Project AMTE 2019 is well underway! What do I mean by Project AMTE 2019? Certainly, the 2019 AMTE Annual Conference has come and gone, and this year was a wonderful conference experience indeed for all. Did you realize that AMTE operates on an interesting annual cycle, because of the timing of our conference and thus, our Annual Business Meeting? We all live and operate under a multitude of calendars; AMTE does as well. While the calendar year is 2019, the academic year is 2018–2019 and usually begins in mid to late August for most of us, but for some, it even begins as late as after Labor Day. Fiscally, our organization operates on a July 1 to June 30 calendar, so we are in Fiscal Year 2019 which means our business year ends on June 30, 2019. But, the work of AMTE culminates in our Annual Conference and serves as a kick-off for new committee members, new officers, new initiatives, and new strategic priorities. So, for AMTE, we operate on a February to February calendar for the activities of the organization.

Part of the complexity of a professional organization is navigating and coordinating these multiple calendars that we all experience.  And the AMTE 2019 year (February 2019–February 2020) is off and running!

This year, at the 2019 Annual Conference, we recognized long-time Conference Director, Susan Gay, and Assistant Conference Director, Carol Lucas, who have given 18 and 11 years of service, respectively, to the organization in those roles. AMTE has had outstanding conference experiences year after year. Our members tell us regularly that the AMTE Conference is the highlight of their professional year, and the quality of that conference experience is largely due to the efforts of Susan Gay and Carol Lucas. At the conference, we honored their time of service with a reception in their honor, some gifts from the organization, and notes that individuals left in baskets for them to read after the conference. If you have been impacted by the outstanding work of Susan and Carol, but were unable to be at this year’s conference, you might take the opportunity to email them with a personal note of appreciation and gratitude. Their emails are: Susan Gay <sgay@ku.edu> and Carol Lucas <clucas@uco.edu>.

At the Annual Business Meeting, we distributed copies of the 2018 Annual Report—our second such report. The Annual Report summaries the many activities and initiatives of the organization over the last year. We hope that this report will make the work of AMTE more transparent to our members as well as recognize the diverse group of volunteers, appointees, and elected leadership who carry out these activities. You can find the annual report in PDF at the following address: https://amte.net/news/2019/02/2018-annual-report

If you would like a print copy for whatever reason (e.g., to document national level service or to share with a colleague you’d like to invite to join AMTE) please email me and I will send you a copy.

The work of the organization is happening all around in the background at the Annual Conference. On Thursday morning, Associate Vice-Presidents (AVP), Vice-Presidents and Board Members joined together at breakfast at 6:45 AM to discuss their work in the upcoming year. AVPs met with their committees and other small groups throughout the conference. The day before the conference begins, the Board of Directors met all day long (8:00 AM–5:00 PM) to discuss the work of AMTE. In addition to ongoing business, the Board uses this day to have broader discussions about the future of the organization and to discuss & operationalize strategic priorities for the upcoming year. Michael Steele, AMTE President, articulated these at the Annual Business Meeting and expands on them in his Connections article in this issue.

So, in many ways, the Annual Business Meeting at the AMTE Conference is our “New Year” Celebration—we look back at the previous year and celebrate the work that has been done, and commission the new slate of committees and leadership to engage in AMTE’s work for the coming year. 

This year, we said good-bye to four outgoing board members

• Anita Wager (Vanderbilt University), AMTE Treasurer;

• Dorothy Y. White (University of Georgia), AMTE Board Member-at-Large;

• Paola Sztajn (North Carolina State University), Vice-President for Advocacy, Equity, and Research; and

• Suzanne Harper (Miami University), Vice-President for Communications and Outreach.

They have been dedicated board members who have helped us shape the direction of AMTE in our new infrastructure and we thank them for their outstanding service!

Likewise, we welcome four new Board of Directors members, all of whom have terms 2019–2022:

• Sarah Quebec Fuentes (Texas Christian University), AMTE Treasurer;

• Enrique Galindo (Indiana University), AMTE Board Member-at-Large;

• Sarah VanIngen, (University of South Florida), Vice-President for Advocacy, Equity, and Research; and

• Dusty Jones (Sam Houston State University), Vice-President for Communications and Outreach.

We welcome these new board members to represent our membership over the next three years.

Board Transparency:

The AMTE Board of Directors meets every month of the year, with the exception of July. Each month, typically on the third Friday of the month, the Board meets synchronously online from for two hours. In February, the Board meeting is an extended daylong meeting one day prior to the conference. Additionally, each fall there is an Annual Board Retreat in October for 2 days to look at the bigger picture of AMTE.

We invite you—AMTE members—to bring your ideas to the Board for discussion and consideration. Please know that you may always share ideas, issues, and feedback with any Board member. A list of the current members and their responsibilities is included at the end of this article. If you have something to share with the Board, please feel free to share it with me, President Mike Steele, Past-President Randy Philipp or any member of the Board of Directors. If you contact us in the first week of the month, we have time to consider the item for discussion in that month’s regular Board Meeting.

I encourage you to go online and look at the current Annual Report 2018 and see just how active the organization has been in every division, both to serve our members and to be an active voice for mathematics teacher education in the broader mathematics and education communities. Thank your colleagues that have been involved through service in some role, and think about areas in which you would like to serve. In the Spring of the year, look for the updated Volunteer Form, so that we can know of your interest to serve this vital organization.

Lastly, 2019 will be a year of transition for our organization in two distinct ways. New appointees in both of the roles listed below will begin their term of service in February 2020. Please help us by nominating and encouraging outstanding candidates:

Associate Vice-President for Web Development—In this issue, you will find information about how to nominate yourself or someone else for this critical position in our organization, supporting the public face of AMTE through social media and our website.

Executive Director—After one year of interning under my predecessor, Nadine Bezuk, and six years of serving in this role, I am stepping down as Executive Director. We are looking for the next person to step into this role. Review of applications began on February 28, and the AMTE Board of Directors will appoint an Executive Director Designee hopefully by mid-spring to shadow and learn the specifics of the job.

Let’s all work to make 2019 another banner year for AMTE—finding new ways to reach more people and to be a strong voice for mathematics teacher education!

2019 AMTE Board of Directors:

• Mike Steele, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, President

• Randy Philipp, San Diego State University, Immediate Past President

• Tim Hendrix, Meredith College, Executive Director

• Sandi Cooper, Baylor University, Secretary

• Sarah Quebec Fuentes, Texas Christian University, Treasurer

• Eva Thanheiser, Portland State University, Member-at-Large

• Christa Jackson, Iowa State University, Member-at-Large

• Enrique Galindo, Indiana University, Member-at-Large

• Maggie McGatha, M^2 Consulting, Vice-President, Membership Division

• Lynn Breyfogle, Bucknell University, Vice-President, Professional Learning Division

• Babette Benken, California State University, Long Beach, Vice-President, Publications Division

• Sarah Van Ingen, University of South Florida, Vice-President, Advocacy, Equity, and Research Division

• Dusty Jones, Sam Houston State University, Vice-President, Communications and Outreach Division

Please support these individuals as they seek to represent the broader membership of AMTE and reach out to any board member with your ideas or any concerns you have in the upcoming year.