4th Annual Conference for Early Career Professionals

The 4th Annual Conference for Early Career Professionals was held in conjunction with the 96th AMS Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana.  The conference chairs were Matthew Lacke, Jared Rennie, and Christopher Schultz.  Search #BECP2016 on Twitter for specific content related to this conference.

Highlights of the conference:

  • Joint session with the 15th Annual AMS Student Conference that included a keynote address from Kim Runk at the National Weather Service's Operations Proving Ground in Kansas City, Missouri, and rotating group discussions on: Creating or Improving Your Elevator Pitch (led by Angel McCoy, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management); Sweat the Small Stuff: What Matters in a Job Inteview (led by Wes Hyduke, Schneider Energy); and Communication When It Counts (led by Matt Rogers, Commodity Weather Group, LLC)
  • Icebreakers to get to know conference attendees
  • Remarks from AMS President Sandy MacDonald
  • Rotating group discussions on mentors and soft skills for early career professionals: Selecting a Mentor (led by Wendy Abshire, UCAR/COMET); and Soft Skills in the Workplace (led by Jon Nese, Penn St).
  • Networking session with AMS professionals and incoming AMS President Dr. Frederick Carr
  • Panel discussion on early career issues (panelists:  Dr. Joshua Durkee, Western Kentucky University; Christopher Alston, Mars, Inc.; Kerrin Jeromin, WPEC-TV CBS12; Charlie Woodrum, NWS)
  • Informal happy hour early Sunday evening for conference attendees, speakers, panelists, and group facilitators
  • 6th Annual Reception for Early Career Professionals on Sunday evening was partially sponsored by the National Council of Industrial Meteorologists and was attended by several hundred AMS Meeting attendees
  • Hosted a Town Hall Meeting titled "Outside the Box Skillsets for Staying Relevant and Landing the Next Job."  It included the panelists Mike Wolfinbarger (RadarScope), Susan Jasko (Cal University of Penn), Doug Hilderbrand (National Weather Service), Dave Novak (Weather Prediction Center), and Rick Knabb (National Hurricane Center)

Keynote from Kim Runk:

 

Images from the conference:

Keynote speaker Kim Runk during the 2016 conference in New Orleans.

 

Attendees networking with AMS representatives during the 2016 conference in New Orleans.

 

Small breakout group discussion on soft skills in the workplace led by Erik Pytlak during the 2016 conference in New Orleans.

 

Town Hall Meeting on "Outside the Box Skill Sets" sponsored by the BECP during the 96th Annual AMS Meeting in New Orleans.