To our Fish Sisters and Allies,
As we approach the end of another year, we enter a time of reflection. If your year was anything like ours, it has been one full of peaks and valleys, but alas, here we are. We made it. Together. We are so glad you are part of our Women of Fisheries community working to move our collective mission forward.
It takes a lot of time and effort behind the scenes to keep this organization running. So many volunteers work together to maintain the Facebook page and private groups, write blog posts, raise funds, and organize meetups. We are so grateful for each of you for all that you do. We would be remiss if we didn’t also mention each of you who has followed and contributed to our online discussions, donated money, and shared your wonderful ideas and work with our community. YOU all are what make this organization what it is.
To our allies, thank you for your commitment to listening, engaging, and supporting our mission which ultimately leads to a stronger, more inclusive fisheries profession.
With your help, we were able to accomplish great things in 2022!
Highlights
Lynn Mattes officially joined our Board!
We elected new officers.
We awarded our first Women of Fisheries Gives Back! Award, which was matched by Dr. Carole-Anne Gillis for an additional award!
We celebrated 2022 Women of Fisheries graduates!
Held two fundraisers that will help fund the 2023 Gives Back! Award and an upcoming 2023 virtual workshop.
We held multiple meetups, including at the Spokane American Fisheries Society (AFS) meeting and Grand Rapids Joint Aquatic Sciences Meeting.
Kerry Flaherty-Walia presented a talk in the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice, and Accessibility (DEIJA) symposium at the Spokane AFS meeting detailing the history and future plans for Women of Fisheries.
Women of Fisheries blog posts have been shared in 5 issues of Fisheries magazine under the title “Amplified Voices: A Collection of Discussions from Women of Fisheries.” The most recent was published in December 2022.
Our group now has over 1,700 members from over 60 countries!!
And most importantly, we’ve continued to support each other!
However you wish to celebrate these last few weeks of the year, don’t forget to take a moment to look back on this year and see how far you have come. Progress can be messy yet beautiful. It can involve giant leaps forward one day and slowly inching or taking steps back the next. But you are one of a kind and your voice is valuable. Together, we are moving fisheries science into the future.
There’s power in allowing yourself to be known and heard, in owning your unique story, in using your authentic voice.
Michelle Obama
Thank you for being along for the ride. We can’t wait to see what lies ahead in 2023!
Your Women of Fisheries Board,
Kerry Flaherty Walia, President
Sara Turner, Vice-President
Kim Bonvechio, Secretary-Treasurer
Chelsey Crandall
Lynn Mattes