CANDIDATES FOR 2026 ELECTION OF OFFICERS
| Second President-Elect: | Tamra Mendelson Dustin Rubenstein |
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| Member-at-Large: | Jessica Cusick Danielle Lee |
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| Diversity Officer: | Jennifer Hamel Nora Prior |
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| Treasurer: | Stacey Weiss | |
| Program Officer-Elect: | Aimee Dunlap Rafael Rodriguez |
Please take the time to vote in the upcoming election! In January 2026, you will receive an E-mail from the ABS Central Office, containing a link that will take you to the online ballot. This email will be sent to the address in your ABS account as long as you are an active ABS member. If you have any questions, contact us at [email protected].
CANDIDATES FOR THE 2026 ELECTION OF ABS OFFICERS
Second President-Elect:
Tamra Mendelson
Education: 2001 Ph.D. Duke University, Zoology
Current Position: Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, UMBC
ABS and Related Activities: ABS Fellow (2023); ABS Parliamentarian (2016-2019); Co-host of the ABS meeting in Baltimore, MD (2025); Reviewer for the Animal Behavior journal (~2001 - present); Reviewer of ABS student research grants (annually); Regular attendee and presenter at annual ABS meetings; WFAB Panelist at the ABS meeting in Baltimore, MD (2025); Students from my lab regularly present at ABS meetings and apply for ABS student research grants. Two of my PhD students served as local ambassadors at the ABS meeting in Baltimore, MD (2025). My PhD student Natalie Roberts co-won the Allee Competition in 2020.
Dustin Rubenstein
Education: Ph.D. Cornell University, Neurobiology and Behavior, 2006 A.B. Dartmouth College, Biology & Environmental Studies & Earth Sciences (cum laude, high honors), 1999
Current Position: Thomas Hunt Morgan Professor of Conservation Biology, Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University
ABS and Related Activities:
When my field season has permitted, I have regularly attended ABS meetings since 2005 when I was a PhD student. I have co-organized and participated in a number of symposia at these meetings, and represented the interests of the society and of animal behaviorists more generally by leading NSF-funded workshops and working groups. In addition, I have served as a member of the ABS Student Research Grant Committee. In 2010, I was awarded the Society’s Outstanding New Investigator Award.
While I have not yet served in a leadership role in ABS, I have served in many such roles at Columbia. For example, I was elected to Columbia’s highest committee on faculty governance, and I have served on the Executive Committees of the School of Professional Studies and of the University Seminars, and on the advisory boards for the Columbia Global Centers and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. I have chaired numerous faculty governance committees and hiring committees. I have mentored many junior faculty members at Columbia and elsewhere, and served as the Director of Graduate Studies for my department. I also found and led the Center for Integrative Animal Behavior and the University Seminar in the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, both of which bring together animal behaviorists from across the New York area to build community and discuss science.
Member-at-Large:
Jessica Cusick
Education: Ph.D. Biology, Florida State University (2019); M.S. Biology, Florida Atlantic University (2012), B.A. Biology and Psychology, SUNY Binghamton University (2009)
Current Position: Assistant Professor and Associate Chair, Dept of Biology, Utah Valley University
ABS and Related Activities: I have had the pleasure of calling Animal Behavior Society my home since I was an undergraduate student. I have attended and presented at ABS for many years on a diversity of topics related to cooperation and aggression in animals, including participating in the Allee Symposium and 3-minute thesis talks. In 2019, I became a more active member of the society after participating in ABS Twitter Takeover. It was through this experience I saw the accessibility of online platforms and began working with ABS and ASAB members to host the first Animal Behavior Twitter conference. It was during this time that COVID-19 unexpectedly shut down the world and an ABS in-person meeting was no longer possible. I worked with three ABS members and SPL Track to organize the 2020 ABS Virtual Conference, which was a huge success and occurred during a time when many organizations canceled their academic meetings. Since then, I have continued to serve ABS on the Diversity Committee and Communications Committee and have remained an active participant at conferences, all with the goal of creating a safe, inclusive, accessible, and supportive environment.
