NAPA Annual Report
November 2000 – December 2001
Submitted by Susan Squires
Elected Officers – the elected officers serving during this time period were, Susan Squires, President (tactics@inreach.com); Edward Liebow, President Elect (liebow@policycenter.com), Peter Van Arsdale, Past President (pvanarsd@aol.com); Carmen Garcia Ruiz, Secretary (anthropocg@aol.com); Linda Lampl, Treasurer (llampl@lampl-herbert.com); Cris Johnsrud, Member-at-Large (c-johnsrud@ufl.edu); Ann Jordan, Member-at-Large (jordan@scs.unt.edu); Mary Odell Butler, Member-at-Large (butlerm@BATTELLE.ORG); and Alayne Unterburger, Student Representative (aunterbe@hsc.usf.edu). Other persons, in appointed and voluntary positions, played vital roles as well.
Treasury –Again this year, NAPA is in a solid financial position. As of the end of October, the fund balance was $91,449.82 with gross revenues of $28,644.71. Membership remained constant between December 2000 and November 2001 averaging 706 members a month with a high of 722 and low of 688. Membership dropped slightly from the 2000 high of 738. Linda Lampl is updating the budget process begun by past treasurer Flora Price. Flora had consolidated cost centers in the NAPA budget. Using this simplified financial statement, Linda has worked with Suzanne Mattingly to develop realistic revenue and cost projections for the 2002 budget that are based on past budget performance. She also began to develop or refine written budget policies starting with refinement of the policies on reimbursement of board members. Linda is working with Lenora Bohren, Chair of NAPA's workshops, to revise polices on reimbursement of workshop presenters.
Nominations/Elections –Judy Tso and Patricia Sachs were selected to fill the two Member-at-Large positions, and Kathi Kitner became NAPA’s new Secretary. We at NAPA were all pleased when Dennis Wiedman was successfully elected as NAPA’s candidate to the AAA’s Long-Range Planning Committee.
Program Linkages and Communications – Many activities and initiatives were consolidated this past year through the collaborative work of the NAPA Communications Committee. There are two subcommittees of the overall Communications Committee: the Web Site Development subcommittee and the Marketing/Outreach subcommittee. Each of these groups worked diligently during the year to develop a coordinated, unified NAPA image and informational content on the Worldwide Web as well as in print and other public outreach and awareness media. As a result, the NAPA Board of Directors approved the overall graphic design concepts and content areas for the NAPA Home Page and authorized the purchase of domain names and space on a host server. The goal of the web site is to provide a centralized entry point for a variety of information and linkages for NAPA members and for the wider anthropological community and general public.
Employment and Professional Development – The Marketing/Outreach subcommittee of the Communication Committee worked with AAA to provide systematic content and informational material for public relations and media outreach as well as organized the first ever education and outreach booth at the AAA Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. “Instant mentoring” and ad hoc presentations by professional anthropologists working in a variety of career areas were also provided. During “instant mentoring” one or more practicing anthropologists were available during three days of the meeting to meet informally with AAA meeting attendees to discuss employment opportunities and provide tips on job hunting. Attendees were also invited to sign up for mini-sessions on building networks, interviewing for information and seeking jobs in the high tech sector were also conducted at the NAPA booth. Finally, the booth was well supplied with brochures describing the NAPA mentoring program, handouts describing areas of anthropological practice, and NAPA membership directories. The booth was a success, and the NAPA hopes to have similar booths at future meetings to increase membership, solicit suggestions and guidance from the membership, and provide information about anthropology, the AAA, NAPA, and applied and practicing job opportunities.
