New Year, New Roles for AAG Staff
With the ringing in of 2025, AAG announces several staff role changes and the departure of a long-term colleague.
Elin Thorlund has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer. Elin will continue to oversee many aspects of the AAG annual meeting, and in her new role will also take charge of membership, committees, awards, IT, and digital platforms. Elin has been with AAG for over eight years, having joined us as an intern in 2015 and rapidly progressed through many assignments, including major revisions to the annual meeting after 2020, to most recently co-direct AAG’s strategic planning with Chief Strategy Officer Risha RaQuelle.
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Betsy Orgodol, CPA, CNAP, has received the title change of Controller to more closely align with her fiscal work with AAG. Betsy oversees all aspects of AAG’s financial management, including budget management, accounting and financial reporting, and matters related to financial compliance and risk management.
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Coline Dony has been promoted to the position of Director of Research Development. In this capacity, she will continue to oversee AAG’s research initiatives and partnerships, as well as aspects of AAG’s work with its communities. Coline joined AAG in 2017 as Senior Geography Researcher, and has been Principal Investigator for the collaborative Encoding Geography project with San Diego State University, funded by the National Science Foundation. She has managed AAG’s recent portfolio of projects, including the Convening of Care.
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Eddie McInerney inaugurates the role of Community Impact Coordinator, working closely with Tom. Eddie joined AAG in 2022 to bring together AAG’s advocacy work with other substantive work on engagements and partnerships.
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Thomas (Tom) Bales, Director of Advocacy and Engagement, has accepted a new position. We are grateful to Tom for his work to launch and manage the Elevate the Discipline initiative in 2023, as well as his work developing policy positions, member resources, and education in alignment with AAG’s Policy Tenets. We wish him the best of luck in his new opportunity.
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Oscar Larson, Director of Meetings, has decided to step down from AAG after an extraordinary 22-year career. Joining AAG directly out of college with a background in geography, Oscar quickly became a familiar face for members, overseeing the logistics and execution of the AAG Annual Meeting, overseeing its growth from fewer than 4,000 to a peak of nearly 10,000 attendees. Known for his member-first, approachable leadership style, he dedicated himself to ensuring the success of this complex, year-round endeavor. Oscar managed a team that executed the seamless organization of these events and could adapt and innovate in the face of unprecedented challenges. A standout moment came during the COVID-19 pandemic, when they successfully pivoted the AAG Annual Meeting to an entirely online format in just a matter of weeks, ensuring continuity for the community. In the years since, he has helped launch and refine hybrid models, advancing carbon-conscious practices to make AAG’s gatherings more sustainable. Oscar leaves an indelible mark on AAG, and we wish him every success as he embarks on the next chapter of his career.