ASPRS Executive Director Position Announcement
The Board of Directors of the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) is seeking a professionally respected, service-oriented, and energetic individual to become its next Executive Director. ASPRS is a highly visible organization with national and international exposure, founded in 1934 and marketed as “The Imaging & Geospatial Information Society.” The mission of the Society is to advance knowledge and improve understanding of the mapping sciences and to promote the responsible applications of photogrammetry, remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS), and supporting technologies. ASPRS membership includes 5000 individuals and 130 organizations from private industry, government, and academia.
Reporting directly to the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors, the Executive Director will be a visionary leader who must help articulate, assertively advocate, and successfully execute the Society’s agenda of work objectives, pursuant to the Society’s Strategic Plan, within budgetary guidelines, on behalf of a diverse membership from academia, government and industry. The successful candidate is expected to have experience building, sustaining, and strengthening a non-profit organization, focused on professional development of its members. The successful candidate is expected to possess understanding of the scientific and technical impact ASPRS has within the wide range of disciplines related to photogrammetry and remote sensing. In addition, he or she must be both hands-on manager and recognized leader who thinks strategically but can respond quickly to an immediate need. Click here to access the current Position Description.
ASPRS Executive Director James Plasker Announces His Retirement
ASPRS Executive Director James Plasker has announced his retirement from ASPRS and plans to step down from his position, effective January 2014. Plasker was selected as the Executive Director in 1998 to succeed William French who had served in the position for 20 years.
As ASPRS Executive Director for nearly 16 years, Plasker led or significantly contributed to numerous programmatic efforts on behalf of the ASPRS membership and the broader geospatial community. These included resolution of professional licensure issues and expanded geospatial representation to the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES); development of the Ten Year Remote Sensing Industry Forecast (Phases I-IV); increased awareness of Landsat data continuity issues and the requirement for a National Land Imaging Program; ASPRS participation in several U.S. Department of Labor career and statistical reporting programs including NAICS and ONET; expansion of both thenumber and monetary value of the ASPRS awards and scholarships endowed through the ASPRS Foundation; supported a number of ASPRS studies on camera calibration, digital orthophotography and the value of Landsat data; aided ASPRS volunteers in the development of the LAS common data exchange standard and the best practices guidelines for procurement of professional geospatial services and geospatial products; oversaw expansion of the ASPRS Certification Program to include technologists and intern categories; and increased efforts to support the accreditation of applied science and engineering programs through his continuing service to the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).
