0:00 Jim: Hello and welcome to Plantopia. Plantopia is the plant health podcast at the American Phytopathological Society. And I'm your host, Jim Bradeen. I'm a professor of plant pathology and associate vice president at Colorado State University. And this episode of Plantopia is recorded live at Plant Health 22 in beautiful Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. And we have two very special guests with us today - APS President Amy Charkowski, and soon to be APS President Ron Walcott. Now before I introduce Amy and Ron, I want to tell you a little bit about leadership structure within APS. So our leaders in APS are elected by APS members. And that process is led by the APS nominations committee following rules that are specified in the APS constitution. To serve as APS president is a four-year commitment and each of the individuals in that role progress annually, first from vice president, then to president-elect to president and then immediate past president, with the transitions coinciding with the close of the annual meeting each year. This strategy - this four-year strategy - allows good continuity and APS leadership, and consistency in APS priorities and activities. Now, serving as APS president is an unpaid volunteer position. And it really represents a very significant amount of time, effort and insight over that four-year cycle. So those of us who are APS members really owe a debt of gratitude to anyone who has served our discipline in this important role. And today, we're going to talk about what it means to be president of APS, and why our two guests today have made the sacrifice to serve our society. And as I mentioned, we're recording this episode of Plantopia at Plant Health 22 and in front of a live audience. At this particular time, for approximately the next 24 hours, Amy Charkowski will continue in her current role as APS president. But by the time this episode drops, Ron Walcott will have begun his term as APS president. So to tell you a little bit about our guests. First, Dr. Amy Charkowski. Amy is a professor of plant pathology at Colorado State University. She earned a BS degree at the University of Wisconsin and her PhD in plant pathology at Cornell University. She worked for the USDA ARS as a microbiologist in Food Safety, working in Albany, California. This is a position she held for three years before she joined the faculty of plant pathology at the University of Wisconsin in 2001. Amy was promoted first to associate professor in 2008, and then professor in 2013. And in 2016, she joined Colorado State University as professor and head of the Department of Agricultural biology. And this is the position she still holds. And for full disclaimer, I'm also in that same department. So Amy is my department head but I promise I'll still ask the tough questions in the interview. For the past few months, though, Amy has also served simultaneously as interim head of the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at Colorado State University. And she is a well-known expert in plant bacteriology and potato disease management, and a very well respected researcher and educator. Amy, thank you for joining us on Plantopia. 3:44 Amy: Thank you. 3:46 Jim: Also joining us is Dr. Ron Walcott. Ron earned his BS and MS degrees at Iowa State University and his PhD in plant pathology at the University of Georgia. Ron completed a short postdoctoral stint at the University of Georgia before joining the faculty there as an assistant professor in 1999. And he was promoted first to associate professor in 2005, and then to professor in 2012. Ron has served his institution in a number of leadership roles. He served as college as Assistant Dean for Diversity for five years. He completed a stint as graduate coordinator for the plant pathology program and serve one year as Interim Dean of the University of Georgia graduate school. And then in 2020, he was named the inaugural Vice Provost for Graduate Education and dean of the graduate school at the University of Georgia. And that's a position that he still holds today. Ron is an expert in vegetable disease management and has taught numerous undergraduate plant biology courses, and he's received numerous awards and honors throughout his career. Ron, thank you for being here, too. 4:53 Ron: Thanks for having me, Jim. 4:54 Jim: I have a burning question. For both of you here. You're pretty busy people. Do you ever sleep? 5:01 Ron: Yes. (laugher) 5:02 Amy: Yes, yes, we do. 5:06 Ron: What I will say I sleep in odd places. So if you talk to me, sometimes I may fall asleep. 5:12 Jim: Well we'll nudge you if you drift off during this podcast. But seriously, you're both very accomplished your experience researchers, respected educators, student mentors, your effective academic leaders in your own institution. What What compelled you to agree to serve as APS president? Maybe Amy will, I'll turn it over to you first. 5:38 Amy: So I wanted to serve for a few different reasons. One is, and probably the most important, is that APS is really important to me. And I'd like to be able to help the organization. It also provides a lot of professional development for me. And I knew I would learn a lot through this role that would help me in all other areas that I work in. And I'm also just, I enjoy learning things. And so I love doing APS things like I'm sitting here at this table with his pod session. But just watching people go through the posters, and I really want to be over there. Just learning what's up there. 6:22 Jim: Yeah. But it's great. Definitely. You're you're passionate about the the profession as well as the, the society. And thank you so much for all you are doing for APS. Ron, how about you what, what compelled you to serve. 