Positions on ASAB Council

There are four positions available on ASAB Council to begin in January 2027

The positions are: Membership Secretary, Social Media Officer, Communications Officer, and one Ordinary Member

If you are interested in being nominated for one of these positions, and contributing to the work of ASAB, please send a 150-word statement outlining your motivation, experience and suitability for the role to the current ASAB Secretary, Elisa Frasnelli (elisa.frasnelli[at]unitn.it) by 20thJune 2026.

Your nomination should be supported by at least two members of ASAB, also by email to (elisa.frasnelli[at]unitn.it) by 20thJune 2026.

Nominated candidates will be put forward for an online election by the membership of ASAB. Council may nominate candidates and reserves the right to add nominations after the closing date in the event of a lack of suitable candidates. Council also reserves the right to generate a short-list of not less than three candidates per position for online elections. Officers and ordinary members of ASAB Council will normally serve three calendar years, commencing 1st January. Reasonable expenses are reimbursed to support attendance at Council meetings and associated ASAB conferences, and a small annual research grant is provided for ASAB Council Officers in support of animal behaviour research activity. Further information on the roles is provided below and on our website. For more details or to discuss the Officer roles, please contact the current Secretaries (contact details provided below).

Best regards,

Elisa Frasnelli (ASAB Secretary)

Further Information:

Membership Secretary

The Membership Secretary is a full member of ASAB Council, and has responsibility as first point of contact for membership enquiries, for maintaining the membership database, over-seeing the smooth running of the subscription process, including new members and renewals, and for liaising with Elsevier to ensure members have the requisite access to Animal Behaviour online or as hard copy. The Membership Secretary will provide Council will relevant information about membership as required, and contribute to the development of strategies to grow our membership and improve the member experience. We are currently developing our new website using proprietary software, and so some familiarity with website development would be extremely useful. A good knowledge of ASAB and its membership would also be expected, and so we would not expect this role to suit new or student members. The position comes with a small research grant to help defray some of time spent on this important role, and as a member of Council, the Membership Secretary will attend our three ASAB meetings each year, during which the Council meetings take place.

The Membership Secretary will normally serve three calendar years, commencing 1st January.

Current Membership Secretary: Prof Anna Wilkinson (AWilkinson[at]lincoln.ac.uk)

Communications Officer

The Communications Officer will have primary responsibility for preparing the ASAB Newsletter and managing our website. The role also involves attending three ASAB Council meetings a year, and contributing to the affairs and decision-making of Council. Council meetings coincide with the three annual ASAB conferences, the Spring, Summer and Winter Meetings.

The ASAB Communications Officer will normally serve three calendar years, commencing 1st January, although the role would ideally start before January with support from the outgoing Communications Officer.

Current Communications Officer: Dr Sophia Daoudi-Simison (webeditor[at]asab.org)

Social Media Officer

The Social Media Officer will have primary responsibility for managing ASAB’s social media presence on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Mastodon. The role also involves attending three ASAB Council meetings a year, and contributing to the affairs and decision-making of Council. Council meetings coincide with the three annual ASAB conferences, the Spring, Summer and Winter Meetings.

The ASAB Social Media Officer will normally serve three calendar years, commencing 1st January, although the role would ideally start before January with support from the outgoing Communications Officer.

Current Social Media Officer: Dr Jen Coulbourne (socials[at]asab.org)

Ordinary Member of ASAB Council (x1 position available)

This role involves attending three ASAB Council meetings a year, and contributing to the affairs and decision-making of Council. Council meetings coincide with the three annual ASAB conferences, the Spring, Summer and Winter Meetings, with the ASAB Annual General Meeting held at the Winter Meeting. As an Ordinary Council Member, you may be requested to help in promoting ASAB’s activities, for example by joining or contributing to the work of our committees.