TWS-WS 2027 Election

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Hal Holland

I'm pleased to reintroduce myself to the Western Section members. I served for years in leadership with the Sac-Shasta Chapter, where I met my amazing wife Kelly Holland (TWS Western Section President 2020) at a Chapter event I was leading - before kids, and when I somehow had a Mohawk! Over the years I've served as Chapter Treasure and President, as well as TWS Western Section Chapter Representative. It's been several years, but I'm returning as Western Section President candidate to leverage my experience and connections to highlight the value of our scientific contributions, focus on support for state and federal positions, streamline issuance of permits to conduct our work, and accelerate conservation objectives.

I graduated with a B.S. in Ecology, and started my career as a consultant doing surveys for a wide range of ESA species. My fondest field memories are collecting Sherman traps at dawn to see if we had caught a sensitive species or a wood rat (or worse, a tarantula). Somehow 25 years later I've been exceptionally fortunate working in the field of Advanced Mitigation to help restore and conserve more than 35,000 acres of habitat for ESA species. My career began with the love of field work, but my passion is for developing biologists and improving regulations/policies to accelerate conservation.

Our society and the environment feel like they are at a crossroads. Climate change, 30x30 land protection, green energy, floods, forest fire. How do we navigate this changing physical and political environment as biologists and conservation-minded ecologists? I've connected over my career with biologists across the private sector, resource agencies, land trusts, consultants, and researchers to address current and future needs in our field.

My aspiration as your candidate for President of our Section is to promote a mentoring program to develop our newer members and engage our more mature professionals, use connections with leaders of the resource agencies to promote our work as biologists, and expand training to incorporate more legal, financial, and regulatory aspects to expand our conservation objectives.

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Tiffany May

I became involved with the Western Section of The Wildlife Society in 2016 as a member of the student chapter at the University of Nevada, Reno, where I served as secretary and treasurer and helped plan the 2017 Student Conclave. Since then, I have remained actively engaged—presenting research, supporting student activities, and serving on the planning committee for the 2026 Annual Meeting in Monterey. The Western Section has shaped both my personal and professional life more than any other organization. Through its programs and events, I have built lasting friendships, found extraordinary mentors, and collaborated with exceptional colleagues. I have experienced the Western Section's impact in fostering thoughtful discussion, supporting members, and sustaining a strong sense of community during these challenging times.

I have been fortunate to work across a wide range of ecosystems in Nevada and California, from rangelands and alpine lakes to intertidal systems, through research and fieldwork with universities, consulting firms, non-profits, and federal and state agencies. My career began in amphibian disease ecology at the University of Nevada, Reno, where I studied Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. In 2019, I began working with the Aquatic Ecology Program in Yosemite National Park, which led to my master's research on Yosemite toad reintroduction within the park, several seasons of fieldwork, and ongoing collaboration through my volunteer work and my current role as Field Conservation Supervisor at the San Francisco Zoo. Between 2019 and 2025, I worked across California in roles including salmon conservation with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife in Humboldt County, surveying for threatened and endangered species throughout Southern California with the Fisher Lab at the U.S. Geological Survey, and mentoring middle and high school students in ecological research. Outside of my professional role, I am the co-founder of HERpetology et al., an organization dedicated to supporting women and gender non-conforming individuals in herpetology, and will soon begin my position on the board of Save the Snakes, an organization whose mission is to conserve snakes around the world through education, research, and community support. I continue to volunteer in educational outreach and fieldwork whenever I get the chance. Through these experiences, I have developed strong skills in communication, collaboration, and adaptive problem-solving—leading field crews, working with diverse stakeholders on restoration projects, and navigating complex protocols and policies.

As President, I aim to build on the Western Section's strong foundation by strengthening our connection between the North American Model of Wildlife Management and ecological research and conservation, adapting to the future needs of our field and our world. I will strive to grow our partnerships with cultural and academic organizations, such as indigenous communities and museums. I am committed to expanding outreach to elementary-high school students to inspire the next generation of conservationists and to develop new pathways for their engagement within the Western Section. I am dedicated to fostering a community where members feel supported, valued, and connected—not only through professional development, but also through meaningful opportunities for collaboration, personal connection, and engagement beyond our day-to-day work. I would be honored to serve as President and to help guide the Western Section in strengthening our impact and supporting our thriving community of wildlife professionals.

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Proposed changes to the Western Section Bylaws, Spring 2026

The current Western Section of TWS Bylaws was approved on February 25, 2025.