6:39 I'm first generation, and I'm an immigrant to this country, I'm from Barbados. And it's been a long journey. And I remember the first time I came to APS, I felt, I felt like I had made the decision about my career to be a plant pathologist. The space that was created for me to meet scientists that are interested in what we do, and inspire young, early career professionals to continue to do what they do is really, really important. I mean, we we are...I heard someone say that we are high impact, low visibility. And I think that's problematic. And if there's anything that I could do in this role to preserve the community that we have, and inspire the next generation of plant pathologist to remain as plant pathologists, whether it be in higher education, or industry or government, inspire them create a space for them to grow and become the next leaders in APS and in their organizations. That's really important to me. And so I really would like to contribute to that, and to the key plus, providing that opportunity for others that come come after. 7:46 Jim: Yeah, that's really, really inspiring. Thank you, too, for being part of the presidential team, and playing this important role for our society. So Ron, you're just completing your second of four years in the presidential lineage. So you've served as vice president, and in over the past year, you've been president-elect, and no doubt, you've learned an awful lot about our society over that period of time. But what's been the most surprising aspect? 8:16 Ron: The most surprising aspect is how, how great the system works. I mean, we really have a great support team, the APS, and it keeps us all consistent. I think the structure is perfect. If you'd asked me to be president, with my other responsibilities, not just the novo, I would say no, that's a lot. But after sort of watching Mark and watching Amy and Lindsey, and working with the staff, I go, "yeah, this works," because there's a lot of infrastructure behind the scenes that most people don't see. There's a lot of different offices and groups that keep this thing humming. And so it is a lot of commitment. But there's a really well established structure that keeps things going well. And that's tremendously helpful from our perspectives. 9:02 Jim: That's great. And you're referring to, of course, Amy Charkwoski, Mark Gleason and Lindsey du Tois who served in this lineage had a view and and I think one of the strengths of APS and APS leadership structure has been that for your transition, certainly a huge sacrifice for the folks in that that lineage. But it does ensure that continuity and mentorship really along the way. Well, so Amy, you of course have been part of the presidential lineage for three years now. And when you reflect on on what it means to be a leader in APS, what aspects of your background have really helped you as APS president? 9:44 Amy: These are hard questions. I think I think I almost have to turn that question around. I think being part of APS has helped me be a leader in other areas. This is where I've learned and practiced those skills. Um, This is where I find my mentors. And it's, it's a remarkably safe place to, to learn to be a leader because there's so many different places you can practice it and, and there's so many excellent mentors within our system. So I guess maybe the only thing I bring from my background is I, I'm generally just interested in how things work and how decisions are made. And APS has provided some really interesting examples of that and robust examples. So we are just coming out of pandemic right now, APS did well, during this really difficult situation, we were not a fragile organization. We're very robust. And this structure that that Ron was talking about is the reason for that. And I learned a lot just from watching how that works. 10:53 Jim: That's really interesting to me, because I think of the the service but that you and Ron and others have done for our society and deeply grateful for that, but you're really characterizing the opportunity for personal and professional growth as well. So it's great to know that it's been so rewarding for you. And makes me wonder though, there are no doubt, folks out there listening to this Plantopia recording right now that think, well, maybe someday I'll be president of our society. What advice do you have for folks who are considering that? 11:31 Ron: I can go first. I would say, as you sort of, as you experience APS, see what things are working, see what things you could improve, and then let that be a platform and say, Well, I would love to change this about APS, I believe it's really important, or I believe there's a voice within APS, it's not being heard. And I would love to elevate that voice or this issue, or this particular sub discipline, that's not getting the attention that needs and push to elevate that issue. And being the president doesn't mean you get to do do it automatically. But at least you get to bring the things that are important to you to the table to discuss and see how you can incorporate elements of your personal experiences in APS into the leadership of APS and, and that's important. So what things are happening that you think aren't being seen, in may seem easy enough to complain about it, it's more effective to do something about it. 12:30 Jim: Great 12:32 Amy: Something to follow onto what Ron just said, one of the things I've learned through APS and working here is you can have a good idea. But it takes a lot to go from good idea to reality. And so it has helped me learn how to make ideas happen, and how to look for partners for things that were really important to me. And but just the lesson of a good idea is not enough, was something I really learned through here. And then learned how to take that good idea to making it real. 13:06 Ron: If I can add too is seeing how things are connected, and how to move as Amy said, move something from sort of a nugget of a thought to all the challenges that are presented and how to overcome those challenges by partnering by different groups, learning to articulate and communicate why, and convince people that this is the right thing to do. So that process is something that a lot of folks don't understand. But it would be really helpful. So they could see how you move something through a system. That's a volunteer base. 13:39 Jim: Yeah, that's great. You both have said things that I think are extremely valuable. And I want to dig into to both of them to give because they're important insights that you just shared. Ron, you, you mentioned voices that that haven't been heard. And that really been a reason to engage in leadership within APS. And it strikes me that you really are on the cusp of making history for APS, our society as formed back in 1908. And over that 100-year history, we've had lots and lots of really accomplished leaders, and you are poised to be the very first black president of APS. And increasing diversity increasing representation within our society within our profession is a passion for many of us. Could you comment on what your your role as APS President means for people that haven't been part of our society? 