A committee entitled the “Extending the Tent Task Force”, or ET Task Force, was established to address how ESA can go about extending the tent and enhancing the relevance of our membership’s science. The charge to the committee is to (1) develop a vision for ESA membership for the next 20 years that addresses inclusion, diversity, and engagement with other disciplines, practitioners, public, and policy makers and (2) develop a strategy to achieve the vision determined in #1, including strategies to broaden the diversity of membership, to strengthen the ways in which the Society serves and supports its diverse members, and accordingly to increase the numbers and the retention of members of the Society. For this Special Session, we seek to engage membership in a facilitated Town Hall style meeting to seek their input on the above committee charge.

The format of the special session will include panelists chosen to represent the Student, Early Career, and Inclusive Sections and former members that for professional reasons have not continued their membership. Panelists will be given 5 minutes to present. Prior to the panel there will be welcoming remarks by the current President of ESA, Richard Pouyat, and introductory remarks on the progress of the ET Task Force by Laura Huenneke. Following remarks and the panel presentations a facilitated discussion will be held. Notes will be taken for the facilitated discussion and presented to the Task Force as it continues its work, and to the Governing Board at the Spring, 2018 meeting.