Association of Government Health & Environmental Scientists
President's Message
President's Message
December 23, 2020
Why I’m Glad the Election Is Over
Jim Laurenson, AGHES President
No, not that election! I’m talking about the election of new AGHES Officers and Councilmembers, and for the vote on our new name. (Though I am glad about that other election being over…) I'm glad because now I can thank Fred Moulin for stepping up as President-elect! And Sid Green and Kathy Michels as our two new Councilmembers, and Tom Flynn, Joe Hanig, Ijee Uzoma, and Tom Sobotka for staying on (though someone needs to be Treasurer!), and Ron Bloom for his service. And thank you to the several committee members who have volunteered their time — we are always looking for more, so let us know if you have some time, especially at this crucial period of transitioning to a broader scope of all government health and environmental sciences.
I’m also very grateful to all who have weighed in on our new name, the Association of Government Health and Environmental Scientists (AGHES), and new program ideas. But first, I truly want to lament the retirement of our former name, Association of Government Toxicologists, or AGT, which has been in use since 1983. I know how important it has been to so many people, including me. For 37 years, AGT has been a beacon to many toxicologists who worked for or with the government, who understood the importance of their impartial “science for the people”, and who saw in the early days the lack of a voice (or a GS level) for perhaps one of the most fundamental core sciences underlying the health of people and the environment. But as toxicology became more mainstream and organized, such as with the establishment of the US federal GS-0415 series and the growth of organizations such as the Society of Toxicology (SOT), the American College of Toxicology (ACT), and the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), and as other related disciplines became apparent — including the other two legs of the health and environment stool, i.e., exposure and risk assessment — the AGT Council and members decided it was time to move to the next level.
So while I lament the retirement of the AGT name and the focus on just toxicology, I also am reminded how this organization has succeeded in one of its key original goals of better establishing the science of toxicology within the government, and how it was willing and able to evolve. We owe a great debt to the founders and subsequent members of AGT for their work over the past 37 years.
Now we are on the cusp of a new opportunity: to more fully engage within and outside the government on its critical role in studying and applying all aspects of the interconnected health and environmental sciences, the "one health" paradigm if you will, to improve the quality of all life on this planet. This could not have happened at a better time, when science itself is being challenged so deeply, widely, and profoundly. This is our moment. We have an opportunity to unite government scientists, to grow, both in numbers and diversity, drawing from the more than 50,000 federal, state, and local government health and environmental scientists in the US alone.
And as we grow, we also become more able to implement other changes for the benefit of members, from recommendations in the many surveys and discussions we have held in the last few years. Indeed, we have already begun this evolution, such as via the increased focus on new types of events, the exploration of new topics, and the inclusion of a more diverse membership, which also has helped us adapt and survive during the Covid pandemic.
So now, to complete our original “AGT2020” mission of change, we need to decide on a new logo and perhaps a new tagline. A committee has already put together a dozen or more ideas on this, some of which already have been tested on our social media sites. We look forward to displaying and discussing these at our holiday party noted above. I hope to see you, and perhaps newcomers you’ll invite, then.
Our upcoming party promises to be the start of not only a happy new year, but also a happy new future for government health and environmental scientists, and the people we serve.
President's Message
April 7, 2019
Dear AGT+ Members and Friends,
The votes are in, and your new AGT"+" Council has been installed! We’re already hard at work, kicking off AGT+'s 37th year with several rapid succession business meetings that have resulted in the following thus far:
A Full and Rich Program
After a very enjoyable Holiday Party in December at Denizen’s in Silver Spring, we started 2019 with an inspirational talk at our January Council meeting by Dr. Tee Guidotti, Past-President of Sigma Xi, who shared his experience with the recent reinvention of that prestigious 130+ year-old scientific research honor society. In March, we co-sponsored a lively NCAC-AGT-JHU reception with over 100 attendees at the Pratt Street Ale House at SOT-Baltimore.
Later this month, we’re planning something new, an AGT+ Science Week!
We start with hosting a table at Rockville Science Day on Sunday, April 28— demonstrate government science anyone? Watch for a volunteer sign-up, and/or bring your family for a fun afternoon of science.
Then, on Tuesday, April 30, several AGT+ members will attend or participate in the NCAC-CSW Symposium on the important topic of the intersection of chemistry and toxicology.
Next, on Thursday, May 2, AGT+ will host its first “Science on Tap” General Membership Evening in the Phillips Room of the Rock Bottom Brewery, Bethesda, MD, with a presentation by Dr. Jacob Carter from the Union of Concerned Scientists, Center for Science and Democracy, on the perspectives of government scientists on scientific integrity across federal agencies over the past 70 years, followed by what is likely to be a very lively discussion.
To bookend the week, on Saturday, May 4, we’ll be participating in the many activities involved with DC's March for Science!
Other activities being planned for the year include:
A Sugarloaf Mountain Hike and Winery Visit, probably in late June;
A “Back to Our Roots” Summer Picnic on Saturday, August 3 (rain date the next day) at the picturesque and historic home of AGT+ Founding President James Beall near Frederick, MD; and, other Government Science-based and Social Events in the fall and winter, depending on the results of our still-open AGT+ Survey.
AGT+ is also exploring various other program ideas, such as an awards program, job and expertise database, mentorships, and government science news and articles. Stay tuned! If you have ideas, add them to the AGT+ survey or email us.