14:35 Ron: Yeah, representation matters. Sometimes people say symbolic and is performative. But indeed, when I when I came to be a member of APS, I looked around and I saw people that were in inspirational in terms of the work they've done, and I've read their papers and I thought, wow, these are really brilliant people. But at the same time as a black man, I thought, "Well, gosh, is this a place where I can elevate to the highest level of APS where I could actually influence change?" And for for those of us here, we can see that our our society is becoming more diverse, we have lots more international members, we have lots of underrepresented minorities are participating, and then I think is really important for them to see that they could also aspire to the highest level of leadership in, in our society. And it's really important. And, and when I mentioned voices and elevating voices before, that's what I alluded to your voice and your perspective can be heard. If you take on a role like this, uh, being the first black president of APS allows me to say, you can come to me and tell me your perspective, I will listen to it, I will listen to it because I was I was underrepresented. And I didn't necessarily feel like my voice was excluded. But I didn't feel like my voice was loud enough. Now, as a first black president, I would say there's no one in the society who should feel uncomfortable coming to me to say, Hey, we should have more bids, or we don't have enough of this. I think that's really important. voices being heard people at the table, that's really important. 16:11 Jim: That's really, really powerful. And thank you for leaving with such authenticity. And we're looking forward to to your continued participation in APS leadership. And Amy, you talk really passionately about making change. And as APS president, you lead a strategic planning process earlier in during Plant Health 2022, you shared with APS membership what that strategic planning process was about. And where we're going next. For the listeners of Plantopia though, would you maybe recap what that strategic planning process is? I mean, why you think it's important for our society to go through this? 16:56 Amy: Strategic planning is not most people's favorite thing to do. We tend to look at it with skepticism. I guess what's what's struck us, I remember this in February of 2021, we had a council meeting. And we were we were having to make a lot of decisions, through the pandemic about how to deal with our annual meeting, issues around publications, just all of the things that are important to APS. And, and our members were also having to make a lot of really hard decisions around teaching and travel and taking care of their families. And we seem to be doing making these decisions sort of one off all the time without some sort of a framework to help us with it. And then when we looked at APS, we realized the last time we've really gone through a planning process was in I believe it was 2011. So it was a long time, and the world was really different than 2011 than 2021. And so we decided we needed to take a look at our world as it was and what we thought things would be like as we came out of COVID and out of the pandemic and be ready for it. And so I, you know, I think all throughout 2020/2021, APS did remarkably well. But we knew the world was changing, and it was changing fast. And we didn't really know what things would look like in 2022. So how can we best prepare ourselves and not just make decisions sort of one off? So you asked about the process, too. We had discussions within Council, and then we decided to hold focus groups in key areas. So around industry and their needs for primarily around education and workforce development there. We talked about a lot of the stresses that academia is under and the challenges in training and funding students and how can we do better? How can we do better around teaching even right, because we we see so many places don't have the number of people needed to teach everything we hope to teach. We talked a lot about data too. And we have the capability scientists have the capability to generate data on a scale that I couldn't have imagined as a student. So are we doing a good enough job of capturing that data and maintaining it and allowing it to be reanalyzed? So those are a few of the issues that we we talked about and tried to plan around. And even more things came up during this planning. So I think we still have some questions. But I I joke with Ron that I basically stirred the pot a lot. And now I'm walking away. He gets to take care of it, though. 19:31 Jim: But, well, that's that's a question I have. I mean, strategic planning, obviously can be very important. Strategic action follow through on that strategic plan is perhaps equally or maybe even more so important. And Ron, you'll be stepping very, very soon in like maybe 20, 24 hours or so you'll be stepping into the role of APS president. What can we expect from your presidency? And how does it relate to the strategic planning process in particular? 