How can SSA best serve your professional needs and continue making advances in the field of seismology?
Keep that question in mind as you read the candidate statements below for our 2025 Board of Directors Election. Then be sure to cast your vote!
As the governing body for SSA, the Board of Directors helps set the broad policy and direction for the Society.
Voting in this election is a responsibility shared by every member of our community.
This is your opportunity to select the individuals who will steer the Society’s course for the next three years and set the course for years to come.
Together, by casting your vote in this important election, we advance earthquake science worldwide. Make your voice heard and vote today!
SSA members are invited to vote for members of the Board of Directors in the 2025 election as part of the annual membership renewal and update process. Members may log in here to cast their vote. Candidate statements are presented below, in alphabetical order by last name.
The election will be open for voting from 1 October 2024 until 5 p.m. PST Friday 3 January 2025. SSA strongly urges members to participate in the Society’s future by casting ballots. For assistance, contact election@seismosoc.org or phone 510-525-5474.
For a full list of the current Board of Directors, visit this page. The date next to the name indicates the end of their current term.
Candidate Statements (in alpha order):
Ashly Cabas
Associate Professor, Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at North Carolina State University
Principal Fields
Geotechnical earthquake engineering, earthquake ground motion characterization, seismic hazard assessment, near-surface wave propagation, education and outreach
Candidate Statement
I am honored and so excited to be nominated for a second term on the Seismological Society of America (SSA)’s Board of Directors. The SSA has shaped my professional career since the very beginning, and my commitment to give back to this amazing community only grows stronger with time. Always curious and supportive, the SSA has been there for me providing fundamental knowledge, platforms to learn and share good practices for advancing science, collaboration opportunities, and professional challenges to grow. During my first term as a member of the Board, I was eager to contribute to the Publications Committee in their journey towards understanding and successfully navigating the complex, and quickly evolving publishing landscape. This team effort will result in SSA’s first open-access options for BSSA and SRL. Should I be re-elected, my focus and efforts will continue to support: the advancement of science, and building an even stronger sense of community for all. Working at the intersection of earthquake engineering and seismology, I am personally invested in disrupting barriers to interdisciplinary research, supporting established and new programs that enable SSA members to think and create outside disciplinary silos. Being Latina, Venezolana, I care deeply about broadening participation of the next generation of scientists not only within SSA, but also as part of other international outreach efforts with a special focus on Latin America and the Caribbean (e.g., the earthquake engineering and seismology community alliance in Latin America; E2SCALA). I enjoy being an ally and a mentor to students and early career professionals, so I look forward to supporting their success, their voices, and contributions to SSA.
Jackie Caplan-Auerbach
Professor, Geology Department, Western Washington University
Principal Fields
Volcano seismology, hydroacoustics
Candidate Statement
As a volcanologist, seismologist, and educator, I long ago learned to appreciate all that SSA has to offer, and I am glad to have the opportunity to give back. SSA provides much to its membership, including world-class journals, dynamic and relevant meetings, funding support, and mentoring to early career scientists. SSA has a storied history, and its primary strength has always been its membership. If elected I will prioritize welcoming and engaging a broad and diverse community of scientists.
From 2019-2022 I served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology, helping steer it during the merger with UNAVCO. This experience taught me a great deal about the role that directors can play in hearing and responding to the needs of membership during stressful times. In 2022 I served as program co-chair for SSA’s annual meeting in Bellevue, WA. This was an exciting and eye-opening undertaking that taught me a great deal about the breadth and depth of research being undertaken by our community. As someone whose research is in a relatively narrow niche, I know the experience of finding no relevant sessions at meetings, and it is important to me that we continuously work with the SSA community to ensure that everyone feels welcome and represented at meetings.
Roby Douilly
Associate Professor, University of California, Riverside
Principal Fields
Earthquake seismology, local earthquake tomography, earthquake source mechanism, earthquake rupture dynamics, ground motion
Candidate Statement
I am honored to be nominated to serve for a second term on the Board of Directors of the Seismological Society of America (SSA). I was initially trained as a civil engineer in Haiti (my native country) but after experiencing the tragic 2010 Haiti earthquake, I was motivated to pursue a career in earthquake seismology. I became an SSA member when I was a graduate student, and the network I have cultivated by being part of that community and attending the Annual Meeting was crucial to the steps of my career. The SSA has always been the leading society in advancing seismology, and advocates for early-career scientists and supports national and international exceptional scientists through its journals, meetings, and awards. However, the number of seismologists and geoscientists from historically underrepresented backgrounds who have committed their efforts to SSA activities (such as being an SSA member, reviewing papers, writing papers, etc.) are few and far apart. This is in part due to the cost of publishing, the cost of the annual meeting, and whether the scientist is part of an institution that does not have access to the published articles from SSA journals. During my first term on the board, we pushed for a green open access option for articles published in BSSA and SRL to increase accessibility while balancing our society’s financial needs for leading quality and service. If elected for a second term, I will continue to support initiatives such as reducing publication and meeting costs, advancing mentoring programs, virtual workshops, target awards to not only increase the presence and membership of underrepresented minorities at the Annual Meetings, but also to ensure that our journals and meetings remain accessible to all earthquake scientists.
