WHO WE ARE
The American Association of Geographers (AAG) brings together members of the global geographic community
We provide students, educators, practitioners, and partners with the resources they need to enter the field, develop their careers, and form professional friendships that can last a lifetime. Through annual and ongoing programs, events, and meetings, we aim to create a space in which all geographers—wherever they come from—will know they are valued, heard, and welcomed. By taking care of our community we ensure the health and vitality of the geographic discipline as it evolves to meet the challenges faced in today’s world.
Our Mission
Goals and efforts for the future
We are preparing for future success by concentrating our commitments of time, energy, and funds to our highest priorities. Over the next three years we will focus on five areas in of support of our membership and communities who strive to advance the importance of Geography in this changing world. Diversity and inclusion will be the core focus within all of our work to unify our efforts.
Advancing AAG Leadership for JEDI
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Dedicating leadership resources
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Enhancing AAG policies and practices
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Enabling data-driven D&I excellence
JEDI is not new to AAG. There have been initiatives, programs, and projects including past strategic plans. What is needed now is a concerted leadership effort to coordinate and integrate all relevant JEDI efforts. By establishing leadership alignment and increasing capacity, we can unify, coordinate, and manage JEDI work across AAG. A review of AAG policies and leadership practices will ensure that they are refreshed to reflect current JEDI principles. Finally, regular collection and analysis of JEDI-specific data can be used to gauge progress.
Establishing AAG Organizational Tools to Support JEDI
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Engaging through communication
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Curating JEDI knowledge
To ensure effective adoption of JEDI principles and practices, we seek to design and operationalize tools that can support AAG leaders, staff, members, and departments. Development and implementation of an effective communication strategy could help grow and sustain JEDI in AAG. Such a strategy, utilizing multiple channels and modes of engagement, would also increase transparency. Additionally, the creation and maintenance of a comprehensive repository of resources, research, and best practices would enable sharing of JEDI knowledge and foster continual dialogue through training and interactive engagements.
Integrating JEDI into Programming
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Embedding JEDI in AAG programming
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Fostering healthy departments
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Growing geography’s next generation
The AAG has a responsibility to spearhead efforts that make the discipline more diverse in its composition, equitable in its practices, and inclusive in its culture. Work must be done simultaneously on three distinct levels. First, within the AAG, embedding JEDI principles comprehensively across programs and specialty areas is needed to foster a more open, inclusive community for current and prospective members. Second, recognizing that diversity, equity, and inclusion are hallmarks of a healthy department, the AAG should aid departments in their efforts to embody JEDI principles. Third, the AAG should create new pathways for engagement with community college educators, K-12 teachers, and their students to cultivate a robust and diverse cadre of emerging geographers.
Elevate the Discipline
Elevate the discipline by showing how Geography is essential to understanding and solving the world’s most pressing issues. A tiered program will be launched to train geographers in leadership, media, and policy, and then connect and elevate their work in the public discourse (media + policy). Climate Change and Society will be the theme of the inaugural grand challenge with a three-year commitment. Climate change and society covers the broad spectrum of research and impacts from a changing climate. For example, research on patterns of energy, water, and food scarcity as well as social and environmental impact and justice around the world. Additional themes and cohorts will be added as funding allows.
Three-tiered Program
Cohorts
Recruit, train and support geographers working on climate change and society
Programs
Offer virtual seminars to train members in media, policy and diplomacy skills
Resources
Hub with materials which detail methods and training
Programming
Improve our Annual Meeting, Virtual Offerings, and other programmatic member services by ensuring our programs have measurable impact that serve our core and growing membership groups. Improve our delivery services and efficiency in design, planning, implementation, and metrics. Reimagine and implement the next generation of the AAG Annual Meeting that leverages diverse personalized content and multiple modes of member engagement to deliver the ultimate member experience. We will create experimental structures that provide the best possible experience for all attendees regardless of modality of attendance. Create a cohesive content strategy that articulates the desired audiences, impacts and success measures of our year-round offerings, which include virtual sessions, in-person meetings, and other events or programs. Use member feedback and community engagement (Specialty Groups, Affinity Groups, Regions, etc.) to refine content strategy over the course of the Strategic Plan.
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Transform the Annual Meeting to appeal to and be more inclusive of other geography disciplines and member segments
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Provide personalized membership experience through multiple sources of content and channels of engagement
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Maximize members-only content to improve member value proposition.
