2024 Eastern Branch Elections Results

Congratulations to the members of the Entomological Society of America's Eastern Branch recently elected to volunteer positions beginning in March 2024. The electronic ballot period for members began on January 8 and was completed on February 7.

Eastern Branch President-Elect

Rayda Krell 
Corteva Agriscience 

Bio: Rayda has a tangled career path including being unemployed, self-employed, and in academia and industry. Rayda has a B.A. in Biology and Russian language from Middlebury College, VT, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in entomology from Iowa State University. She did a post-doc in entomology at the University of California, Riverside. She subsequently worked as an agricultural communication consultant and at Western Connecticut State University (WCSU) as an adjunct professor and Research Coordinator in integrated tick management. In 2018 she became an Assistant Professor at WCSU and taught courses in biology, science communication, and biodiversity policy. In 2022, she became a Global Technical Education Scientist with Corteva Agriscience. She works remotely from her home in Ridgefield, CT. She has a son in college at Indiana University, a son in high school, and two kooky cats.

Past ESA activity or other volunteer service: ESA involvement has been a core of Rayda’s career since she participated in the first student debate at an ESA Meeting (1997) and the Entomology Games several times. She served various ESA committees at the National and Branch levels including Chair of the ESA Membership (2005), Co-Chair of the Local Arrangements (2010), Chair of the Insects as Vectors of Plant Pathogens subsection (2010), Organizer of the Women and Allies in Entomology Breakfast (since 2010), Co-Program Chair (2019), Member of ESA Publications Council (2020), and Program Chair for the Eastern Branch (2023).  Rayda reviewed the ESA Awards (2014), served on the board of the Entomological Foundation (2013–2017), was selected in the first cohort of ESA Science Policy Fellows (2014), co-organized the P-IE Science Policy Field Tour (2017), and Subject Editor for Annals of Entomological Society of America (2023). 

Candidate statement: I am honored to be nominated for ESA Eastern Branch Vice-President Elect. ESA branches are critical inclusion gateways for ESA at large. Our branch meetings provide a casual and accessible platform for us to connect and share our science.  I attended my first ESA Eastern Branch meeting in 2017. When I entered the meeting and saw a giant entomological balloon sculpture, I knew this branch had a fun spirit! This spirit is further demonstrated by the commitment to add a public outreach event, It’s a Bug’s World, to our meeting. If I am elected, I would honor the Eastern branch’s history of active innovation and fostering community, while seeking a bit of unconventional programming to ensure every voice can participate. In our hectic, intense lives, time is our most valuable resource, and I would prioritize ensuring meaningful engagement in our branch.  

 

Eastern Branch Treasurer

Ramandeep Kaur Sandhi 
FMC Corporation 

Bio: Education: Ph.D. Entomology, Montana state University, 2017 - 2020 

M.S. Entomology, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), India, 2014 - 2016 

B.S. Agriculture Honors, PAU, India, 2010 - 2014 

Employment: Global R & D scientist, Insecticides, FMC corporation, 2021-Present 

Her areas of interest are IPM, Insecticide resistance, biological control, Entomopathogens 

Ramandeep's accomplishments: 9 research papers, 2 review papers, 2 book chapters, 10 oral/poster presentations, 8+extension and media articles in entomology.  

She has won 2021 ESA International Branch John Henry Comstock Award as well as The Robert O’Neil Award for outstanding Ph.D. Student in Biological Control by International Organization of Biological control-Nearctic Region in 2021.:  

Past ESA activity or other volunteer service: Raman is an active member of ESA since 2017 and has been volunteering at registration desk, presentation preview room, and student competition judge at ESA meetings.  She was selected as IB rep in ESA Student Affairs Committee (SAC) (2020-2022) and then as Vice-Chair and Chair SAC in 2021 and 2022, respectively, where she was involved in organizing SAC symposium, student debates, writing Entomology Today and American Entomologist articles. She was also selected as P-IE rep by Awards and Honors committee on the ECP Research Award Judging Panel from 2021 to 2023. She has organized 6 symposia/workshops and student debates since 2021 in different ESA meetings and has been a periodic reviewer for 12 scientific journals including ESA journals. Raman is also leading Women’s Network and is actively representing FMC corporation at local institutions in different outreach activities. 

Candidate statement: Raman is a Global R & D Scientist, Insecticides at FMC corporation.  I have served on different volunteer and leadership roles in ESA including chair ESA SAC, Student Activity and ECP Research Award Judging Panel, student competition judge, and as periodic reviewer in entomology journals. From these roles, I have learned teamwork, effective communication and time management and creative thinking, etc. I continue to seek out opportunities to strengthen my research, leadership, and other soft skills. I am highly interested in this volunteer role and want to acquire experience on documentation, project management, budget planning, and record-keeping. If selected, I will use my skillset to fulfill the role responsibilities and enthusiastically support ESA EB committee's overall mission, build on my professional network and overall personality for future endeavors.  

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