Highlights of the April 4–5, 2025, ASA Board of Directors Meeting

On Friday, April 4, ASA President Ji-Hyun Lee called to order the first 2025 meeting of the ASA Board of Directors. The board met at the ASA headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia.

During the meeting, the second “Telling Our Stories” video premiered via webinar.

The highlights of the board meeting follow.

Actions

The ASA Board of Directors:

• Appointed Tianxi Cai, Runze Li, and Xiaotong Shen as editors of the Journal of the American Statistical Association Theory and Methods for 2027–2029, with 2026 as a transition year.
• Appointed Weile He as editor of Statistics in Biopharmaceutical Research for 2026–2028.
• Approved changes to the ASA constitution and bylaws to grant the treasurer voting rights on the executive committee.
• Approved signing a letter of intent to sell the ASA headquarters building in Alexandria, Virginia. The sale process will take 12–16 months due to rezoning requirements. The association is selling the building, its headquarters since 2006, because it no longer needs that much space. The ASA will find a new headquarters during the coming 12 months.
• Established the Katherine K. Wallman Award for Transformative Impact on Federal, State, and Local Statistics. The award honors the memory of Kathy Wallman, who served as 1992 ASA president and chief statistician of the US for 25 years. The award will recognize small groups or individuals who significantly advance the relevance, credibility, utility, and objectivity of official statistics at federal, state, or local levels in ways that solve pressing policy problems and promote public trust.
• Approved revised transition and continuity plans for the staff positions of director of finance and administration, associate executive director, and executive director.

Reports and Discussions

• Derek Curtis II, ASA director of finance and administration, reviewed the 2024 year-end financials. The association finished the year in the black, with help from strong market gains.
• ASA Treasurer Jean Opsomer presented the status of the ASA investment portfolio and reviewed the performance of our investments against various benchmarks. He noted that investment performance tracked the market closely.
• Amanda Malloy, ASA director of development, shared the results of fundraising for 2024. She also reviewed the new projects rolled out in the past year, including legacy pages, the corporate partner program, and the Dionne Price Public Lecture.
• The board discussed strategies for mitigating the impact on JSM 2025 attendees resulting from government reductions in force and loss of funding for research. We understand these are challenging times for many in our community, and we’re committed to making JSM 2025 accessible to all. Please submit your request for discounted registration.
• The board continued reviewing its processes for making public statements based on suggestions received by the Scientific and Public Affairs Advisory Committee. The executive committee of the board will finalize and publicize the updated document detailing these processes.
• Steve Pierson, ASA director of science policy, updated the board on developments within the federal government and the ASA’s responses to those developments thus far. He noted that recent developments have considerably changed the direction of the second year of The Nation’s Data at Risk report. He also updated the board on federal agency and scientific research budgets.
• Vice President Dubois Bowman and Council Vice Chair Elizabeth Mannshardt presented the Membership Council’s annual report, highlighting key achievements and upcoming initiatives. Staff and council leadership will address the issues raised by the Membership Council committees.
• The Leadership Support Council and board of directors met to address concerns about committee member engagement and explore strategies for improvement. The results of the discussion will inform future policy and practices of the council and presidents-elect.
• Tomi Mori, second-year Council of Chapters representative, reported on the activities and initiatives of the Council of Chapters Governing Board. The council noted that the Southern California Chapter is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, the first chapter to reach this milestone.
• Jennifer Parker, second-year Council of Sections representative, reported that the council approved two new interest groups: Mobile and Wearable Data Science and Stats Up AI. The council is reviewing and updating invited session allocations for sections for JSM 2027 and 2028.
• Lee updated the board on the components of her Building Bridges initiative, including new collaborations with Nature Medicine and the American Evaluation Association. President-Elect Jeri Mulrow introduced her Communities in Action initiative, aimed at equipping ASA members with the skills and knowledge to engage with their communities to effectively communicate the value of data-driven decisions.
• ASA Associate Executive Director Donna LaLonde introduced a proposal to develop regional innovation conferences in collaboration with ASA chapters. These conferences, a component of the Building Bridges initiative, will foster networking, engagement, and collaboration locally.
• LaLonde and Alex Hanlon, professor of statistics at Virginia Tech, presented the findings from the ASA member survey and solicited board input on follow-up areas.
• The board brainstormed potential speakers for the 2026 Dionne Price Lecture Series. The board will select the 2026 lecturer at its next meeting.

The board will have its next full meeting August 1–2, 2025, in Nashville, Tennessee, immediately prior to JSM.

Huge News from the ASA!

Members have elected Brian Millen of Biogen as the 122nd president of the association.
Also elected:
Julia Sharp, Vice President
Martin Slawski, Council of Sections Representative
Ruixiao Lu, Council of Chapters Representative
Pedro Silva, International Representative
Congratulations to all!
Their terms officially begin on January 1, 2026, but they will join the ASA Board at its November meeting this year.
________________________

2025 Board of Directors

Ji-Hyun Lee, President
Jeri Mulrow, President-Elect
Bonnie Ghosh-Dastidar, Past President
Jenny Thompson, Third-Year Vice President
Susan Paddock, Second-Year Vice President
DuBois Bowman, First-Year Vice President
Melinda Holt, Third-Year Council of Chapters Representative
Tomi Mori, Second-Year Council of Chapters Representative
David Corliss, First-Year Council of Chapters Representative
Jana Asher, Third-Year Council of Sections Representative
Jennifer Parker, Second-Year Council of Sections Representative
Sharina Person, First-Year Council of Sections Representative
Ingrid Van Keilegom, International Representative
Antje Hoering, Publications Representative
Jean Opsomer, Treasurer
Ron Wasserstein, Executive Director and Board Secretary