AFS Policy Director Tom Bigford Elected As The Coastal Society President

But don’t worry.  He isn’t going anywhere!

Tom Bigford, Policy Director in AFS headquarters, was recently elected President of The Coastal Society. TCS is the oldest international society focused on the breadth of issues affecting the world’s coasts. TCS hosts meetings, fosters dialogue, forges partnerships, supports professional networks, and mentors future leaders related to technical, policy, educational, and management issues. In his new capacity, Tom will lead TCS in 2015 and then serve as Past President in 2016. One of his primary TCS missions will be to inspire  partnerships with AFS and other aquatic societies. Initiatives already underway include bringing AFS and TCS to the Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation’s biennial conference in November 2015 for a special session on fisheries in coastal watersheds and co-editing a special issue of the official TCS journal, Coastal Management, part of the Taylor and Francis portfolio that also includes the AFS journals. Tom has been a member of TCS since 1976, and formerly served as Secretary, Executive Director, Director, publications editor, and conference program chair. He’s been the AFS liaison to TCS for more than a decade. Some of you may recall back in the early 1980s when TCS shared office space with AFS during the early years of the Renewable Natural Resources Foundation, the group of non-profits who occupied our Bethesda buildings. Check out www.thecoastalsociety.org to learn more about The Coastal Society.