The Weed Science Society of America (WSSA) is seeking a qualified individual to interact with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and serve as the liaison and subject matter expert and facilitate appropriate interactions between WSSA members and EPA staff. Dr. Greg Kruger from the University of Nebraska has served in this role for the past three years but plans to step down from the position after helping to mentor his successor. The intent is for Greg and the new liaison to work together during a transition period. Ideally, the new individual will travel to Washington, DC approximately once every 4-8
weeks to network with personnel in EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP). The new liaison will interact with EPA employees and provide information or facilitate connections with experts within WSSA as requested on a wide range of topics such as current weed management practices and needs, formulations and application technology, the practicality of label mitigations for herbicide use, herbicide resistance management, new herbicide research, herbicide stewardship, nonchemical weed management, weed biology, weed ecosystems and invasive plant management. A key role for the liaison is to connect EPAOPP staff with WSSA members and committees to leverage their expertise to provide requested information on these and other weed science issues. The liaison also conducts and arranges weed science training, field tours, and seminars for EPA staff.

During their tenure, the WSSA-EPA liaison will have the opportunity to learn the registration and reregistration processes for herbicides, become familiar with the EPA scientific committees and how they operate and develop a basic understanding of how EPA-OPP risk assessments are conducted. The liaison also performs an outreach function to the weed science community by explaining EPA activities through newsletter reports and/or presentations at annual meetings.

The WSSA-EPA Liaison must: 1) be a member of the WSSA, 2) prepare a quarterly report for the WSSA Board of Directors and for posting on the WSSA website, and 3) participate in quarterly conference calls with the WSSA-EPA Liaison Advisory Committee. WSSA will reimburse the liaison for travel and per diem expenses while working at EPA up to a predetermined limit. The liaison is expected to work with their employer to obtain approval to serve in this volunteer capacity as part of their responsibilities. The term of appointment for the WSSA-EPA Liaison is three years with an additional year (4 total years) to mentor a new liaison. With support from the WSSA Board of Directors and our  EPA partners, the WSSA-EPA Liaison may serve up to two consecutive terms. Once the liaison’s term is completed, they are expected to participate in the WSSA-EPA Liaison Advisory Committee.

Applications will be accepted until February 1, 2021, or until a suitable candidate is identified. The start date is negotiable, but ideally, the individual selected would begin in Spring 2021 and make their first visit to EPA after COVID-19 work and travel restrictions are no longer a concern.

Please email a letter of intent and resume to Dr. Lee Van Wychen, WSSA Executive Director of Science Policy at [email protected] and Dr. Bill Curran, WSSA President at [email protected]. If you have questions or would like to discuss the position, please contact Lee, Bill, or Greg Kruger at [email protected].

Further information on the liaison position and a listing of previous reports can be found at https://wssa.net/society/epa-liaison/.

A PDF version of the announcement can be found here.