NYCAFS Candidate Biographies | New York Chapter of the American Fisheries Society

WELCOME TO THE NY CHAPTER AFS CANDIDATE BIOGRAPHIES

FUTURE PRESIDENT-ELECT :

Samantha Carey

Hello! My name is Samantha Carey and I am an Instructional Support Fisheries Technician for the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Environmental Science at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Cobleskill! I graduated from SUNY Cobleskill in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in Fisheries and Aquaculture and I am a recent graduate from SUNY Oneonta with a master’s of science in Lake Management. I currently assist and/or instruct fisheries labs for a multitude of classes ranging from fisheries techniques all the way up to fisheries management!

I first became involved with the American Fisheries Society as an undergraduate at SUNY Cobleskill. I have served in a number of roles within AFS at both the collegiate and state level; member (2012-present), student subunit treasurer (2014), student subunit president (2015), NYCAFS local affairs chair (2021), tech assistant for the We R NYCAFS introductory R workshops (2021) and am currently serving as the NYCAFS annual meeting program chair (2022). I have been the advisor of the SUNY Cobleskill Student Subunit of AFS for the past 6 years and I enjoy sharing my passion for all things fishy with the members! It gives me a sense satisfaction to help mold students into competent fisheries professionals with our active subunit!

I am honored to be nominated for president-elect for NYCAFS as AFS has played a vital roll in my student, as well as, professional development. As president, I would love to continue to develop the diversity and inclusion of fisheries folks within our chapter. Both student and professional development is important for early career/career advancement and peer networking which can promote new members, student subunits and involvement of outside partners. So far, many of my experiences have deeply grown my love for aquatic organisms and I have developed a passion for conducting field research while improving native fisheries. If granted the opportunity, I would love to share this passion with the state and national chapters!

FUTURE Secretary-Treasurer :

Dan Stich

I am an Assistant Professor in the Biology Department and

Biological Field Station at the State University of New York (SUNY) College at Oneonta. In that position, I advise undergraduate and graduate students in multiple degree programs, and teach courses in organismal biology, ecology and evolution, ichthyology, lake management, experimental design, and advanced ecological statistics with R. I also conduct research focused on the development and application of quantitative tools to better understand how anthropogenic influences and management decisions affect fish populations.

I first joined AFS as an undergraduate student at SUNY Cobleskill. Since then, I have served a number of official and unofficial roles in AFS, first as President of the SUNY Cobleskill Student Subunit, then as President of the Virginia Tech Chapter, Co-chair of the Southern Division Student Colloquium, Editor of Southern Division News, Treasurer of the University of Maine Student Subunit, as a member of the Fisheries and Information Technology Section of AFS. I have been involved with organization of various events within NYCAFS since joining as a professional. I served as the Program Chair for our 2018 meeting. I have been active in outreach through events such as Youth Aquatic Resource Education workshops sponsored by the Chapter, NYS Parks, and SUNY Oneonta. I have also provided a number of free R workshops in collaboration with various other groups represented within the Chapter. I served as past-president in 2021-2022 after having served previously as president-elect and president.

With several years of experience working behind the scenes or in official capacities for NYCAFS, I have gleaned institutional knowledge that I think is important in the role of secretary-treasurer for Chapter. Given that I have benefited personally and professionally from chapter membership in a number of ways, I am honored to run for the position.