May 20 at 5:30 PM ET - RSVP here
Tuesday, May 27 at Noon PM ET (Advisory Board Information Only) - RSVP here
Those who cannot attend either of these sessions but want to know more may contact the Conference Organizer, Elise Ferrer, directly at ef8388a@american.edu. Feel free to circulate this post to individuals you think would make a great addition to the board.
Excited to work with you all!