20:05 Ron: Well, I think Amy, in a joking way, said that I have the heavy lifting, I don't think so. I think the heavy lifting is determining what our priorities are. And then I think it's easy we we stay true to what we've established with our priorities. And we execute, we implement the strategic priorities. So I look forward to sort of prioritizing those what can be done quickly? What are longer term things, and I think it sets the roadmap for APS. And it's actually I want to reiterate with what Amy said, which is that things may change over the next couple of years. But our strategic priorities are established based on member feedback. And it sets like a path for us to beyond that we may need to adjust depending on the realities, but we have a plan, right? So what are our priorities, or activities should be sort of aligned with those priorities. And it should give us a good sense of well, this is part of what we should be doing. And this is not based on our established priority. So despite what some may say, as as an administrator back at my home institution, I love I love strategic plans. Because when it comes to making decisions, it's not a decision that I'm making myself as a leader, it's a decision that's informed by what we've established as our priority. So over the next year, we'll be trying to determine what are the first things we do with regards to the strategic plan the second things in the longer term plans, but but it will guide us in terms of what we're doing? And then we will measure I, we actually are scientists? are we achieving sort of the goals we've established? And is there evidence to support that we are achieving the goals we set for ourselves? And then finally, is there a need to sort of look at the plan and sort of tinker with it a bit as as we move forward. So the strategic enterprise planning process can be tedious to some, but I think it's important for leaders to to have to have this plan APS roadmap, 21:54 Amy: One of the key parts to me for the plan wasn't just the goals that we have, or the what we're going to try to do is actually restating our values, as the world's changing really fast. What's just core to us that we're we don't want to change. And that, to me was one of the key parts of developing this plan is that we talked a lot about who we are, what our values are, and how we can use our values to make decisions. So it was beyond just like, plan hard, it was a lot of discussion to the standard on what's important to us. 22:30 Jim: So, Amy, a moment ago, you characterized the the need or opportunity for strategic planning, really around the changing world around us. And anything think that it's, it's good to know that our society continues to adapt to meet the needs of members to meet the needs of the world, really, the changing world that we do live in, it's pretty good, Ron, to know that plan is not just gonna sit on a shelf, but it's actually something that really will shape our future collectively. Well, you've you've both been in your role for a period of time. And I'm curious, though, when you think about your perspective on APS now versus when you started in the presidential lineage. How do you see APS now versus then? 23:26 Amy: Prior to being on the presidential team, I worked with annual meeting planning board for several years. And I'd helped out as a journal editor for a short time to so I had spent a lot of time learning how APS works. And so I think there were some surprises, but not a lot of a lot of surprises, I think. I guess one of the one of the things I'm pleased about and really proud of, and maybe a little surprised at again, is how well we did through the pandemic. And the things we had to face could have really torn apart the organization. We had a we have an incredible staff, that helps us out too. And that's like a huge piece, huge part of why we got through the pandemic, okay, but when I just think about, you know, the the country was shutting down and around March 2020, I was pretty new in this role at that point. And all of a sudden, we, we were having to decide what to do with our annual meeting and pivoting on a dime. There were a lot of questions around open access with journals. At that point, there were questions about whether the journals were serving all of the needs of our members at that time. So we were making a lot of decisions that had real financial implications, and what would really affect our members at a time when we were all kind of, at least I was overwhelmed with other changes and my, my real job, right and so just to see how all the parts of APS came together and work together to get through all of that was I'd never seen our organization under stress like that and to see Help people pull together and work together to make all the pivots that we had to was impressive. And it gave me a lot of faith in in how this organization works. So I don't but but because I had been in other roles, there weren't a lot of intense surprises. I felt that way. And other things like my my day job. There's definitely been times when I was like, Oh, I didn't know how that worked. Or I didn't realize this would be a stress I'd be under. But let's go with a guess. 25:28 Jim: Yeah, your comments about how APS is adapted. It really resonates with me. I mean, I see it. I've served alongside you on the council for a number of years now, too. And I see some of those changes. very intentional and methodical, but also somewhat reactive to this ever changing world. And I think that really dovetails very nicely with what you had to say about their strategic planning process and the opportunity for doing that. That really definitely resonates with me. 26:00 Ron: I can add a couple of comments. I think resiliency is an important theme. I think being here today. I know we had, we did not have a meeting for several years, and but seeing people here, you know, happy to be engaging with their colleagues and presenting their scholarship, in a format that's very familiar to them is is sort of comforting and reassuring. And it tells us me we've been APS has been around for a long time, it's never been threatened in this way, like the pandemic threatened. But the recovery is, is quite reassuring, and tells me that we serve a really important purpose to our members, and that purpose still exist. This despite the changes and the challenges we face. And so we have a purpose, we have a really important role in maintaining this discipline of plant pathology and our members. I'm sure many more will come in future years as we sort of move on from the pandemic. But indeed, people coming here to present their work to their colleagues is something important to them. And that reassures me that this is this is important work that we do. And our society is serving its purpose. And that's inspirational. And it gives me a sense that that we can continue to provide this opportunity for our members all around. 