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Leverage and build on collaborations with key members of the community and organizations to deliver offerings.
Membership
Overhaul our membership approach, focused on retaining and growing core membership and targeted growth of key member segments, including community colleges, physical geography, and professionals. This work includes improvements in systems, analyses, reports, member data management, segmentation, incentives, and fee structure.
ˆ Tabbed Content block type
The above block currently allows for six tabs with individual content displayed when each tab is selected. I am checking with our developers to find out 1) if we can increase the limit to eight tabs and 2) if we can control the number of tabs on each row. This block type is probably our best approach, but we may only be able to display four tabs in each row.
Below are two other options that could replace the above tabbed content block type and appear below the main graphic: 1) shows the categories as stacked “bricks” (Glossary) and 2) displays the categories in a limited horizontal row with the slider activated (Image Tabbed Slider).
Glossary block type
This block allows for multiple items and when a user hovers over a “brick,” pop-out modals with explanatory text appear. The limitation with this block is that the number of bricks that appear in each row are based solely on length of text in each brick, which means we can’t control having three bricks stacked on five.
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Advancing Leadership Capabilities
Advancing Leadership Capabilities:
A concerted leadership effort is needed to coordinate and integrate all relevant JEDI efforts. By establishing leadership alignment and increasing capacity, we can unify, coordinate, and manage JEDI work across AAG. This holistic approach begins with the JEDI strategic plan, an engaged JEDI committee, and a dedicated group of JEDI-savvy professionals to provide experience, expertise, and best practices. Next, a review of AAG policies and leadership practices would ensure that they are refreshed to reflect current JEDI principles. Finally, regular collection and analysis of JEDI-specific data can be used to gauge progress.
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Establishing Organizational Tools
Establishing Organizational Tools:
To ensure effective adoption of JEDI principles and practices, we seek to design and operationalize tools that can support AAG leaders, staff, members, and departments. Development and implementation of an effective communication strategy could help grow and sustain JEDI in AAG. Such a strategy, utilizing multiple channels and modes of engagement, would also increase transparency. Additionally, the creation and maintenance of a comprehensive repository of resources, research, and best practices would enable sharing of JEDI knowledge and foster continual dialogue through training and interactive engagements.
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Integrating into Programming
Integrating into Programming:
As one of the world’s preeminent organizations for geography, AAG has a responsibility to spearhead efforts that make the discipline more diverse in its composition, equitable in its practices, and inclusive in its culture. Work must be done simultaneously on three distinct levels. First, within the AAG, embedding JEDI principles comprehensively across programs and specialty areas is needed to foster a more open, inclusive community for current and prospective members. Second, recognizing that diversity, equity, and inclusion are hallmarks of healthy departments, the AAG should aid departments in their efforts to embody JEDI principles. Third and finally, the AAG should create new pathways for engagement with community college educators, K-12 teachers, and their students to cultivate a robust and diverse cadre of emerging geographers. Benefits of integrating JEDI in these ways include enriched opportunities for mentorship, heightened awareness of geography’s relevance in solving urgent real-world problems, a more vibrant community that thrives on harnessing everyone’s highest potential, and a future generation of geographers that better resembles the diversity of identities and worldviews in society.
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Elevating the Discipline
Elevating the Discipline:
AAG can provide a range of training opportunities and resources to help geographers connect their work to public and policy arenas. By showcasing geographers engaged in the world’s most pressing issues, we can help educate the public about why geography matters, college students looking for a major, decision makers looking for insights and solutions, and funders in common cause with the challenge. By connecting academic work to the media and policy worlds, we amplify the impact of the work and value to the world.
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Expanding our Programming
Expanding our Programming:
We have an opportunity to reimagine and implement the next generation of the AAG Annual Meeting that leverages diverse personalized content and multiple modes of member engagement to deliver the ultimate member experience. We will create experimental structures that provide the best possible experience for all attendees regardless of modality of attendance.
