AFS Executive Director receives two leadership awards

AFS Executive Director Doug Austen recently received two prestigious awards to honor his distinguished career in fisheries conservation and management: the Gerald H. Cross Alumni Leadership Award from Virginia Tech Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation and the College of Natural Resources and Environment, and the NRM Distinguished Alumni Award from South Dakota State University Department of Natural Resource Management.

Austen holds a doctorate in animal ecology from Iowa State University. He earned his master’s degree in fish and wildlife conservation from Virginia Tech, and his bachelor’s degree from South Dakota State University.

In 2013, AFS appointed Austen its executive director. Previously, he worked as the national coordinator of the Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs) with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and served six years as executive director of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. He also spent 10 years with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources with the Illinois Natural History Survey, working on fisheries research and stream and watershed restoration.

“Virginia Tech gives the Gerald H. Cross Alumni Leadership Award each year to an alumnus of the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation who has a record of exemplary leadership in natural resources. The students participating in our College of Natural Resources and Environment Leadership Institute review the dossiers of distinguished alumni, conduct interviews with a few selected finalists, and select the award winner. Doug Austen is a perfect fit for the award. Leaders in AFS have been well represented among winners of the Cross Award. In addition to Austen, three former AFS presidents–Barbara Knuth, Chris Kohler, and Wayne Hubert– have won the award,” said Associate Professor and AFS First Vice President Steve McMullin.

At South Dakota State, Austen’s nomination for the prestigious NRM Distinguished Alumni Award stems from his numerous contributions to research, education, and professional service. “As AFS’s executive director, he has worked tirelessly to enhance the reputation of the world’s largest and oldest fisheries professional organization. The Society has been more responsive to the needs of its members under his direction. He actively engages AFS members at all levels – from chapters, divisions, sections, and committees – to learn more about how the Society can better develop and support all fisheries professionals, whether students or emeriti. Dr. Austen has strategically restructured and realigned headquarters staff to advance the mission of AFS and has increased communication between staff and members,” said Craig Paukert, alum of the Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences PhD program and current Past President of the Education Section of AFS. “I have been very impressed by how much Austen and his staff care about what the members and Section have to say. The Education Section has provided input on many items but the most notable was the hiring of a new Professional Development and Continuing Education Coordinator.”

Austen also leads AFS in the public and policy arena, both nationally and internationally. Under his leadership, the Society works alongside decision makers in Washington D.C., Ottawa, Ontario, and state houses to promote sustainable marine and freshwater fisheries policies and legislation. Additionally, he has built partnerships with conservation organizations in North America and worldwide to provide a unified voice. This thought leadership informs policies on some of our most pressing environmental issues, such as climate change. Through these activities, Dr. Austen is elevating the status of AFS as the foremost international society on fisheries conservation.

“To receive these awards from South Dakota State and Virginia Tech is really humbling and an unexpected honor.  Both institutions are national leaders in fisheries science and management and were the foundations of my career.  I can’t speak highly enough of the faculty, the departments, and the fellow graduate students who all make these programs so successful and who have had such a lasting influence on all that I and many other graduates of these programs have been able to accomplish throughout our careers.” — AFS Executive Director Doug Austen, PhD