Wenyuan Fan
Associate Professor of Geophysics, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD
Principal Fields
Earthquake seismology, array seismology, environmental seismology, marine geophysics, subduction zone science
Candidate Statement
I am honored to be nominated to serve on the SSA Board of Directors. SSA has always been at the forefront of seismological innovations, and this is an opportunity for me to advocate for exciting research directions enabled by new observations and techniques. If elected, I will focus on promoting marine seismology and environmental seismology. Both fields have long histories, and research in these areas has significantly advanced our understanding of the solid Earth and the interactions between the solid Earth, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and cryosphere. However, these fields are often constrained by limited observations, resulting in relatively small research communities. As a result, young researchers may feel intimidated to explore these topics, despite their important implications for understanding Earth processes, from tectonics to climate change.
I will dedicate my efforts to diversifying SSA meeting themes, particularly at the SSA fall conference, to include marine and environmental seismology. I will help identify focus issue topics for SSA journals and actively promote our new open-access journal, The Seismic Record. Additionally, I will facilitate pre-meeting workshops to introduce data, data products, and tools specific to marine and environmental seismology. I will collaborate with the board to organize webinars and virtual workshops to foster research discussions and knowledge exchange. My goal is to engage early-career scientists in related research and lower the barriers to entry into these fields, benefiting SSA in both the short and long term.
Rengin Gok
Geophysicist, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Principal Fields
Explosion monitoring seismology, source physics, seismic hazard
Candidate Statement
During my undergraduate studies in geophysics in Turkey, SSA influenced my career trajectory. I chose to specialize in seismology, deriving significant benefit from SSA publications while observing important scientific progress within the field. My first SSA meeting in 2003 provided a warm and inclusive environment where I connected with a community of dedicated and exceptional scientists. These meetings provide an opportunity to learn a wide range of topics and engage with experts from engineering communities—an aspect that continues to be my interest. My career has spanned diverse subjects, with a primary focus on explosion monitoring seismology. As a program manager at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, I’ve led efforts to modernize building codes in developing countries, emphasizing training for young researchers who face challenges to attend international meetings. Additionally, I’ve organized international conferences and workshops to foster knowledge exchange among scientists and engineers, enhancing local government interactions and raising awareness about earthquake hazards and risks. Since 2022, I’ve been working as a technical advisor to federal program managers within the US Department of Energy. If elected, my objective is to enhance our community by cultivating cross-disciplinary ties between academia and various industries. Additionally, I intend to enhance our society interaction with undergraduate students and emerging professionals globally. Drawing on my government experience, I will explore opportunities to promote awareness of civil and scientific applications for the benefit of our seismology community.
Ivan Wong
Senior Principal Seismologist, Lettis Consultants International
Principal Fields
Seismic hazard analyses, earthquake engineering, induced seismicity, ground motion modeling, earthquake hazard mitigation, public outreach
Candidate Statement
My thanks to the nominating committee for selecting me as a candidate for the Board of Directors. I joined SSA in 1972, yes 52 years ago if my math is correct. Being a SSA member has helped shaped my career. Working at the interface between seismology and earthquake engineering, I’ve relied on the latest research to ensure that the best science has been applied to mitigating earthquake hazards globally. The SSA journals have allowed me to keep up with the rapid pace of our science. A highlight every year has been attending the annual meeting, seeing colleagues, and hearing about the latest research. I’ve been fortunate to do that every year but for a hand-full in 52 years. Twice I co-chaired the meeting. The journals have become so important to my professional growth, that I returned the favor (I hope) by becoming a BSSA Associate Editor and have been doing so for the past 25 years.
As a long-time member, I wish I could offer some wisdom to the Society if I were to join the Board. Not sure I can. SSA has been fortunate to be guided by exceptionally capable Executive Directors, staff, and Boards of Directors and in my view, the Society has only improved as a professional organization. However, if elected to the Board, I would like to strengthen the ties between the seismological and earthquake engineering communities. As stated as its core value, the SSA seeks to “advance seismology and the understanding of earthquakes for the benefit of society.” SSA has provided me the needed knowledge and personal connections to address earthquake safety and promote earthquake hazard awareness throughout the U.S. and abroad. I view serving on the Board as another opportunity to give back to the Society that has given so much to me.
The election will be open for voting from 1 October 2024 until 5 p.m. PST on Friday, 3 January 2025.