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Taking Pride in Membership
Taking Pride in Membership:
AAG will offer a compelling membership value proposition to geographers, students, and individuals in related fields supported by benefits and programs. We will do this by seeking to understand the needs of our members and prospective members through extensive member research to develop programs, products, and services to deliver on the value proposition. We will also leverage technology and data to identify at-risk membership segments and areas for growth. AAG worked with Green Jay Strategies in early 2022 to conduct focus groups among physical geographers, Community College faculty, and geographers working outside of academia. Insights from these conversations were shared with the AAG Council, including recommendations to recruit new members from these groups, and ideas for programs and services to offer value to these groups. Examples include suggestions that are relatively straightforward to implement, such as co-locating sessions about similar topics at the AAG Annual Meeting to facilitate networking more easily among researchers with similar interests, to more resource-intensive ideas like hosting gatherings for geographers working outside of academia in several different cities. AAG will continue to explore these recommendations and conduct more extensive member research and then conduct several pilot efforts to determine which are most effective and successful at increasing member value, and ultimately increasing overall AAG membership.
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Enhancing our Communities
Enhancing our Communities:
AAG can advance the field by supporting these communities and foster engagement within and among groups by facilitating better collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and a sense of belonging. AAG can connect and engage groups across geography and related fields and serve as a hub for collaboration and networking. We will do this by fostering community within and among Specialty and Affinity groups, Regional Divisions, geography departments, AP Geography teachers, Community College faculty, GIS professionals, and ad-hoc geographer groups. Support for these groups will include mechanisms to gather and communicate in online groups/forums (such as AAG Knowledge Communities) and in person, visibility within the field, and ways to attract new members. AAG will also convene external partners to advance the field through collaborations and multidimensional initiatives.
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Striving for Organizational Excellence
Striving for Organizational Excellence:
Under the current strategic plan, we have started to perform the requisite Governance Audit and will continue to define appropriate recommendations for updates of our policies, bylaws, and governance processes. This effort will enhance the governance effectiveness of AAG volunteer leadership to cultivate, recruit and onboard AAG leaders. This effort is intended to support our volunteers throughout the Association, in Specialty and Affinity Groups, Regional Divisions, Committees, and the governing Council. Establishing clear expectations, defining roles and responsibilities, managing the charges and mandates of committees and task forces, designating staff liaisons as appropriate, will ensure the best possible experience for our volunteer leaders as they serve the best interests of the AAG and gain valuable professional experience that furthers their careers.
Image tabbed slider block type
This block shows all eight categories in one row, but only four can appear at a time. If we used this type, we would probably want to activate the slider to a reasonable time count. Currently, the max is 10 seconds, which is way too short. If we activate a slider, it should be 30+ seconds to give the reader time to consume and also to keep the movement from being too jarring.
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End of 2022
End of 2022:
Expanding our Programming
- Plan and develop better systems to incorporate audience, revenue, and operational efficiency.
- Map Year 1 offerings onto membership targets to ensure audience proportions are met.
- Pilot revenue and membership programs to select webinars.
Taking Pride in Membership
- Refine the membership operations and functionality to provide features like auto-renew and essential reports to demonstrate progress on the goals and objectives.
- Develop a new onboarding series and messaging to welcome members and educate them about their AAG membership benefits.
Enhancing our Communities
- Review Specialty/Affinity Group and Regional Division reports, support Regional Division meetings, assess the health of the groups, and identify opportunities to provide additional support.
- Work with the Healthy Departments Committee to understand their goals and generate ideas for connecting with AP Geography instructors.
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YEAR 1 — 2023
YEAR 1 — 2023:
Elevating the Discipline
- Establish steering and selection committees that will support this effort through the recruitment process, including calls for applications, screenings, and selection of cohort members for the first challenge, Climate Change and Society
- Train cohort on common problem-solving practices, media, policy, and leadership
- Chronicle the story through cohort profile and discussion of the grand challenge, and connect cohort to advocacy or media outlets for public awareness
- Measure impact through qualitative and quantitative measures of results
- Begin to build out a resource hub
Expanding our Programming
- Launch programming with user surveys and tracking. Use feedback to refine Year 2 programming.
Taking Pride in Membership
- Develop and initiate campaigns to lapsed and former members.
- Reach out to AAG Explorers (non-members with AAG accounts) to invite them to become members.
- Formulate our research plan through a deeper understanding of our current and prospective members, as well as through comparisons of other association and group benefits, programs, and dues structure.
Enhancing our Communities
- Audit Specialty/Affinity Groups and Regional Divisions performance and service, and provide resources and support for networking, elections, and fundraising.
