All elected ESA student committee members will be expected to commit to the initiatives of the ESA Visions Project (http://www.esa.org/ecovisions/aboutProject.php).

Public Affairs Committee (PAC):
The student member of the ESA Public Affairs Committee (PAC) will act as a liaison between the ESA public affairs program and the ESA student body. The PAC is a standing committee of ESA that is chaired and populated by ESA members and advises ESA on matters pertaining to ecological policy. The student member of the PAC is responsible for (1) articulating student perspective on matters that pertain to public affairs in ecological sciences and the ESA public affairs program, (2) informing the ESA student body of public affairs-related initiatives within ESA, and (3) coordinating public affairs initiatives between the PAC and the ESA student body. The student member must have an interest and motivation to work with the committee towards their mission of
1. Infusing the best available science into environmental decision-making
2. Ensuring strong funding for the ecological sciences
3. Communicating ecological knowledge to the general public.

No prior experience in public affairs is necessary, although the student PAC member should have strong qualifications for the position. The elected student PAC committee member must be an effective and reliable communicator; he/she will be responsible for attending the PAC meeting in March or April, 2008, reporting on the activities of the ESA science program in the ESA Student Section newsletter, and facilitating communication between the PAC and the ESA student body on behalf of the ESA Student Section. The term length for the position of elected student member of the PAC is 2 years.

Current committee members include
Richard Pouyat (2005-2008), US Forest Service
Rick Haeuber, US EPA
Christy Johnson, US AID
David Lodge, Notre Dame
Evan Notman, US FS
ex-officio:
Nadine Lymn, Annie Drinkard, Laura Lipps