27:25 Jim: That's great. And Ron, you just mentioned, how important is in-person meeting, right the first time we've all gotten together since 2019. And I've noticed that this meeting in particular, that a lot of the folks that are here are first timers, as we call them. They're the first time they've had good participated in APS meeting. And for many of them, it's the first time they've been any professional meeting in person. Many of these folks are students or other early career professionals. What advice do you have for folks about APS in particular, and getting involved in APS? 28:02 Ron: Get involved, right? Do not stand on the sidelines, I know you came to present your work. But, you know, engage with people that you've read about or heard about, but never had a chance to talk to. I will say I've been particularly impressed my whole career with how kind and generous and supportive the members of our community are. And I recall, you know, walking up to Steve Lindau at some point in time and saying hi, and then walking away thinking boy, he was super nice. Or seeing Alan foamer. And then realizing that, gosh, he's he's brilliant. But he's also a really nice guy. And I can say this about so many people that I've met at APS. And it instills confidence. And it creates a network that you can tap into later on for both technical support as well as sort of professional development. So I would say, lead with a handshake and introduce yourself, talk about what you do and what you hope to do. And then let the community support you. And that's, that's really what this meeting is all about. It's about building that network. And build a network is the first part but the second part is taking from the network which you need. So really let yourself be known and volunteer volunteer to be part of a committee and to lead a committee because that is how you start to remain sort of committed to our society and you get the most out of it. 29:29 Jim: Great. Thank you. And, Amy while we're doling out advice. You've been president for the last year you're uh, you're ahead of Ron, what what advice do you have for Ron as he assumes the role of APS president? 29:46 Amy: I guess I'm gonna come at that question a little bit sideways. So the question is, what advice would I give Ron? So the APS presidential team gets together roughly every week, every two weeks, and we talk for just about an hour. And I honestly, and Mark would be able to tell Mark Gleason will be able to tell you this, I did not get the point of these meetings when I first started. And I kept alive. Why am I doing this every Friday morning, and there's no agenda. But that's I was wrong. And those regular phone calls are really helpful to get to know the others on the presidential team, I learned a lot through them about different ways of thinking about APs and think different ways of thinking about how we do things. But because we, we interact so often, I, I felt like I'm handing something off to Ron, we've been working together on this already now for some time, and, and frequently talking to each other. And we'll be still together on the presidential team for another year, because I stay on these calls for the next year is the outgoing president. So but that said, one of the things I've regretted about earlier in my career is that I didn't always ask for advice. I've watched people succeed, and do things that I wanted to do. And I wasn't good about just going up and asking them about what they did, and how they got there. And I, as I'm further in my career, now I see that a lot of people are similar, and they may. So I guess I would just encourage people to go ask for advice. This is a great place. So you bumped into Steve Lindo, as Ron mentioned, and you think he's an amazing scientist, it's okay to sit down with them and just ask what he thought was important to be good at what he was, you know, what he what he does, and I just, it seems like we don't do that enough. And this is a good society for doing that. But, but it's not when we when we change over the P team. It's not like you just get in fact, there is no plug or anything, you don't get handed any secret stuff. We just, you know, a lot of zoom calls, is what we do. 32:03 Jim: That's that's really great advice for for anyone who's APS president as well as for the rest of us, reach out network, get to know your colleagues, and ask for input that comes down to mentorship in lots of ways. So thank you both for your time today. Thank you so much for your service on APS, APS president. And it's been a real pleasure to talk with you both. 32:26 Ron: Well Jim thank you also for your service. And thank you for for stepping in with Plantopia. This was wonderful. Appreciate it. 32:33 AmyL I agree. Thank you. It's it's really been fun working with you. 32:37 Jim: So we just heard from APS President Amy Charkowski and APS President-Elect Ron Walcott talking about APS leadership and the transition of APS leadership that will take place at the end of this meeting Plant Helath 2020. Thank you so much for tuning in to Plantopia. I'm your host, Jim Bradeen, and we will talk next time. Transcribed by https://otter.ai