The 2026 Board has five officers and eleven board members (including two graduate student representatives). The Board listing below also includes ex-officio members and ad hoc members, such as the AATSEEL liaison.

Officers

President: Michele Rivkin-Fish, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; president.awss@gmail.com

Vice-President/President Elect: Sharon Kowalsky, Texas A&M University-Commerce

Past-President: Sara Dickinson, University of Genoa, Italy

Secretary:  Adele Lindenmeyr, Villanova University

Treasurer: Sara Ruiz, University of Michigan; Email: treasurer.awss@gmail.com

Clerk: Julie Hemment, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Investment Officer: Rochelle Ruthchild, Associate, Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard 

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Communications

AWSS-L Representative: Christine Worobec, Northern Illinois University

WEW Co-editors: Colleen Moore, James Madison University and Anna Müller, University of Michigan-Deaborn; Editorial Assistant: Ethell Gershengorin

Facebook Moderator: Christine Worobec, Northern Illinois University; Website: Melissa Bokovoy, University of New Mexico; Instagram Moderator: Laurel Tollison, Brown University

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2026 Board Members

Yelena Furman, University of California, Los Angeles  (2026-2027)

Siobhán Hearne, University of Manchester  (2026-2027)

Julie Hemment, University of Massachusetts, Amherst (2025-26)

Oksana Kis, National Academy of Sciences, Ukraine (2025-26)

Maria Mayerchyk, Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences and Institute of Ethnology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (2026-2027)

Colleen Moore, James Madison University (2026-2027)

Anna Muller, University of Michigan, Dearborn (2026-2027)

Jānis Ozoliņš, Art Academy of Latvia (2026-27)

Jessica Zychowicz, Institute of International Education, Kyiv Office and Fulbright Ukraine (2026-2027)

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Graduate Student Representatives

Oksana Dudko, University of Toronto (2025-2026)

Agnieszka Pindera, University of Warsaw (2025-2026)

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Liaisons & Committees – 2025 (2026-TBA)

AATSEEL Liaison: Melissa Miller

ASEEES Diversity Liaison: Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon

AWSS Travel Grants:  Jenifer Presto (chair), Knar Abrahamyan, Oksana Kis,

Graduate Essay Prize Committee: Sara Dickinson (chair), Ema Hrešanová, Jessica Zychowicz

Patricia Herlihy Graduate Research Prize Committee: Dr. Julie Hemment, Chair (chair), Magda Moskalewicz, Tetiana Vodotyka

Heldt Book Prize Committee: Sharon Kowalsky (chair), Nicole Monnier, Janine Holc, Aida A. Hozić, Daria Mattingly

Heldt Article Prize Committee: Lee Horvat (chair), Jill Massino, Jānis Ozoliņš, Natalia Plagmann

Heldt Translation Prize 2025: Sharon Kowalsky (chair), Natasa Kovacevic, Alex Niemi, Nicole Monnier

Mary Zirin Prize Committee: Darya Tsymbalyuk (chair), Aleksandra Jakubczak, Olga Makarova, Elena Trubina

Membership and Publicity: Siobhán Hearne

Mentoring committee: Karen Petrone (chair), Fiona Bell, Maria Mayerchyk, Catherine Wanner,

Nominating committee: Choi Chatterjee (chair), Iryna Skubii, Laurie Stoff

Outstanding Achievement Award Committee: Michele Rivkin-Fish (chair), Sara Dickinson (past-president); Sharon Kowalsky (Vice-President/President Elect)

Ad Hoc Finance Committee (pending by-law changes):  Sara Ruiz (Treasurer), Rochelle Ruthchild (Investment Officer), Sara Dickinson (President), Michele Rivkin-Fish (President-elect)