Conference organization
Since 2016 the Evolution meetings have been organized by 1-3 academics (Associate and 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: Mark McPeek, Dartmouth, 2023-
SSB representative: Luke Harmon, University of Idaho, 2021-
SSE representative: Mike Whitlock, University of British Columbia, 2023-
SSE Executive VP: Howard Rundle, University of Ottawa, 2023-
Co-chief meeting officer: Brian Hollis, University of South Carolina, 2021-
Co-chief meeting officer: Alex Wong, Texas A&M, 2021-
Assistant meeting officer: April Wright, Southeastern Louisiana University, 2022-
Assistant meeting officer (virtual conferences): Mike Wiser, Michigan State University, 2022-
Professional conference organizer
Karen Faller, Whio Management LLC. evolution.meetings@gmail.com
ASN representative: Mark McPeek, Dartmouth, 2023-
SSB representative: Luke Harmon, University of Idaho, 2021-
SSE representative: Mike Whitlock, University of British Columbia, 2023-
SSE Executive VP: Howard Rundle, University of Ottawa, 2023-
Co-chief meeting officer: Brian Hollis, University of South Carolina, 2021-
Co-chief meeting officer: Alex Wong, Texas A&M, 2021-
Assistant meeting officer: April Wright, Southeastern Louisiana University, 2022-
Assistant meeting officer (virtual conferences): Mike Wiser, Michigan State University, 2022-
Professional conference organizer
Karen Faller, Whio Management LLC. 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
TBD
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
TBD
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.
Why is registration so expensive?
The societies represented at the annual Evolution conference are not-for-profit organizations. Our goal is to provide attendees with a quality conference experience while keeping the cost of registration as low as possible. Every Evolution conference is budgeted to break even. We do not attempt to make any profit from our conferences and, if revenue exceeds costs, the surplus is used to reduce registration fees and the next year's meeting.
The meeting is funded largely through registration fees, with sponsors/exhibitors/advertisers providing some small additional income. Registration fees are graded to make participation more affordable for students by charging more for faculty/professionals. The societies themselves cover, or subsidize, certain components including, but not limited to, participation support (e.g., travel awards). From our registration and sponsor/exhibitor income, we need to cover a variety of expenses including rental of the convention center, registration and talk/poster management software, AV equipment and staff, food and beverages during the meeting, wifi for attendees, as well as compensation for conference and organizational staff. Other easily overlooked costs include credit card payment fees and lawyer fees to review all of the contracts necessary to make the meeting happen. Also, with our move to offering more virtual meetings/options, there are increased software costs associated with the online platform, recording, and talk captioning.
The meeting is funded largely through registration fees, with sponsors/exhibitors/advertisers providing some small additional income. Registration fees are graded to make participation more affordable for students by charging more for faculty/professionals. The societies themselves cover, or subsidize, certain components including, but not limited to, participation support (e.g., travel awards). From our registration and sponsor/exhibitor income, we need to cover a variety of expenses including rental of the convention center, registration and talk/poster management software, AV equipment and staff, food and beverages during the meeting, wifi for attendees, as well as compensation for conference and organizational staff. Other easily overlooked costs include credit card payment fees and lawyer fees to review all of the contracts necessary to make the meeting happen. Also, with our move to offering more virtual meetings/options, there are increased software costs associated with the online platform, recording, and talk captioning.
Host an event
If you are interested in hosting a special event of some type as part of the conference (e.g., a reception, editorial/council or other meeting, workshop, information session, special presentation, etc.) please see the workshops and special events page for details, and us know by email. All events are subject to the approval of the Joint Meeting Committee. Requests received prior to Jan 15, 2024 will receive our full consideration, and if accepted will be included in the conference schedule. Those received after this date are at the discretion of the organizers and may not be possible.