- Co-Organizer: 2020 Virtual Conference (ABS 2020)
- Co-Organizer: 2021 and 2023 Animal Behaviour Twitter Conferences
- Co-Chair: Communications Committee (2022-2024)
- Promotion of Turner Awards, DEI topics, early career researchers on social media
- Platform of communication with Latin American Affairs Committee
- Member of Communications Committee (2019-present)
- Member: Diversity Committee (2020-Present)
- Turner Award: Recipient recognition on social media, application review
- Workshop Co-Organizer
- Science Communication
- Conference Activities
- Attended and presented at 10 ABS meetings (including virtual and Twitter)
- Supported six undergraduate students to attend and present at ABS meetings
- Conference workshop organizer
- Supported three undergraduate students to apply for ABS Turner Awards
- Conference Ally
- Session moderator
- Publish and reviewer for Animal Behaviour
Danielle Lee
Education: Ph. D. Biology with Dr. Zuleyma Tang-Martínez, Professor of Biology, May 2010 University of Missouri – St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville – Edwardsville, IL
ABS and Related Activities:
- Animal Behavior Society Membership (since 1999)
- Diversity Committee (since 2010)
- Charles H. Turner Undergraduate Program Mentor (2007)
- Education Committee (2006-2009)
- Reviewer for The Outstanding Children’s Book Award (2006-2009)
Animal Behavior Society – NSF, Young Investigator International Travel Award, $2,222 (2009)
Charles H Tuner Symposium Participant Annual Conference of the Animal Behavior Society (2024)
ABS Workshop Presentation/Organization Animal Behavior Society 2021 Virtual Meeting. “Expanding International Field Programs to Broaden Participation of Both Majors and Non-Majors”, Diversity & Inclusion Committee Workshop, (Dr. Elizabeth Congdon, Bethune-Cookman University Co-Organizer).
ABS Workshop Presentation/Participant Animal Behavior Society 2021 Virtual Meeting. “Lessons Learned from a Distance #ABSteach”, Education Committee Workshop.
ABS Workshop Presentation/Participant Animal Behavior Society 2016 Meeting.“Building personal bridges: connecting your science to your communities”, Public Relations Committee Workshop
ABS Workshop Presentation/Organization Animal Behavior Society 2013 Meeting.“How social media tools can enhance your science, your career, and promote diversity”, Diversity Committee Workshop.
Diversity Officer:
Jennifer Hamel
Education: 2011 Ph.D. University of Missouri, Columbia, MO USA. Advisor: RB Cocroft. Biological Sciences. Thesis: Communication about Predation Risk between Parents and Offspring Groups in Treehoppers.
Current Position: Associate Professor, Department of Biology, Elon University. Elon, NC USA
ABS and Related Activities:
I attended my first ABS in 2005 as a Turner Program awardee, and I have attended ABS in most years since then. From 2013 – 2017, I contributed occasional service through mentoring for the Turner Program and judging for the Genesis Award. I began serving on the Diversity Committee (DC) in 2017 and contributed to initiatives including the Turner Program Workshops, establishment of the annual Excellence in DEI Plenary, and creating new travel awards to support researchers with specific needs. I began leading the Grad School Information Session during this time. From 2020 – 2022, I co-chaired the Charles H. Turner Program, which brings undergraduates of diverse identities to our annual meeting for a fully funded and mentored experience.
Since 2022, I have served as chair for the Diversity Committee, and our work has contributed to increasing member diversity and instituted and assessed effective programs. Recent areas of focus have been improving accessibility for all participants at the annual meetings and strengthening visibility and support for SIGNAL, an annual, virtual program that supports graduate students of diverse identities. We have also collaborated on multiple initiatives with the Education Committee, including workshops on field safety for researchers of marginalized identities.
My roles as chair have been to facilitate discussion by committee members to identify and propose areas of work for the committee; recruit Diversity Committee members to accomplish our areas of work; lead and support different areas of work; monitor the budget and communicate with program steering committees on their respective budgets; communicate with the ABS leadership as needed during the year; and lead the writing for the annual report and annual presentation to the Executive Committee on the Diversity Committee’s activities.
Nora Prior
Education: PhD Zoology | 2014 University of British Columbia, Vancouver
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Psychology Department, Cornell University
ABS and Related Activities: I went to my first ABS conference in 2013 in Boulder, Colorado towards the end of my PhD. I started attending regularly (almost every year) as a Postdoc in 2016. I started learning more about the leadership and structure of ABS when I joined the Diversity Committee in 2019. Through this committee, I have led several initiatives including organizing the climate survey in 2021, supporting conference accessibility (2023-2025), and leading inclusive teaching workshops (2024).