- Survey geography department and Community College faculty members about their challenges and develop recommendations for programs and resources.
- Ensure that Specialty Groups and Affinity Groups are maximizing the use of the Knowledge Communities to communicate with their members.
- Offer Department Leadership webinar series.
- Recruit participants for cohort groups that connect stand-alone geographers, department chairs, and community college faculty with similar needs and challenges.
Striving for Organizational Excellence
- Perform a technology gap analysis.
- Develop a 3-year technology strategic plan and begin implementing Year 1 goals from that plan.
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YEAR 2 — 2024
YEAR 2 — 2024:
Elevating the Discipline
- Establish steering and selection committees that will support this effort through the recruitment process, including calls for applications, screenings, and selection of cohort members for the first challenge, Climate Change and Society
- Train cohort on common problem-solving practices, media, policy, and leadership
- Chronicle the story through cohort profile and discussion of the grand challenge, and connect cohort to advocacy or media outlets for public awareness
- Measure impact through qualitative and quantitative measures of results
- Begin to build out a resource hub
Expanding our Programming
- Launch programming with user surveys and tracking. Use feedback to refine Year 3 programming.
Taking Pride in Membership
- Refine recruitment and retention campaigns based on the data and continue to incentivize long-term membership commitments through auto-renew and multi-year membership packages.
- Analyze data from our member research and develop strategies based on the insights and conclusions.
- Identify three membership growth segments and set target recruitment goals for each based on insights from the data.
Enhancing our Communities
- Develop a standard set of services for all AAG-affiliated communities and devised strategies to make sure representatives from AAG communities are selected for leadership and committee service.
- Identify opportunities to form new communities based on our membership surveys and research and offer support to these groups as pilot programs.
- Facilitate networking for all AAG community groups.
- Launch webinar series focused exclusively on Geography/GIS community college programs as well as webinar series for AP Geography/HS teachers.
Striving for Organizational Excellence
- Perform an annual audit of systems determining how they serve staff/member needs and review possible new systems or tools to continue improving functions and services.
- Continue training and developing staff capacity to make the best use of all the resources available to them.
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YEAR 3 — 2025
YEAR 3 — 2025:
Elevating the Discipline
- Establish steering and selection committees that will support this effort through the recruitment process, including calls for applications, screenings, and selection of cohort members for the first challenge, Climate Change and Society
- Train cohort on common problem-solving practices, media, policy, and leadership
- Chronicle the story through cohort profile and discussion of the grand challenge, and connect cohort to advocacy or media outlets for public awareness
- Measure impact through qualitative and quantitative measures of results
- Begin to build out a resource hub
Expanding our Programming
- Launch programming with user surveys and tracking. Use feedback to refine upcoming programming.
Taking Pride in Membership
- Continue to refine recruitment and retention campaigns based on their effectiveness and tailor messaging to membership segments.
- Conduct a membership satisfaction survey to measure the success of our implemented changes.
- Increase our membership recruitment efforts at events and meetings of related groups.
- Develop options for a new membership dues structure in the event it is indicated based on the member and environmental research.
Enhancing our Communities
- Refine services and offerings.
- Engage external groups and partners for programming and networking.
- Offer leadership training for AAG group leaders as a pipeline for AAG leadership and professional development opportunity.
Striving for Organizational Excellence
- Perform an annual audit of systems determining how they serve staff/member needs and review possible new systems or tools to continue improving functions and services.
- Continue training and developing staff capacity to make the best use of all the resources available to them.
WHAT WE OFFER
A community with resources and connections at its fingertips
An AAG membership is your link to the foremost networking events, publications, and career-development resources in the field of geography. Memberships allow students, educators, and practitioners of geography to:
SEEK
Apply for exclusive grants to support research, fieldwork, and teaching.
CONNECT
Join active Specialty and Affinity Groups dedicated to particular branches of geography, where colleagues can network and stay on top of the latest research.
GROW
Take part in AAG’s public policy outreach efforts, advocacy work, and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
HOW WE OPERATE
The American Association of Geographers is governed by the AAG Council
An elected body composed of more than 300 volunteer members. Click below to find out more about our governance structure, and read the AAG Constitution.
