Dear Members,

 Your 2020 ballot includes a variety of topics that need your vote including electing new officers for our Board of Governors, reviewing proposed modifications of our constitution and voting for the 2023 Biennial Conference location. 

 The details of each vote are included in the Ballot, but here is a brief synopsis. 

 We are presenting nominees for the Board of Governors positions: President-Elect, Treasurer, Secretary, Member-at-Large and Student Member-at-Large. 

 Modifications to the SMM Constitution: We are putting forward two measures that require a modification to our constitution.

 The first is to formalize our intent to make our Society more representative of the global community of marine mammal professionals in our governing documents by adding language codifying our focus on diversity and inclusion. 

 The second is to propose that SMaL term limits change from a two-year term to a two-and-one-half year term, enabling an experienced SMaL to facilitate conference organizing and execution in the following biennial.

 Finally, teams from Sanya, China; Perth, Australia; and Singapore have stepped up to host our 25th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals slated to occur in 2023. We have put together a table on the following web page that compares some of the important things that factor into our decisions, such as the costs for travel and hotels. We ask that when you place your vote that you please consider which location best suits the greatest number of our SMM community members.

 Your votes help to shape our continued evolution as a professional society and to celebrate the accomplishments of our colleagues. So when you receive the ballot please take a few minutes to review and vote!

Here is the link to the ballot: https://www.marinemammalscience.org/for-members/2020-members-ballot/

 The ballot will close at 3:00 PM EST on 11th May 2020.

 Best wishes,
Emer