NAPA Bulletin – During the past year one issue of the NAPA Bulletin was published, #21, Caring for those in Crisis: Integrating Anthropology and Public Health in Complex Humanitarian Emergencies, under the apt direction of Dennis Wiedman and Linda Bennett, co-editors. Dennis and Linda continue to pursue a vigorous strategy of soliciting authors on topics central to our field, enhancing Bulletin presentation, and highlighting the availability of Bulletins. For example, significant quality enhancements were made with Bulletin 21: better quality paper, the cover text was rearranged to highlight the title, the back cover now abstracts the Issue topic, the inside front cover discusses NAPA and the AAA, the inside back cover lists past Bulletins, and it was spline binded with the Bulletin title on the spline. A major marketing plan was also developed for the Bulletins in general and specifically for Bulletin 21. Bulletin marketing was designated as a responsibility of the NAPA Communications committee. Sales of NAPA Bulletins in 2001 generated $5370.00 in revenue for NAPA. Enhanced marketing in 2002 should increase this amount.
Workshop Committee – Under the notable supervision of Leni Bohren NAPA sponsored 17 workshops at the 2001 AAA meetings in Washington, D.C generating $4000.00 in registration fees:
Program Committee - Paige Beverly has served as chair of this committee for the past two years. For 2002 Paige will be turning the Program Committee chair over to Alexandra Mack. NAPA held four sessions at the AAA meetings in DC as follows:
In addition the Program Committee reviewed and recommended two poster sessions: Margaret Mead Revisited and Glass or Plastic.
NAPA’s Councillor Program - NAPA's Councillor Program has four university affiliates: Northern Arizona University (through Walter Vannette), Central Washington University (through Darby Stapp), California State University – Long Beach (through Bob Harman), and the University of North Texas (through Ann Jordan). UNT is the newest addition. For the first time, selected student profiles were put on-line. These feature the work of some of the best students from universities represented in the program. Also for the first time, a newsletter was distributed offering ideas for grants suited to these programs. Peter Van Arsdale and Darby Stapp continue to coordinate the overall initiative.
NAPA Mentor Program - Mentor Program Committee consists of: Ed Liebow and Cris Johnsrud, co-chairs, Elizabeth Briody, Judith Benson, Christina Wasson, Micki Iris, Cathleen Crain, and John Omohundro. The program received 70 inquiries via email, phone, and postal mail in 2001. These inquiries sought general information about careers in practicing anthropology (30), internship / practicum opportunities (12), and mentor matches (28). We made 28 mentor matches during the year. Ed Liebow took primary responsibility for completing an evaluation of the Mentor Match program, examining its outcomes and processes based on interviews with a total of 24 people, 14 mentors and 10 protégés. People were asked how they found about the NAPA Mentor Program, what sorts of interactions they had with their counterparts, and what changes, if any, they thought would strengthen the program. All felt that the need for this sort of service is great, and that something of value can come from participation. Suggestions for strengthening the program focused on steps that would help clarify what is expected of Mentors, improve communications between Mentors and their protégés, more carefully follow-up and track outcomes, and expand participation. New program coordinators will be recommended to the Governing Board at its March 2002 meeting in Atlanta.
Student Outreach and Support – Under NAPA student board member Alayne Unterberger, NAPA’s student outreach and support continues as a priority. This years NAPA introduced a new informal forum for students and practitioners. The first Practitioner – Student social was held during the SFAA meetings in March of 2001. The social was such a success that a second social was held at the AAA meetings in Washington, D.C. At both get-togethers students and practicing anthropologists had a chance to meet and informally discuss a wide range of career topics. In addition, we are continuing to build a strong working relationship with NASA offering our support for the NAPA mentoring event at the AAA meetings, which key members of the NAPA leadership attended.
NAPA Student Award – In 2001 we received two award submissions. We were pleased that the recipients of this year's award were from a team-based project. The winners of the award were from DePaul University, including Charles Nash, Carina Vasquez, Elena O'Curry, Jayne Hoffman, Jennifer Hunsecker, Leana Cuellar, Paul Eguez, and Tia Chisholm. Dr. Christina Wasson was the faculty advisor of the winning project entitled, "Americanos: Latino Life in the United States."
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