FYI: Mentoring to Leadership Program Available (for members early in their careers)

[Paul Kroskrity]

Dear SLA Members, 

At the suggestion of Shalini Shankar and other Executive Board members, I am sending this around for your information.  Further details are available on the AAA website.  The online application link is also there.

Paul Kroskrity, President
Society for Linguistic Anthropology


AAA Leadership Fellows Program

The AAA Leadership Fellows Program provides a unique opportunity for anthropologists early in their careers to learn about leadership opportunities within the association.  Each year a group of three to five fellows will be paired with a mentor chosen from among AAA leadership.  Mentors are available to fellows throughout the year to answer questions related to AAA.  Fellows shadow their mentors at the AAA Annual Meeting in meetings of the Executive Board, Association Committees, and Section Committees. In addition, fellows are invited to attend the AAA Donors Reception and a Leadership Fellows Social bringing together past and present cohorts of fellows. 



What do past Fellows say about their experience in the program? 

It was empowering to attend sessions with the executive board because it demystified the decision-making processes that shape my experiences as a member of the AAA.  As a junior scholar it can be intimidating to even consider nominating oneself for a leadership position; however, now having met members of the executive board and finding them so welcoming, I am strongly considering running for a position.  I also appreciated the opportunity to take what I learned about how the Association works back to my own students.  The particular group of students I worked with last semester were very concerned with activism and policy change, so I was thrilled to let them know that members of the executive board are actively working to improve the visibility of our discipline.  

I also appreciated the opportunity to meet former fellows at the cocktail reception.  As a visiting assistant professor who is currently on the job market, it was valuable to discuss career trajectories with former fellows who had recently been in my shoes.  The idea of “networking” is not one I find particularly appealing, so I appreciated that the fellowship program created a space in which this could happen (almost) naturally.  The advice former fellows gave me about being more strategic at conferences, developing research collaborations, and carving out a niche within my area of specialization will be extremely useful at this stage in my career. - Lauren Miller Griffith, 2013 Leadership Fellow

Learn more about benefits of the Leadership Fellows Program in Anthropology News 

Learn more about the 2013 cohort of Leadership Fellows in Anthropology News 

See the complete list of Leadership Fellows Past Award Winners 


Paul V. Kroskrity
Professor of Anthropology
Chair, American Indian Studies
Department of Anthropology
341 Haines Hall  -   Box 951553
University of California, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1553
Ph. 310 825-6237
E.    paulvk at ucla.edu