Governance
WHY IT MATTERS
Geography is more than measuring the length of rivers and the height of mountains
It is the study of the complex, unfolding relationships between people and the land they live on. With background knowledge grounded in the sciences, ethics, history, and the humanities, geographers go beyond mere cataloging and seek to understand the places and spaces we inhabit–in order to make them more just and equitable.
We are here to serve the global geographic community. That is why we support the advocacy efforts of geographers everywhere, as they use their knowledge to make our world a better place to live.
ADVOCACY AND POLICY
LEADERSHIP
A note from our executive director
The American Association of Geographers (AAG) is uniquely positioned to represent the discipline and profession of geography. For more than 100 years, AAG has served academic and professional geographers and provided a crucial connection point among academia, government, and business. In an era of climate change, rising nationalism and social inequity, geography is more important than ever before. Yet, our profession is at risk from many directions: from challenges to its relevance within universities, professional challenges from other disciplines in business and government, and lack of diversity and inclusion, among other issues. At the threshold of these challenges, AAG foresees emerging opportunities to elevate its role, effectiveness, and efficiency in serving and supporting its members.
AAG foresees emerging opportunities to elevate its role and effectiveness in serving and supporting its members.
This strategic plan, approved by the AAG Council on April 7, 2020, was developed to advance the objectives of the long-range plan (2015 – 2025), by identifying the most urgent and achievable strategic priorities for AAG during the next three years. This strategic plan translates key elements of the long-term plan into three strategic core areas — geography as a discipline, world-class membership services, and strengthening AAG as a society — each with specific programs to inform tactical actions that can achieve measurable results.
AAG Staff
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Mikelle Benfield
Mikelle Benfield:
Program Assistant
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Jennifer Cassidento
Jennifer Cassidento:
Publications Director
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Brenda DeVaughn
Brenda DeVaughn:
Accounting Finance Manager
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Coline Dony
Coline Dony:
Senior Geography Researcher
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Colleen Dougherty
Colleen Dougherty:
IT Director
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Emily Fekete
Emily Fekete:
Community Manager
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Liza Giebel
Liza Giebel:
IT Support Specialist
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Julie Ische
Julie Ische:
Director of Development
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Gary Langham
Gary Langham:
Executive Director
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Oscar Larson
Oscar Larson :
Director of AAG Meetings
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Michelle Ledoux
Michelle Ledoux:
Director of Membership Operations
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Candida Mannozzi
Candida Mannozzi:
Chief Operating Officer
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Teri Martin
Teri Martin:
Director of Finance and Accounting
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Eddie McInerney
Eddie McInerney:
Policy Program Assistant
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Amanda McKnight
Amanda McKnight:
Chief Program Officer
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Julaiti Nilupaer
Julaiti Nilupaer:
Research Assistant
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Becky Pendergast
Becky Pendergast:
Director of Design and Digital Platforms
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Mark Revell
Mark Revell:
Manager, Career Programs and Disciplinary Research
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Lisa Schamess
Lisa Schamess:
Director of Communications
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Elin Thorlund
Elin Thorlund:
AAG Events Manager
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Jill Treby
Jill Treby:
Chief of Staff
Opportunities at AAG
Internships
The AAG seeks interns on a year-round basis for the spring, summer, and fall semesters. Interns participate in most AAG programs and projects such as education, outreach, research, website, publications, or the Annual Meeting. The AAG also arranges for interns to accompany different AAG staff on visits to related organizations or events of interest during the course of their internship. A monthly stipend of $700 is provided and interns are expected to make their own housing and related logistical arrangements. Enrollment in a Geography or closely related program is preferred but not a prerequisite for these opportunities.
Applicants should send via email a resume, brief writing sample, and contact information (i.e., telephone number and email) to three references to Amanda McKnight. For questions, call 202-234-1450.
Terms and application deadlines:
- Spring: December 1
- Summer: March 1
- Fall: August 1
HOW YOU CAN HELP
By supporting AAG, you can help us make and sustain the connections that keep geography active, relevant, and engaged…
…and help yourself by developing a deeper relationship to the field. Sharing our information with friends and colleagues, making a one-time or recurring donation, or taking advantage of our many sponsorship opportunities are all ways to make a difference to our work and on behalf of the discipline and geographers.
WHAT WE’RE UP TO
Surfacing stories within the AAG community is one of the most meaningful things that we do—and we’re glad to share the latest with you
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