In 2020, I also joined the ABS Communication Committee – to find and help cultivate inclusive online communities. (I had no social media experience before this!) In 2023, I became a co-chair of this committee and helped develop the role of the Communication Officer. During the past two years, I served in the temporary position of Communication Officer and worked closely with the ABS Executive Committee. Through these different positions, I have learned a lot about leadership in ABS from many wonderful people!
Treasurer
Stacey Weiss
Education: 1999, Ph.D., Duke University, Zoology
Current Position: Professor, Biology Department, University of Puget Sound
ABS and Related Activities: I am trained as an ABS Ally, serving in the role at the 2023 and 2025 meetings. I have frequently served as a reviewer of ABS graduate student grants since 2011. I previously served on the Membership Committee and the Public Affairs Committee.
Program Officer
Aimee Dunlap
Education: 2009, Ecology, Evolution, & Behavior; University of Minnesota– Twin Cities, St. Paul, Minnesota
Current Position: Professor, Department of Biology. University of Missouri—St. Louis (2025-present)
Director, Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center, University of Missouri—St. Louis (2025-present)
ABS and Related Activities:
2025 Fellow, Animal Behavior Society
2025 Judge for the Genesis Poster Competition
2024-present Accessibility Co-Officer, working with Norah Prior and Avery Russell and the Program Officers to ensure the conference planning includes common accommodations and considerations for a wide range of attendees.
2024 Selection Committee for the Charles Henry Turner program (subcommittee of Diversity Committee)
2022-present Member, Diversity Committee
2022-present Member of Subcommittee for Disability in ABS
2014, 2023 Invited speaker at the annual undergraduate researcher lunch at the Animal Behavior Society, where I talked about my path, my research program and about the graduate programs at UMSL (ABS meeting in August 2014 and July 2023).
2020-2025 Editor for Animal Behaviour
2000-2025 Attendance at various ABS meetings (average every other year)
2023 Presenter, Taking Students Across Town or Across the World: Inclusive Field Experiences for Students, Animal Behavior Society Annual Meeting, Portland, OR. I was an invited speaker for this workshop, and I led an hour of content on Disability and the Field, covering the challenges and opportunities in making field courses and research experiences accessible for students with disabilities.
2013-2024 Mentor for the Charles Henry Turner program for undergraduate researchers at the Animal Behavior Society meeting (July 2013, August 2016, June 2017, August 2022; July 2023)
2021 Judge for the Founders Poster Competition
2019 Invited panelist for an Animal Behavior Society diversity workshop on Cultural Competency in Mentoring (Behaviour 2019, joint meeting of Animal Behavior Society and International Ethological Conference in Chicago, July 2019)
2015-2016 Member of the Local Organizing Committee for the 2016 Animal Behavior Society meeting in Columbia, MO
2014 Invited speaker for the Animal Behavior Society’s Diversity Committee annual lunch where I talked about invisible disability and academia
2014 Reviewer for annual Student Research Grants competition for the Animal Behavior Society
2009 Warner Clyde Allee Award Runner-Up, Animal Behavior Society ($400)
2009 Animal Behavior Society Conference Travel Award ($1,000)
Rafael Rodriguez
Education: PhD, 2002 University of Kansas Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Entomology
Current Position: 2020 – present Professor University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
ABS and Related Activities: Elected Fellow of the Animal Behavior Society, 2021
Special Issue editing:
- 2025: The importance of detailed observations of behaviour and natural history for generating and answering novel questions. Animal Behaviour 221 (with Fernando Soley).
- 2019: What are we not asking about the evolution of behaviour that we should be asking? Animal Behaviour 155.
- 2022: Animal Behavior Society Meeting 2022, Costa Rica (with Fernando Soley) Co-organized symposium (with Fernando Soley): Detailed observations of behavior for generating questions and answering them— a tribute to William Eberhard and Mary Jane West-Eberhard
- 2018: Animal Behavior Society Meeting 2018, Univ. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (with Peter Dunn, Linda Whittingham & Gerlinde Höbel)
- Organized two symposia: Sexual Dialogues, What are we not asking
- Hosted two plenary speakers: Katie Slocombe, Univ. of York; Damian Elias, Univ. of California Berkeley
Animal Behavior Society Student Research Grants