Conference organization
Since 2016 the Evolution meetings have been organized by one or two academics (Chief Meeting Officers), with support from a professional conference organizer and overseen by the tri-society Joint Meeting Committee. If you have a general question, comment, or suggestions, feel free to contact the Chief Meeting Officers and/or our Professional Conference Organizer (see below). For society-specific issues you can also contact the appropriate representative on the committee
Joint meeting committee
ASN representative: Mike Whitlock, University of British Columbia, 2021-present
SSB representative: Luke Harmon, University of Idaho, 2021-present
SSE representative: Leonie Moyle, Indiana University, 2021-present
SSE Executive V-P: Andrea Case, Kent State University
Chief Meeting Officer: Mitch Cruzan, Portland State University
Chief Meeting Officer: Howard Rundle, University of Ottawa
Professional conference organizer
Kerrell Dunsmore, evolution.meetings@gmail.com
ASN representative: Mike Whitlock, University of British Columbia, 2021-present
SSB representative: Luke Harmon, University of Idaho, 2021-present
SSE representative: Leonie Moyle, Indiana University, 2021-present
SSE Executive V-P: Andrea Case, Kent State University
Chief Meeting Officer: Mitch Cruzan, Portland State University
Chief Meeting Officer: Howard Rundle, University of Ottawa
Professional conference organizer
Kerrell Dunsmore, evolution.meetings@gmail.com
Evolution code of conduct committee
Chair (SSE): Andrea Case, Kent State University, 2017 - present
SSB: Brian O’Meara, University of Tennessee Knoxville, 2017 - present
SSB: Kelly Zamudio, Cornell University, 2018 - present
SSE: Jodie Wiggins, Oklahoma State University, 2018 - present
ASN: Chris Moore, Colby College, 2019 - present
ASN student/postdoc: Sheng Pei Wang, 2019 - present
Past ASN: Gina Baucom, University of Michigan, 2017 - 2018
Past ASN: Sharon Strauss, University of California, Davis, 2018 - 2019
Safety officer
Paula Brantner, Safety Officer: safeconferences@gmail.com, Phone: 1-240-772-1205
Why don't we have local organizers/volunteers any more?
The Evolution meetings were traditionally organized by one or more dedicated and hard-working academic volunteers who were usually local to the host site every year. These volunteers pulled off some tremendous meetings, but as the conference grew in size and complexity, a number of problems developed. First, there was no continuity or history in the system; without a memory, the same mistakes were sometimes made repeatedly, and 'some things that should not have been forgotten, were lost'. Second, the workload was vastly increased because a new individual or group had to learn everything about conference organization from scratch every year. Third, it was a struggle for local volunteers to organize the meeting, so they had no time/resources for innovation. Fourth, and crucially, people were no longer volunteering, as it had become such a massive undertaking that nobody wanted to do it. Our new organizational structure was designed to address these issues.
We still welcome the participation and input from local volunteers; once a location is chosen we often recruit one or more local volunteers to fill very specific roles, allowing us to benefit from local knowledge and connections.
There is more information about how the annual Evolution conference is organized in this SSE Community Blog Post.
Chair (SSE): Andrea Case, Kent State University, 2017 - present
SSB: Brian O’Meara, University of Tennessee Knoxville, 2017 - present
SSB: Kelly Zamudio, Cornell University, 2018 - present
SSE: Jodie Wiggins, Oklahoma State University, 2018 - present
ASN: Chris Moore, Colby College, 2019 - present
ASN student/postdoc: Sheng Pei Wang, 2019 - present
Past ASN: Gina Baucom, University of Michigan, 2017 - 2018
Past ASN: Sharon Strauss, University of California, Davis, 2018 - 2019
Safety officer
Paula Brantner, Safety Officer: safeconferences@gmail.com, Phone: 1-240-772-1205
Why don't we have local organizers/volunteers any more?
