Submitted by
Edward Liebow, Section President (2002-2004)

1) Accomplishments during the period covered.

* Membership: Our regular membership has remained relatively stable (increasing by 1.8% from 436 to 444), but we have seen a continuing decline in our student membership (from 185 to 148, a dramatic 20.0% decrease). Overall, our total membership declined from 622 to 593 (a 4.7% decrease). We will be surveying our student members, current and lapsed, to find out more about what has contributed to this decline and we are considering implementing a membership drive targeted to lapsed members.

* Finances: NAPA continues to maintain a healthy operating reserve. Net assets have increased by almost 6% during the first 10 months of 2004, from $91,794 to $97,162. However, with the anticipated costs for publication of the NAPA Bulletin during 2005 and 2006 via AnthroSource, we are projecting a decline in our net assets (by $13,294 in 2005, $9,100 in 2006, and $3,100 in 2007). This investment will reduce our operating reserve by more than $25,000 before projected revenues from publications meet or exceed projected publication-related expenses in 2008. Even with this investment, however, NAPA will retain a healthy operating reserve, equivalent to at least a two-year surplus as a buffer.

* Annual Meeting Activities: The Program Committee had assembled a full slate of invited and sponsored sessions, as well as 16 sponsored professional development workshops. However, with the labor dispute in San Francisco and the venue change, the sessions and workshops were postponed until the spring 2005 meeting in Santa Fe, NM, which NAPA co-sponsors with the Society for Applied Anthropology.

* Student Achievement Award: The 2004 awards for student achievement in the practice of anthropology went to:

- First Place ($300 cash prize): Adam D. Kiš (Florida), An Analysis of the Impact of AIDS on Funeral Culture in Malawi

- First Runner-Up ($100 cash prize): Samuel J. Redman (U Minnesota-Morris) "What Self Respecting Museum is Without One?": Midwestern Museums and Classical Archaeology, 1893-1998

- Second Runner-Up ($50 cash prize): Maggie Messerschmidt (Kentucky) Government and community relations and efforts for co-management in Macizo de la Muerte, Costa Rica

* Spring meeting activities: NAPA co-sponsored the Society for Applied Anthropology Annual Meeting in Dallas, TX (30 March - 3 April 2004), and held a Board Meeting which focused on updating the NAPA strategic plan. NAPA sponsored six professional development workshops, four NAPA-sponsored sessions, and a well-attended networking/mentoring event. We also co-sponsored an exhibits booth with the AAA/SfAA Commission on Applied and Practicing Anthropology.

* Publications: NAPA Bulletin No. 22, Passages: The Ethnographic Field School and First Fieldwork (Madelyn Iris, editor) appeared in June, 2004.

* Website: NAPA maintains a website at practicinganthropology.org. In addition to a publicly searchable members directory, we offer employment advertisements, online access to searchable databases for internships and practical training experiences, a place to sign up to be matched with a mentor, links to Local Practitioner Organizations around the US, a way to order back issues of the NAPA Bulletin series, and practicing anthropology in the news.

* Outreach and Liaison Efforts: NAPA leadership has been involved actively in the joint AAA/SfAA Commission on Applied and Practicing Anthropology; the AnthroSource Steering Committee, and the AAA Nominations and Elections Committee. NAPA will again co-sponsor the annual meeting of the SfAA in 2005. A topical interest group in Evaluation Anthropology was approved by the board this year, and has an active linkage to the American Evaluation Association. NAPA leadership also maintains active linkages with the Design Anthropology network. The Governing Board approved a $1,000 appropriation to the AAA Committee on Public Policy to support efforts aimed at developing a Policy Center on the Association's behalf, and NAPA was represented at a June 2004 planning conference organized by the Committee on Public Policy.

