Events and Travel Team - Back on the Road!

As you know our Events and Travel Team has been rebuilt as we have been hiring and training in earnest and now have close to a full crew. We are very grateful for all of their efforts in getting CPAESS up to speed in record time to meet the many meeting requests we have been receiving in light of the waning of some aspects of the pandemic. Led by Michelle McCambridge, our Event and Travel Team Lead; and Scott Robinson, our interim Travel Lead, our new events staff members have coalesced into an incredible crew. While fresh to UCAR | CPAESS, these professionals know their trade and come to us with vast experience that we are happily utilizing to its full potential.

The full Event and Travel team consists of Michelle McCambridge, Event & Travel Team Lead; Maggie Costley, Event Planner; Shelley Rabern, Event Planner;  Leanne Rehme, Event Planner; and Katy Lackey, Casual Administrative Assistant who pinch hits with any number of important tasks. Also part of this team is Scott Robinson, Interim Travel Lead; Rebecca Cribelli, Travel Coordinator; Mary Anne Cervantes, Travel Coordinator; and Sarah Herring, Travel Coordinator. Together these event planners and travel coordinators enable the Earth system science community to come together and collaborate on the latest developments and research in their respective field. 

Of her new team, Michelle McCambridge says "I'm very excited to announce that we now have a full team of experienced professionals.  We are back to full strength and are currently working through a very busy year of events and travel. Everyone has acclimated quickly and are already taking on many projects. The meeting planners are traveling again and the travel planners are very busy planning travel for events, guests and employees.  It's refreshing to see a return to some normalcy after living a few years solely in the virtual world and everyone on the team is taking the challenge in hand. I'm extremely grateful for every single one of them." 

Make no mistake this team knows how to create successful events. Of her experience Event Planner Maggie Costley says, “I've been doing conference and event planning for the last 10 years. It's a joy to help and get to see conferences come to fruition where the attendees get to show and learn more about what is being discussed/taught.” 

The reason for these events, the advancement of climate science is not lost on this team either. Event Planner, Leanne Rehme relayed "I come from a STEM education and events background, and I am thrilled to be able to help scientists from all over the world join together and collaborate over updates in Earth system science topics." Shelley Rabern explained further, “I was drawn to UCAR/CPAESS because of the Mission and am very excited to be a part of the team.  I love planning and executing meetings that foster an environment of learning and sharing. I am encouraged by all the youth I have met who are so vested in saving our world. Not enough people got the message from the Lorax.” 

So know that you are in competent, caring hands with your travel and events.  Additionally, we continue to incorporate virtual components into our meetings, as it looks as though that is here to stay. CPAESS continues to work with sponsors and steering committees to manage the great number of meetings coming up. Through the end of this year, the Events and Travel team has more than 40 upcoming meetings and 800 travel trips that need to be planned. While this is a lot of work, CPAESS’ new team is up to the task and ready to help you sort through the necessary logistics for you to meet and work with your colleagues.

Check out our Upcoming CPAESS Events and more about how CPAESS manages Scientific Events.