The following changes are proposed to:

1. conform to changes in TWS Bylaws adopted by TWS in July 2021;
2. clarify existing direction; and
3. add additional guiding direction.

The Western Section Executive Board reviewed these proposed changes in February and September 2024 and voted to present these proposed changes for Section member vote on May 4, 2026. This summary provides an overview of the major and minor proposed changes. Please see the marked-up version for full details of the proposed edits. A clean unmarked version of the final proposed changes is also provided that may be easier to read.

• Major proposed changes
  1. Procedure to recognize Section Honorary Members:
     • Section 5.01-D: Changed item 2) to allow Honorary Members to be recognized by majority vote of the Executive Board instead of a majority vote of Section members. This change aligns this recognition to the procedures to select other Section awards, which are approved by majority vote of the Executive Board.
  2. Several changes related to Dues Categories (Section 5.02-B):
     • Section 5.02-B: The Section identifies eligibility criteria for several dues categories such as student, early career professional, and retired for the purpose of establishing annual member dues. Clarified that different or additional eligibility criteria may be applied for establishing fees for events and eligibility for certain awards, and grants as specified by those programs.
     • Section 5.02-B.2: Removed “up to” to clarify that Life Member dues are set at 22.5 time the standard dues.
     • Section 5.02-B.6: Changed description of discounted dues rate for Early Career Professionals to match the definition used by TWS for consistency for members who join or renew via TWS.
  3. Several changes regarding Nominations and Voting and Qualifications of Board service
     • Section 6.01: Changed the size of the Committee to at least five members and no more than seven members. This provides an opportunity to expand the committee to allow more members to volunteer service to the Section.
     • Section 6.01-A: Clarified that TWS requires that Voting District Representatives have an official address on record within the Voting District. The Section requires that nominees for President-Elect or President when filling a vacancy, either reside in the Section or predominately work in or conduct research within the Section. This recognizes that an individual may have a residence physically outside of the Section but their interests are strongly within the Section such as remote work assignments or residing just across a state boundary.
     • Section 6.06-B: Added a new clause in the Section on Removal from Office titled “Relationship to the Section” requiring that an officer, Board member, or Chapter representative must reside in, predominately work in or conduct research within the Section. Allows an unelected individual to complete an unexpired term up to one year with Board approval. Also allows an elected individual to complete an unexpired term up to six-months with Board approval and a commitment to fulfill their duties and obligations.
     • Section 6.04-I: Added that serving on the Nominating and Elections Committee is limited to two consecutive terms without a break in service. This is to ensure that there is rotation on the committee so it is not continuously dominated by the same individuals.
  4. Several changes regarding the Executive Board
     • Section 6.03-F: Clarified duties of Chapter Representatives in alignment with the Section Operations Manual.
     • Section 6.03-F to 6.05-D : Moved the last sentence in Section 6.03-F regarding filling a vacancy in a Chapter Representative position to the section on Vacancies. Change the condition from an “and” to an “or” to address an active Chapter that fails to appoint a Chapter Representative to the Section Board.
     • Section 6.03-C: Added that the Past-President serves on the Operations Manual and Bylaws Committee. See clarification in Section 9.02-N. Removed the requirement for the Past-President to Chair a third committee.
     • Section 6.03-J: Clarified that President or person serving as Presiding Officer for a meeting may not hold proxy for any other Board member since the Presiding Officer generally does not engage in debate on motions. Note also that the President is prohibited from serving as Secretary or Treasurer by the Corporation Code for non-profit organizations of the State of California.
     • Section 9.02-N: Clarified that the Past President is a member of, but is not required to be the chair of the Operations Manual and Bylaws committee to align with the duties of the Past President listed in Section 6.03-C.
  5. Several changes regarding the Board Meetings
     • Section 7.02-C: Added the missing statement that member notice is not required for Special Board Meetings.
     • Section 8.01-A: Clarified that members may attend Regular and Special Member Meetings. Also clarified that members may attend Regular Board Meetings but may attend Special Board Meetings by invitation only. Members may attend the Regular Board Meetings virtually. When space allows, members may also attend the Regular Board Meeting held at the Annual Meeting venue in person.
• Other proposed changes
  • Minor formatting and grammatical, reference, and technical corrections throughout.
  • Section 3.02 (Chapters): added that TWS also follows procedures in their General Operating Procedures to form or dissolve Chapters in addition to TWS Bylaws.
  • Section 7.01-E (Meeting Rules): Changed the name “special rules” to “temporary rules of order” in alignment with the latest edition of the Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedures.

Prepared by Don Yasuda, Section Historian, 05/03/2026