PAESTA Executive Committee

Committee Charge:  To conduct the business of the organization for the benefit of the PAESTA membership as defined by the organization's constitution and bylaws.

Dave Curry, Holland Middle School (President); Kelly Hunter, Bristol High School (Secretary/Treasurer); Kathleen Tait, J.R. Masterman School (Past President); Christie Orlosky, Armstrong High School (President Elect); Eric Aitala, The Pennsylvania State University (Webmaster)

PAESTA President job duties  --  The President will have completed a one-year term as President-Elect prior to being appointed President of the organization. The President performs duties to further the goals and mission of PAESTA according to its Constitution and vision. The President shall appoint chairpersons, liaisons, and coordinators with approval of the Executive Committee. The President shall call meetings twice a year of the PAESTA External Advisory Council and serve as an ex-officio member of the Meetings Committee. When time/location avaibility allows, the PAESTA President will represent the organization at teacher meetings in the state of Pennsylvania.

PAESTA President-Elect job duties  --  The President-Elect serves a one-year term prior to being appointed acting President. The President-Elect is a member of the Executive Committee and attends quarterly virtual meetings. The President-Elect observes, advises, and assists the current president in their official duties to further the goals and mission of PAESTA; for example, to expand membership across underrepresented areas of the state. The President-Elect shall serve as chairperson for the PAESTA Teaching Resources Committee to build and evaluate/review/update materials in the PAESTA Classroom and across the PAESTA website. In the event the President is unable to perform the duties of the office, the President-Elect shall act in his/her behalf until he/she shall assume the position of President on July 1.

PAESTA Past President job duties  --  The Past President will aid the new President as he/she moves into leadership with the organization. The Past President shall serve as chairperson of the Nominations Committee, shall organize the annual election to choose the next President-Elect and Secretary-Treasurer, shall act in an advisory capacity to the President, and shall assume other responsibilities as assigned by the President.

PAESTA Secretary job duties  --  The duties of this position include taking minutes during all virtual Executive Committee meetings and maintaining an electronic/print archive of official organizational business. This position also assists the current president in his/her official duties to further the goals and mission of PAESTA.

PAESTA Treasurer job duties  --  The duties of this position include helping to promote the opportunity for financial and other donations to support PAESTA's operating costs, including overseeing the budget for PAESTA conferences. In 2017-2018, the PAESTA Treasurer will also explore opening a bank account for the organization and defining actual costs to run the organization. This position also assists the current president in his/her official duties to further the goals and mission of PAESTA.

Teacher Advisory Committee

Committee Charge:  To reach out to other science educators in their school/district to get them involved in improving Earth and Space Science teaching; to provide leadership by actively encouraging and challenging colleagues to improve their instructional practices; to serve the PAESTA community by participating in professional development activities at the local, regional and national level and providing feedback concerning how to improve teacher outreach; to volunteer time to provide feedback to the PAESTA Executive Committee on how the organization can support K-12 Earth and Space Science teachers in PA.

Theresa Lewis-King, AMY Northwest Middle School (Chair); Heather Spotts, Valerie Adams, Beverley Weinstein

Teaching Resource Committee

Committee Charge:  To organize and curate PAESTA’s online collection of teaching resources; to continually build a comprehensive searchable database that all PAESTA members can access to help with daily classroom needs.

Christie Orlosky, Armstrong High School and PAESTA President Elect (Chair); [currently no members]

Nominations Committee

Committee Charge:  To oversee the voting process for PAESTA's elected positions and to certify the election results; to actively recruit individuals to run for office that fully support the mission and vision of PAESTA.

Kathy Tait, J.R. Masterman School and PAESTA Past President (Chair); [2 vacancies]

Meetings Committee

Committee Charge:  To develop a conference that provides challenging, provocative and enriching educational and networking experiences; to design conference activities to reflect the diversity of the field and to meet the educational needs and interests of a wide range of educators.

Kelly Hunter, Bristol High School; Dave Curry, Holland Middle School; Christie Orlosky, Armstrong High School; Karen Spuck, Clarion University of PA, Kelly Vranich [vacant - Committee Chair]

Meetings Committee member job duties  --  The PAESTA Meetings Committee is responsible for planning the PAESTA annual meeting and any additional PAESTA-organized sessions focusing on professional development of teachers. This includes determining and securing the meeting location, inviting speakers, organizing the meeting registration, securing giveaways and sponsors, performing a conference evaluation, and coordinating with the PAESTA Treasurer to define the budget available. The PAESTA Meetings Committee will be composed of six members (at least two will be from higher education - one in Earth science, one in space science). The term will be from January 1st to December 31, with the option to renew to serve again via appointment from the PAESTA Executive Committee.

Award for Teaching Excellence Committee

Committee Charge:  To collect nominations for this annual award; to select an award winner before the annual PAESTA conference; to prepare the citation for announcement at the PAESTA conference and for the PAESTA website; to annually revisit the call for nominations and make adjustments as deemed necessary.

[vacant]

Editors for eNewsletter PAESTA News and Notes

Position(s) Charge:  To keep the PAESTA membership informed about organization news, events, and development and availability of organization resources; to recommend resources and professional development opportunities from outside organizations; to highlight opportunities for leadership within PAESTA.

Laura Guertin, Penn State Brandywine (Editor); [vacant] (Assistant Editor)

News and Notes Editor job duties  --  The Editor works closely with the PAESTA Newsletter Assistant Editor in preparing the monthly issues of the organization newsletter News and Notes and special issues of current/topical interest. The Editor locates items for inclusion in each issue, from announcements of new resources and workshops from local-to-national organizations to additions to the PAESTA website. Communication is expected to be frequent with the Assistant Newsletter Editor and PAESTA President. The time spent working on each issue is approximately 5-to-7 hours per monthly issue, with additional time required for special issues (Earth Science Week, PAESTA elections, etc.). PAESTA utilizes the free services MailChimp (http://www.mailchimp.com/). No prior experience with MailChimp is necessary for the position. Past issues of the newsletters can be found online at the PAESTA website (http://www.paesta.psu.edu/paesta-newsletter).

News and Notes Assistant Editor job duties  --  The Assistant Editor works closely with the PAESTA Newsletter Editor in preparing and reviewing the monthly issues of the organization newsletter News and Notes. The Assistant Editor reviews each issue for spelling/typos tests all included hyperlinks. The Assistant Editor has the option to contribute articles to each issue but is not required. Communication is expected to be frequent with the Newsletter Editor, and deadlines for final issue review is to be negotiated between the Editor and Assistant Editor. The time spent working on each issue is one hour to 1.5 hours per monthly issue. PAESTA utilizes the free services MailChimp (http://www.mailchimp.com/). No prior experience with MailChimp is necessary for the position. Past issues of the newsletters can be found online at the PAESTA website (http://www.paesta.psu.edu/paesta-newsletter).

PAESTA Archivist

Position Charge:  To preserve PAESTA's "memory" and support its mission; to systematically collect, preserve, maintain, promote, and make available information of historical value to the organization.

[vacant]

Official liaison with NESTA

Position Charge:  To supply NESTA an up-to-date and current list of the officers of the affiliate; to provide NESTA a one page annual financial statement; to submit to NESTA an annual one-page report on the association’s accomplishments (This should include such information as meetings, field conferences, publications, liaisons with other teacher associations, and so on); to notify NESTA of any changes in the association’s articles of operation when they occur.

[vacant]