Enhanced Membership Pipeline
Check out our new Membership Page, which describes the many current benefits of joining AGT+, the newly updated membership requirements based on AGT+’s recently expanded scope, an easy-to-use online membership application, and a simple online dues payment option. Have you paid your dues this year? Watch for new social media platforms, soon, too.
Did you know you don’t need to be a scientist in the government to join AGT+? Check out the Associate Membership category. We also created a new category of member—Graduate Student Membership—and it’s free! See the Membership Page for details, and especially share it with colleagues.
The AGT+ survey is still open, and it provides members an opportunity to volunteer for AGT+ committees and projects (or you can email us), which can lead to greater involvement with other members and to opportunities for filling Council leadership positions.
Taking the baton from Past President Charlie Thompson and the previous Council has been a sobering experience. Over the past couple of years, that dedicated group worked tirelessly to set the stage for a new direction for AGT. They initiated “AGT 2020”, which involved exploring AGT’s future and supporting the leadership and members in choosing a forward path that would sustain AGT’s viability to 2020 and beyond. They expanded the scope of AGT to human, animal, or environmental health- or safety-related science, and associated regulatory science, thus beginning the search for a new name, currently represented by the “+” frequently seen attached to the end of AGT. So thank you Charlie and others for laying the groundwork for the new AGT!
One of the jobs of the new Council is to “bring it on home” by finalizing the AGT 2020 Vision, thus providing a framework for all of the change efforts going forward. In fact, every one of the new Council’s monthly business meetings—which anyone is welcome to join, just let us know—will address the progress of the AGT 2020 plan.
AGT+ has a long and fascinating history, which this Council pledges to build on. As described in more detail in the NCAC March Newsletter, p. 18, AGT was founded in 1983 to promote and facilitate the acquisition and utilization of knowledge in toxicology, and to provide opportunities for government toxicologists to meet and exchange ideas. The first AGT president, James Beall, described AGT in the introduction to Vol. 4(3) of Toxicology and Industrial Health in 1988. He noted that government toxicologists engage in a wide range of critical activities, including conducting research at the forefront of science, managing extensive national and international research and regulatory programs, and contributing significantly to solving toxicologically related problems involving chemical and physical agents.
In the broadest sense, Dr. Beall noted, government toxicologists have input into most, if not all, government activities involving health and the environment. Their advice and opinions are used by regulatory agencies in the development and enforcement of regulations, by research agencies in setting directions and priorities for biomedical research, by the courts in the adjudication of cases involving toxic substances, and by Congress in its oversight and legislative activities.
We expect that the expansion of AGT’s scope to human, animal, and environmental health and safety, and associated regulatory science, will help to better connect traditional definitions of toxicology with new paradigms such as One Health, which recognizes that the health of people is connected to the health of animals and the environment. As CDC notes, this new paradigm is a collaborative, multisectoral, and transdisciplinary approach—working at the local, regional, national, and global levels—with the goal of achieving optimal health outcomes recognizing the interconnection between people, animals, plants, and their shared environment. We share this vision and expect that AGT+’s recent and future changes will significantly increase the breadth and number of scientific professionals who will join our membership ranks, actively serve in leadership roles, and ultimately help advance the cause of optimal public and environmental health.
Sincerely,
Your Association of Government Toxicologists (Plus!)
President's Message
May 15, 2018
Dear Members, Friends, and Colleagues of AGT,
On behalf of AGT Council, I am very happy to report to you that the previously announced proposed amendments to our Association's Constitution and By-laws (C&B) have now been formally voted on and approved by the Council and Membership-at-Large. These amendments to our governing rules open the door to a significant expansion in the breadth and number of scientific professionals who will now be eligible to join our membership ranks and actively serve in a leadership role as an Officer and/or member of Council. Specifically, the changes enacted in the C&B amendments include the following:
- Expanding the range of eligible scientific disciplines to encompass areas closely related to, though not traditionally considered toxicology, for example, "human, animal, and environmental health and safety sciences, and associated regulatory science."
- Expanding the definition of Full Member from only those employed by the U.S. Federal Government to now also include those employed by State and Local Governments.
- Expanding the Associate Member definition to now also include those employed by non-governmental entities (i.e., NGOs).
- Expanding the range of those Full Members who are eligible to vote on affairs of the Association and to be elected to serve on Council to now include those who have fully retired from government service, if they so desire.
Please refer to our AGT website for the full text of our newly amended C&Bs (AGT Constitution and By-laws).
Importantly, we on Council acknowledge that this expansion to AGT's membership eligibility criteria, while highly significant, is only a necessary first step in what we are very hopeful will be an ongoing reinvigoration and reinvention of AGT to meet the changing realities of the 21st Century. We are very excited to be embarking on that effort. We continue to strongly believe that there is a useful and needed role to play for an organization of governmental scientific professionals such as ours and that our purpose is needed now more than ever:
"...to promote and facilitate the acquisition, exchange, and utilization of knowledge in human, animal, and environmental health and safety sciences, and associated regulatory science, among AGT members and the other sectors of society to improve the healthand safety of humans, animals, and the environment."
To that end, we again sincerely apologize for what we know has been a rather extended hiatus from regularly scheduled meetings and seminars.
Thanks and best regards,
Charlie
D. Charles (Charlie) Thompson
President, AGT
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