AGU Leadership Transition

On Monday, we announced that after three years of service, Randy W. Fiser is stepping down from his position as Executive Director and CEO of AGU.  

Since he joined in 2020, Randy has supported AGU’s priorities through the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, AGU hosted its first hybrid meeting, published its first DEI Report and Dashboard, re-opened its net zero energy renovated headquarters in Washington, D.C., provided AGU members with free access to the full text of all AGU journals and more. On behalf of the Board of Directors, we thank Randy for his contributions to AGU, especially his work to implement AGU’s new strategic plan. 

The Board is now seeking a new Executive Director and CEO to lead our global community supporting more than half a million advocates and professionals in Earth and space sciences. In the coming weeks, we will begin a formal search process to find a new Executive Director and CEO to take forward AGU’s mission to advance discovery in Earth and space sciences and its benefit for humanity and the environment.  

In the meantime, Janice Lachance, J.D., FASAE, will provide immediate leadership to AGU staff, members and partners as the Interim Executive Director and CEO. Janice has served AGU for six years in senior leadership roles, first as interim Chief Operating Officer and for the last five years as Executive Vice President of Strategic Leadership and Global Outreach. During her time at AGU, she has expertly managed our global portfolio, and internally, she has overseen and managed the Finance, Human Resources, Membership, Governance, Science Policy and Government Relations, Executive Office, and Strategic Communications and Marketing departments. Janice has both programmatic and policy leadership experience. She has led transformative organizational advancements to achieve meaningful outcomes within several professional national associations and as the Director at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Janice is a current and long-standing fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and the American Society of Association Executives. 

We have the utmost confidence in Janice and the entire AGU Senior Leadership team to provide consistent, trusted leadership to AGU staff, members and partners during this transitional period. 

Media questions should be directed to [email protected]. Thank you for your support of AGU and our global community of Earth and space scientists. 

Sincerely, 
Lisa J. Graumlich, Ph.D., AGU President