Candidates for AAPG office have been given the opportunity to respond briefly to the subject: "Why I Accepted the Invitation to be a Candidate for an AAPG Office."
Their responses and biographical information were provided by each candidate and edited only for grammar, spelling and format.
This information will also be provided as hard-copy in the January issue of the EXPLORER and available on the AAPG Web site through the election period. Ballots will be mailed, online in the first quarter of 2012. Results will be posted mid-May 2012.
Candidates were asked to limit their biographies to 350 words and responses to 500 words.
2011-12 Treasurer Candidate
Rebecca L. Dodge Learn about Rebecca Dodge
Midwestern State university - Wichita Falls, Texas
Why I Accepted the Invitation to be a Candidate for an AAPG Office ...
I spent the first 14 years of my career as a petroleum exploration geologist. Now that I’m an “academic,” geology professors ask me every fall, “Are you going to GSA?” I typically respond, “No, but I am going to AAPG.”
I’ve been a member of AAPG since 1976, and recognize AAPG as my “service organization.” I attended my first AAPG meeting in 1974, with a group of geology students guided by our former-petroleum-geologist chair. He told us all to join AAPG as soon as possible, and to become an active member. I began serving AAPG as a judge at Section meetings, and have been a perennial volunteer.
AAPG has served my professional needs, when I worked for a major, when I worked for a large independent and when I became a consultant. It still serves me as a college professor; I found out about my current job – in an undergraduate department that prepares students to enter the petroleum industry – from AAPG members in my treasured network of professional contacts.
An organization like AAPG must be able to offer a range of services to its members. I am excited about the prospect of serving as Treasurer so that I may have influence on maintaining the financial capabilities of AAPG to meet its stated goal “to be indispensable to all professionals in the energy-related geosciences worldwide.” As our membership continues to diversify, financial resources must be well-managed and expanded.
As AAPG maintains its traditional publishing and training efforts, it has to recruit new petroleum geologists and to provide a place for energy professionals who will undertake the long-term process of integrating renewable sources into energy portfolios.
The Association also needs to support energy-industry professionals involved in environmental applications. Our Divisions focus on these tasks, as well as on promoting professionalism. Expanding Division services and membership numbers are both needed to establish financially sustainable Divisions; I would promote efforts to achieve both objectives.
Sections and Regions serve the requirements of diverse constituents, and AAPG needs flexibility to focus resources that meet changing priorities. Again, effective management and increased resources are required. Because so much real work is done in Sections and Regions by AAPG volunteers, efficient means need to be in place to enable our members to participate effectively.
Efforts by AAPG to make meetings, training, publications and volunteer activities more accessible nationally and internationally should be expanded, as should outreach to students and professionals across the potential member spectrum.
I believe that AAPG exists because of its members. If we want members to be aware of and to depend on AAPG for career-enhancing services, communication is the key element. If you don’t know what your dues, registration fees and contributions accomplish, that needs to change. Count on me to provide that information. I have extensive previous experience as treasurer and as executive director of two non-profit professional organizations focused on member services. I can apply what I have learned to enhance AAPG’s focus on members, and to keep you informed.
About Rebecca Dodge ...
Associate professor of geosciences, Midwestern State University, Wichita Falls, Texas
Born 1953, Dallas
Academic Degrees
- 1982 Ph.D., geology, Colorado School of Mines
- 1978 M.S., geology, Colorado School of Mines
- 1975 B.S., geology, University of Texas at Arlington
Experience
- 2008-present Associate professor, Department of Geosciences, Midwestern State University
- 1999-2008 Associate professor, Department of Geosciences, University of West Georgia
- 1996-99 Research scientist, University of Texas at El Paso
- 1992-96 President, Aral Interpretation Services/Eastward Oil Co.
- 1989-92 Senior photogeologist, Hunt Overseas Oil Co.
- 1982-89 Exxon Production Research Co.
- 1976-82 Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey
AAPG Activities
Joined AAPG 1975
Member DEG, DPA, EMD
- 2010-11 Public Outreach Committee
- 2008-09 President, Division of Environmental Geoscientists, and Advisory Council member
- 2002-08 Delegate, Georgia Geological Society
- 2005-07 Visiting Geoscientists Committee, vice chair
- 2004-06 Distinguished Lecture Committee, EMD representative
- 2002-03 President, Energy Minerals Division, Advisory Council member
- 1999-2002 Membership Committee
- 1996-99 Division of Professional Affairs Council member (Southwest Section)
- 1997 Convention Coordination Committee, EMD vice chair
- 1996-99 Delegate, El Paso Geological Society
- 1994-96 Delegate, Dallas Geological Society
- 1990-91 Convention Coordination Committee
- 1991-2008 Visiting Geoscientists Committee, member
AAPG Honors and Awards
- 2010 Distinguished Service Award
- 2010 DEG past president
- 2006 EMD Distinguished Service
- 2004 EMD past president
- 1996, 1997 EMD Certificate of Merit
Publications
- “Meeting Environmental Challenges with Earth Observations Imagery,” American Geological Institute (in review)
- “Carbon Dioxide Sequestration in Geological Media: State of the Science,” American Association of Petroleum Geologists, 2009, edited by Grobe, Pashin and Dodge
- "Play Analysis," IHRDC, Boston, 1996
- "Basin Analysis," IHRDC, Boston, 1995
Numerous peer-reviewed publications concerning remote sensing analysis of structural style, low-level nuclear waste disposal site analysis, integration of remote sensing and subsurface data, and geoscience education.
AAPG Treasurer Responsibilities as defined by AAPG Bylaws, Article II, Section 7.
The Treasurer shall supervise the receipt of all funds and, under the direction of the Executive Committee, be responsible for all disbursements of funds of the Association; shall serve ex officio as a member of the Committee on Investments; shall give bond, the amount of which shall be determined by the Executive Committee, shall make the annual report as Treasurer, and perform such other duties as directed by the Executive Committee.