The Evolution meetings were traditionally organized by one or more dedicated and hard-working academic volunteers who were usually local to the host site every year. These volunteers pulled off some tremendous meetings, but as the conference grew in size and complexity, a number of problems developed. First, there was no continuity or history in the system; without a memory, the same mistakes were sometimes made repeatedly, and 'some things that should not have been forgotten, were lost'. Second, the workload was vastly increased because a new individual or group had to learn everything about conference organization from scratch every year. Third, it was a struggle for local volunteers to organize the meeting, so they had no time/resources for innovation. Fourth, and crucially, people were no longer volunteering, as it had become such a massive undertaking that nobody wanted to do it. Our new organizational structure was designed to address these issues.
We still welcome the participation and input from local volunteers; once a location is chosen we often recruit one or more local volunteers to fill very specific roles, allowing us to benefit from local knowledge and connections.
There is more information about how the annual Evolution conference is organized in this SSE Community Blog Post.
Conference locations
Who chooses the locations for the Evolution Meetings, and how do they decide?
The location is decided by the executive councils of all three societies, with input from the Joint Meeting Committee (JMC). The Chief Meeting Officers research potential locations, obtaining information on costs of conference facilities, services, and accommodations (hotels and dorms), and then report their findings to the JMC and the council. The Chief Meeting Officers do an enormous amount of work getting proposals from different conference facilities, negotiating with them, and working with them to put on a successful conference. That JMC and the council consider the following issues when they decide on the venue:
Why don’t we have the meetings at universities anymore?
It used to be that we held meetings at universities, with dorms available, run by local organizers. A lot of people liked that. These days, universities do rent their facilities, but they are seldom cheaper, and often more expensive, than conference facilities. They are also much less predictable and will cancel room use on short notice if they need it for themselves. It is very difficult, and sometimes not possible, to get them to commit to providing facilities that we need as far ahead of time as we need them to. Also, because our meetings have grown in size, universities rarely have adequate facilities to accommodate all the concurrent sessions, plenaries, and display space that we need, or to do so sessions would be split across distant locations. Conference facilities work with conference organizers, and we have more functional, predictable, and affordable conferences as a result of working with them.
The location is decided by the executive councils of all three societies, with input from the Joint Meeting Committee (JMC). The Chief Meeting Officers research potential locations, obtaining information on costs of conference facilities, services, and accommodations (hotels and dorms), and then report their findings to the JMC and the council. The Chief Meeting Officers do an enormous amount of work getting proposals from different conference facilities, negotiating with them, and working with them to put on a successful conference. That JMC and the council consider the following issues when they decide on the venue:
- Region: The priority is to rotate geographic regions among years (e.g. West Coast, Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Midwest, etc.).
- Location: We prioritize both accessibility and locations that are pleasant or interesting to visit.
- Venue: The convention center needs to be of a sufficient size and have a good layout, it must be affordable and in a decent location with restaurants and hotels nearby, and it will ideally be near cheaper housing options such as dorms (shuttle buses are expensive and inconvenient). Our conference is generally too small to get into convention centers in large cities.
- Total cost: The total price that you pay to attend the conference includes registration, transportation, and housing. The choice of location considers all these costs. Facility rental and services (and therefore registration) may be cheaper in one location, but housing could be very expensive, making it unfeasible. All costs are considered–not just registration costs–when making a decision.
Why don’t we have the meetings at universities anymore?
It used to be that we held meetings at universities, with dorms available, run by local organizers. A lot of people liked that. These days, universities do rent their facilities, but they are seldom cheaper, and often more expensive, than conference facilities. They are also much less predictable and will cancel room use on short notice if they need it for themselves. It is very difficult, and sometimes not possible, to get them to commit to providing facilities that we need as far ahead of time as we need them to. Also, because our meetings have grown in size, universities rarely have adequate facilities to accommodate all the concurrent sessions, plenaries, and display space that we need, or to do so sessions would be split across distant locations. Conference facilities work with conference organizers, and we have more functional, predictable, and affordable conferences as a result of working with them.
Host an event
Hosted events that are not part of the conference program (e.g., an editorial/council or other meeting, workshop, information session, special presentation, etc.) can be organized by the event organizers on a virtual platform of their choice. If you want your event listed as part of the schedule on the conference website please let us know by email. All events included in the conference schedule are subject to the approval of the organizing committee. Requests for events with limited capacity or that require a fee paid during conference registration must be received prior to March 1, 2021. Other requests must be received prior to April 1, 2021 to be included in the conference schedule.