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Stephen Bennett, Danielle Breezy, Jenny Frankel-Reed, Stephanie Herring, John Lanicci, and Russ Schumacher will serve on the AMS Council beginning in 2025.
[Boston, MA—December 9, 2024] Members of the American Meteorological Society (AMS) have elected Alan Sealls to the position of AMS president-elect for 2025. Sealls is an AMS Fellow and Certified Broadcast Meteorologist who retired this year from a 37-year broadcast career, which included serving as chief meteorologist at WPMI-TV in Mobile, Alabama. He will be inducted as president-elect on Sunday, 12 January, 2025, during the 105th AMS Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana.
At the meeting, the AMS—the professional society for weather, water, and climate sciences and services—will also induct six newly elected members of its Council: Stephen B. Bennett, Danielle A. Breezy, Jenny Frankel-Reed, Stephanie C. Herring, John M. Lanicci, and Russ A. Schumacher.
“It may be cliché, but I am honored and elated to be elevated to this position by the membership of the American Meteorological Society,” says Sealls. “These are weather, water, and climate professionals, practitioners, researchers, students, educators and enthusiasts who embrace the mission of the AMS, of understanding, communicating and doing science for the benefit of all people and communities. I am more than happy to contribute my skills and energy to grow and support an organization that has supported me since I was a student, before home Internet! Technology, combined with peer-reviewed research, has enabled tremendous advances in atmospheric and related sciences. The AMS stands as a beacon, continuing to serve a growing profession and growing population, with solid science and best practices for us to thrive.”
Sealls will serve a one-year term as president-elect, then serve as president of the AMS beginning at the 2026 Annual Meeting.
Learn about current AMS Leadership and recently elected leaders.
About Alan Sealls
Alan Sealls (pictured at right) is an AMS Fellow, and Certified Broadcast Meteorologist. He retired in January 2024 from a 37-year career in broadcast meteorology. He most recently was chief meteorologist at WPMI-TV in Mobile. He is a sixteen-time regional Emmy winner, 2009 winner of the AMS Award for Excellence in Science Reporting, and 2019 winner of the AMS Award for Broadcast Meteorology. Sealls has also taught at the college level for 30 years; he is currently an adjunct professor teaching weather broadcasting at the University of South Alabama and is a member of the Cornell University Earth & Atmospheric Sciences Advisory Council. He is also an author, columnist, video producer, and public speaker on weather and journalism issues. Sealls earned a bachelor of science in meteorology from Cornell, and a master of science in meteorology from Florida State University.
Alan Sealls served as 2018 president of the National Weather Association (NWA). He has served as a councilor and a board chair for both the AMS and the NWA. He was AMS Chicago Chapter president in 1998, served as 2010 chair of the AMS Board on Broadcast Meteorology, and served on the AMS Fellows Selection Committee from 2018 to 2021. Read full bio.
About New AMS Councilors
The six new 2024 AMS Councilors. Clockwise from top left: Russ Schumacher, Stephanie Herring, Danielle Breezy, Jenny Frankel-Reed, John Lanicci, and Stephen Bennett.
The AMS Council is the Society’s principle governing body, and consists of the current AMS president and AMS president-elect, along with the last two past presidents, the AMS executive director, the AMS secretary, and the AMS treasurer (all of whom are non-voting members), and 15 other voting members of the Society, each elected for a three-year term, with one-third retiring each year. Each year, four councilors are elected to represent the academic sector, the private sector, and the government sector, with a fifth councilor appointed by AMS Council. For 2025, an additional councilor was elected to fill a vacant position. The new councilors are (in alphabetical order):
STEPHEN BENNETT, JD (Private Sector)
Stephen Bennett, JD, is chief scientist and co-founder of Demex.
DANIELLE BREEZY (Private Sector)
Danielle Breezy is chief meteorologist at ABC affiliate WKRN-TV in Nashville, TN.
JENNY FRANKEL-REED (Private Sector)
Jenny Frankel-Reed is a senior officer in climate adaptation with the Agricultural Development team at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
STEPHANIE HERRING (Government Sector)
Stephanie C. Herring is a special advisor to the NOAA assistant secretary for environmental observations and predictions.
JOHN LANICCI (Academic Sector)
John Lanicci, PhD, is a professor of meteorology and academic director of the Coastal Weather Research Center at the University of South Alabama.
RUSS SCHUMACHER (Academic Sector)
Russ Schumacher, PhD, is professor of atmospheric science at Colorado State University; he also serves as the Colorado State Climatologist and director of the Colorado Climate Center.
All bios and candidate statements for recently elected AMS leaders can be found on the AMS Election Information page.