I joined AAPG in 1996 as an undergraduate student in Caracas, Venezuela. Since then, AAPG has played an important role as part of my professional development and networking activities.

I have served AAPG in different capacities – as general chair of the 2019 ACE meeting in San Antonio, as technical chair for sessions and themes on a multitude of conferences, as a member of various committees, and as reviewer for the AAPG BULLETIN. Over the years, AAPG engagement has allowed me to meet colleagues that have become good friends. I believe that AAPG has played, and will continue to play, and important role as an organization that enables growth of the geoscience profession.

I bring more than 20 years of experience, both in academia and industry, that I offer to put to the service of AAPG as vice president-Sections.

In my current role as Principal Investigator of the State of Texas Advanced Resource Recovery (STARR) program at the Bureau of Economic Geology (BEG), I have routinely supported the participation of our researchers in AAPG Section activities, including the most recent 2023 AAPG Southwest Section meeting. We plan to make contributions to the upcoming GeoGulf and to the Southwest Section meetings in 2024. I believe that organizations, in particular professional societies, are highly dependent on the commitment of their members to support and organize activities that allow us to lift professional standards and to make a difference “out there.”

Despite the many challenges that AAPG is currently facing, AAPG Sections have kept activity levels and enthusiasm in high gear. These communities keep organizing high quality technical meetings and generating great content for publications and newsletters.

There is a reason for this: Business happens at a community level within the sections. Each of these technical meetings and conferences agglomerates individuals that are not only talking the talk but also walking the walk. In these events, deals and connections are made that allow us to keep our focus sharp – that is, to promote technology and exploration efforts for finding and producing energy resources in an economically and environmentally sound manner.

The geoscience profession is facing many challenges today; societal pressures to decarbonize energy systems have increased exponentially during the past few years. Unfortunately, negative perceptions and associations between our profession, fossil fuels and global warming are hurting AAPG. I believe that we can help mitigate these issues by increasing the visibility of Section activities, by diversifying the content of our technical meetings, and by increasing outreach efforts to help educate society on energy matters.

I believe this approach will:

• Help us increase business, since new opportunities are rapidly arising within the context of emerging energies.
• Attract new talent so that we can address the generational gap.
• Help strengthen the financial health of our local societies.
• Take AAPG to the next chapter, and to a brighter future.