2) Future plans or activities (3-5) year time frame
The NAPA Board has been updating its 1997 Strategic Plan, based on extensive member input and Board discussion. The heart of the Plan Update identifies initiatives in three main areas, and the specific initiatives are outlined below:

A. Supporting individual career development and NAPA's organizational capacities
* Continue to operate the NAPA Mentor program
* Advertise Employment and Consulting Opportunities
* Establish a Publications Committee
* Establish an Ethics Training Committee
* Support student professional development through Student Achievement Award
* Support NAPA Interest Groups like the Evaluator's Network
* Support AAA's Organizational Development through contributions to the Nominations and Elections Committee, AAA Long Range Strategic Planning Committee, the AnthroSource Steering Committee, the Public Policy Institute, work with the AAA Member/Departmental/Organizational Services and the AAA/SfAA Commission on Applied and Practicing Anthropology
* Meet training demands through Annual Meeting Workshops

B. Creating opportunities for information and resource exchange among professional anthropological researchers and practitioners

Annual Meeting Activities
* Research symposia, roundtable discussions, training workshops, and special events each year for the Annual Meeting of the AAA.
* Special events will include a social event that promotes networking and celebrates the volunteer service of our committee members and extended leadership network.
* A series of research symposia every other year for the annual meeting of the SfAA.

Local Practitioner Organization Support
* Maintain an up-to-date list of active LPOs and identified points-of-contact for each active LPO
* Host an annual luncheon with representatives of active LPOs for the purposes of exchanging ideas about the ongoing activities of LPOs.
* Server space will be made available at practicinganthropology.org for LPOs that request help in web site hosting.
* NAPA will make its membership database available to LPOs for the purposes of publicizing LPO activities in a particular metropolitan area.
* NAPA will provide information to individuals who are interested in starting an LPO based on lessons learned from the experience of other LPO start-ups.
* NAPA will make space available at Annual Meeting exhibit booths for LPOs that would like to publicize their presence.

Publications
* Publish two issues of the Bulletin series annually, and distribute these issues as part of the AnthroSource digital publishing initiative that AAA has undertaken in partnership with the University of California Press.
* Additional copies of all Bulletins will be offered to NAPA members at a 30% discount.

Web Site
* The NAPA Web Site will be maintained as an accessible, up-to-date center for information exchange among professional anthropologists.

* - Liaison with Other Professional Societies, including the Society for Applied Anthropology, the American Evaluation Association, and the International Union for Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences

C. Building community among students and professional practicing anthropologists by communicating effectively with our members about the activities we support and services we provide.

* A "New Members Welcome Packet" about NAPA and membership benefits will be developed for distribution to each new and renewing member within two weeks of receiving a membership renewal and/or initial registration.

* Regular updates will be prepared for the membership

* Anthropology News Column will continue to be published in 9 times per year, and these columns will be archived on the NAPA web site.

* Annual Report - an Annual Report will highlight accomplishments of the previous year for the AAA Executive Board and NAPA membership

3) Other Items
* AAA Governance - The Section Assembly recommended to the AAA Executive Board that a committee be formed to examine ways in which AAA governance can be improved. We look forward to assuring that practitioners play a significant role in the work of this committee.

* The AAA/SfAA Commission on Practicing and Applied Anthropology - The Commission's three-year term ended in 2004. A proposal will be presented to extend this body's work for three years in the form of a Joint Committee modeled after the Margaret Mead Award Committee, which is a joint venture of the AAA and SfAA. We look forward to having the governing bodies of the respective organizations formally endorse this proposal.

* Committee on Public Policy sub-committee to establish a Public Policy Institute. NAPA will continue to participate in this effort and will have representation on the sub-committee recently approved by the AAA Executive Board.

4) Section Officers, 2004
* Ed Liebow (President 2002 - 2004) liebowe@battelle.org
* Douglas Feldman (Treasurer 2002 - 2004) dfeldman@brockport.edu
* Susan Squires (Past President 2002-2004) tactics@inreach.com
* Madelyn (Micki) Iris (President-Elect 2002-2004) miris@northwestern.edu
* Mari Clarke (Secretary, 2003-2005) mariclarke@earthlink.net
* James Beebe (Member-at-Large 2002 - 2004) beebe@gonzaga.edu
* Alex W Costley (Student Member 2002 - 2004) awc10@columbia.edu
* Margaret Weeks (Member-At-Large, 2003-2005) mweeks@icrweb.org
* Stephen Maack (Member-At-Large, 2003-2005) smaack@earthlink.net
* James (Tim) Wallace (NAPA Bulletin Co-Editor) tim_wallace@ncsu.edu
* Alayne Unterberger (NAPA Bulletin Co-Editor) alayne@tampabay.rr.com