NAEP President's Letter

From Michael Mayer, NAEP President

Welcome to the National Association of Environmental Professionals (NAEP) webpage. If you are new to NAEP, I hope you recognize the benefits our organization provides to the environmental professional and consider joining us. For those that are members of NAEP, we thank you for your commitment to your profession and NAEP. Since NAEP is a member-volunteer-run organization, it takes a village to bring the programs, events, and professional growth opportunities we bring to our members. We truly hope you’ll join our village—you are welcome. 

My name is Mike (Michael if you’re angry with me) and I am your NAEP President, having started my term in May 2023. I am honored to serve our members in this role and look forward to engaging with you throughout my term and beyond. I am excited about the future of NAEP. Under the leadership of our past president, Rona Spellecacy, NAEP developed a strategic plan to refocus on our mission and guide our activities into the future. Now it’s time to implement that plan! The Board of Directors and NAEP volunteers are working on developing the approaches for implementing the strategic plan and can always use more help. So, if you’re interested, please let us know!

This year we’ve also implemented additional NAEP member benefits that we’re excited about. Now all NAEP members have free access to our webinar series. Our expert volunteer members have been assembling panels and providing information on emerging issues as they develop, such as the recent changes to the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Supreme Court decision on Waters of the United States, among others. I encourage our members to take advantage of this benefit. 

We have also kicked off our Working Groups in earnest. See https://www.naep.org/working-groups-opportunities. Modeled after our NEPA Practice Working Group, we have started eight additional member-led working groups. The Working Groups are intended to provide more resource-topic-focused discussions and are open to all members. The hope is that members will actively participate, allowing us to leverage all the expertise that makes up NAEP. 

Finally, I am excited to announce that the 2024 Annual Conference and Training Symposium will be held in Minneapolis May 5-8. After moving here in 2015, I now call Minnesota home and am excited to invite you to our state to attend the conference and see what The North has to offer (I refuse to call it the Upper Midwest because honestly, that isn’t even a directional reference that makes sense). The Minnesota Association of Environmental Professionals is working hard with NAEP to bring together a great conference with engaging speakers and fun and educational field trips. However, you can’t appreciate Minnesota over three days, so come before or stay after and see what we have to offer. Come visit one of our over ten thousand lakes, including one that is truly Superior; enjoy a paddle through the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness; explore our history at Indian Mounds Regional Park, Fort Snelling at Bdote, and the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area; or tour Paisley Park where Prince made magic through music. There is something for everyone and we look forward to seeing you!