Welcoming New Board Members; Bylaws Revisions Approved

SEJ President’s Report: Welcoming New Board Members; Bylaws Revisions Approved

 

Halle Parker, SEJ Board President

Dear SEJ Members,

The 2025 Society of Environmental Journalists Elections has ended. The voting period, from October 6 to November 8, 2025, concluded at the end of the Annual Membership Meeting. Thank you to all the eligible voting members who are helping to shape the future of our organization.

Before I share the results of the 2025 elections, I would like to acknowledge and thank our three outgoing board members for their service to SEJ:

• Michael Kodas (Active)
• Nadia Lopez (Active)
• Sara Shipley Hiles (Academic)

Serving on the board is an incredibly rewarding volunteer experience, crucial for the survival and success of SEJ. It’s also demanding, requiring a lot of time, energy and dedication, especially when serving in leadership roles. Michael and Sara, in particular, have served on the board for two terms, six years straight, demonstrating their deep commitment to volunteerism. Each have played a critical role in moving SEJ toward its strategic goal of updating its membership eligibility criteria to make the organization more inclusive and responsive to the changing journalism landscape. In Nadia’s term, she’s worked to advance initiatives to make the organization more equitable, including dedicating countless hours to help craft and usher in SEJ’s DEI policy. All three outgoing board members have been valuable voices critical to steering SEJ into the future. Personally, I’m thankful to have had the opportunity to get to know Nadia, Michael and Sara more deeply. We will miss them, their laughter and their thoughtful contributions next year. Something tells me they won’t be far.

 

Certified election results

Four hundred four members participated in the 2025 SEJ Elections, exceeding the quorum (10%) needed to make the election valid. The votes were certified by the Elections Committee on November 9, 2025. The results of the 2025 SEJ Election are as follows.

• Madeline Ostrander (Active)
• Jimmy Tobias (Active)
• Jill Hopke (Academic)

Congratulations to Madeline, Jimmy and Jill. As three doors close, three more exciting new doors have opened. We are so happy to welcome each of you, with your unique talents and experiences, to SEJ’s board for the next three years. Thank you for stepping up to serve and grow with this organization! I can’t wait to work with you in the coming weeks. There will be more to come, but, for now, we celebrate! 2026 will mark an important time for strategic planning, and I’m grateful to have your voices shape what comes next. Cheers!

And an equally sincere thank you to our candidates who were willing to step up and dedicate their time to serving on the board. Fortunately, the board isn’t the only way to serve SEJ and help improve the organization; we will follow up with other volunteer opportunities that might interest you. Stay tuned!

 

Amendments to bylaws

I’m thrilled that SEJ members voted to approve the proposed membership bylaw revisions. This milestone reflects years of thoughtful discussion and collaboration among members, committees, and multiple boards. These changes will make SEJ more inclusive and adaptable to the realities of today’s journalism, ensuring our organization remains strong and reflective of the diverse professionals it aims to represent. Thank you to everyone who took part in this process and helped shape SEJ’s future. And thank you for trusting the board to present this proposal for your consideration. I truly believe creating a bigger tent will only strengthen the organization. It’s critical, not only for SEJ, but for the future of our world to have more journalists covering the biggest stories of the planet. For those journalists to have an organization they can turn to as they approach environmental reporting that intersects with every beat. Those journalists need a place to belong, and these revisions help ensure SEJ remains a crucial resource.

The work doesn’t stop with these changes. The board will work to finalize its updated policies to guide the implementation of these bylaws over the next couple of months, and we will ask the membership for input.

We move forward, together.

Sincerely,

Halle Parker
President, Board of Directors, Society of Environmental Journalists