Dawn Neumann

Dear ECNG Members,

It is hard to believe that the ECNG Communications Task Force started four years ago in December 2012, and that my time as Chair is coming to an end. As the first Chair of this newly formed Task Force, I remember thinking, “What did I get myself into?” I must say it has been a great journey and learning experience for me. Over the years I have watched our group find its legs, as it grew its number of energetic members and meaningful activities. We started by disseminating a few resources to our members with small monthly e-blasts, which has evolved and grown into a very robust quarterly e-Newsletter, rich with important early career resources for our members.

The ECNG Newsletter has always been a product of the Communication TF members’ contributions, and I am so grateful for their assistance and support over the years. I could never thank the committee members enough for their time and commitment to this Task Force—what a great group of individuals! I am honored to have worked with each and everyone of you— so I send an enormous thank you to all of you, especially Alison Cogan, my Chair-Elect during the past year!

I would also like to extend my extreme gratitude to the ECNG Executive Committee, especially Megan Mitchell (current ECNG Chair) and other ECNG task forces for their support and contributions, especially Brooks Wingo (ECNG Mentoring TF chair) and current and past chairs of the Early Career Development Course (Monique Pappadis and Stephanie Kolakowsky-Hayner, respectively).

I would also like to thank Cindy Robinson, who has truly made the Newsletters possible with her technical skills in transforming our newsletters into an electronic form for email distribution, and Terri Compos for her assistance with scheduling our conference calls and sending out much-needed reminders.  Finally, I would like to thank the ACRM Board of Governors, who have been great advocates for the ECNG as a whole.

I see exciting new projects on the horizon for our Communications Task Force. I look forward to seeing this TF continue to grow and thrive under its new leadership, with Alison Cogan as Chair, and Ekaterina Dobryakova as Chair elect, starting January 2017.   The combined energy, creativity, and leadership of Alison and Kat is sure to be a winning combination that will no doubt help the group to flourish by enhancing what we already have in place, and spur novel and exciting new directions and activities for the Communications TF.

Please join me in welcoming Alison and Ekaterina into their new executive positions as Chair and Chair Elect, respectively!  Congrats to you both – I’ve enjoyed working with you and getting to know you both over the years, and I look forward to continue to work with you as your Past Chair and loyal member of the ECNG Communications TF.

Sincerely,

Dawn Neumann, PhD
ECNG Communication Task Force Chair, 2012-2016