AIC's 52nd Annual Meeting

Wake up with a star-studded cast of conservators and discuss the state of emerging conservators at all levels and ways to improve and keep moving on Friday, May 24th, 2024 at the AIC Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City.

As a reminder, maybe you participated in one of the three surveys painfully crafted and sent out by your hosts and their irreplaceable squad (names at the end)? Maybe you are or recently were an emerging conservator and are encouraged by some recent changes and/or frustrated by continuing concerns? If any of these things are true, and even if you’ve been emerged for a while, this session is for you.

Our program will feature speakers followed by larger discussion-based panels related to 1) the current state of emerging professionals, 2) the recent changes to formal training programs, and 3) periods of transition from one career stage to another. We hope for participation from attendees as well and will be soliciting feedback before, during, and after the event.

Session Outline
Introduction: A session introduction and quick survey result overview will be given by Michaela Paulson & Stephanie Guidera.

Session 1: This introduction will also include a moderated panel consisting of 6 Emerging Conservation Professional (ECPs) panelists to discuss current thoughts and concerns of emerging professionals. Topics covered will include compensation, efficacy of training, employer and program expectations, equity in opportunities, accessible (and non-accessible) pathways, the role of AIC, and more.

Panelists: Ella Andrews, Nylah Byrd, Minyoung Kim, Rebecca Rosen, Sarah Freshnock, Nora Bloch

Session 2: Kaeley Ferguson and Katharine Shulman will then share their experiences as students during the COVID-19 pandemic, transitioning us into the theme of education and training.

The second moderated panel will discuss current training and internship practices within the U.S., focusing on how things have (or have not) changed recently, success stories, and areas for growth. Insights on mentor/mentee relationships, training practices and expectations, core competencies, and more - from both sides - will be shared.

Panelists: Angie Elliott, Lauren Fair, Casey Mallinckrodt, Kaeley Ferguson, Katharine Shulman

Session 3: Ellen Carrlee will talk to us about her career path, transitioning us into the theme of career stages in the field, followed by a third moderated panel talking about unions, private practice, and career transitions. Compensation, advancement opportunities, and the role of AIC will also be discussed.

Panelists: Samantha Springer, Jen Munch, Elena Bowen, Stephanie Hornbeck, Greg Bailey, Ellen Carrlee

Closing: Fran Ritchie & Ameya Grant will end the session with “We were wrong about: lesson learned,” a conversational presentation focused on action items based on their mentor/mentee relationship.

We look forward to broadly sharing what is working, collectively brainstorming on how to make things better, and having honest conversations about what desperately needs to change.

If you can’t make it in person or virtually, please know all of the information from this session - including results of the surveys (and more!) - will be synthesized into a report to be released at a later date.

Thank you for your time and attention and support/constructive criticism.

Annabelle Camp
Kaeley Ferguson
Kacey Green
Stephanie Guidera
Michaela Paulson
Caitlin Gozo Richeson
Ashley Stanford
Caroline Shaver
Keara Teeter
Céline Wachsmuth