Emily Sessa

Current Position
Assistant Professor, Biology Department, University of Florida

Research Interests
Plant systematics and evolution, phylogenetics, historical biogeography, diversification processes, physiological ecology, functional traits, community assembly, reticulate evolution, ferns and lycophytes

BSA Service
- Participated in AJB/APPS publication strategy session with Wiley publishing (2019)
- American Journal of Botany Associate Editor (2015-present)
- Planting Science mentor (2009-2013)

Other Service
- President-Elect of the American Fern Society (2018-2020; term as president will be 2020-2022)
- Council member of the Society of Systematic Biologists (2019-present)
- Communications Coordinator for the American Society of Plant Taxonomists (ASPT; 2014-2017)
- Panelist for NSF, NASA (2014-present)
- Service for my university includes membership on numerous department and college committees, search committees, and serving as faculty advisor for the campus Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) graduate student/postdoc group (2013-present)

Statement of Interest
I have been involved with BSA's publications since I published my first scientific paper in the American Journal of Botany as a graduate student in 2012. AJB has always felt like my home journal, and the addition of APPS to our publishing lineup several years ago has strengthened the society's outlets for bringing top-quality botanical research to the community. I was honored to join the editorial board in 2015 as an associate editor, and I am excited about this opportunity to further serve the society and help shephard our publications as At-Large Director for Publications. I believe strongly in supporting and publishing in society-owned journals, and I look forward to serving both our authors and readers at this critical time. While the transition to Wiley as our new publishing platform is now complete, we still face unknown territory in a changing world of scientific publication, including the shifting landscape of open access requirements and the increasing use of pre-print servers. I look forward to working with Wiley and our excellent AJB and APPS editorial boards to help our journals navigate this new territory over the next few years.