AFS Announces Results of 2024 Election

The American Folklore Society Executive Board is pleased to announce the results of the 2024 election. The following AFS members were elected to office starting in 2025:

AFS President: (2025-2028)*:

Jason Baird Jackson (Indiana University) 

AFS Executive Board: (2025-2027):

Rachel González-Martin (University of Texas at Austin) 

Anika Wilson (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee)

Nominating Committee (2025-2027):

Kelley Totten (Memorial University of Newfoundland)

We extend the gratitude of the entire Executive Board and staff to all of the 2024 candidates, who deserve thanks for their willingness to serve AFS and the field, and for their energetic participation in the nomination and election process. The same appreciation is due to the members of the 2024 Nominating Committee—and in particular to departing committee chair Guha Shankar—for its work assembling an excellent slate of candidates.

The thanks of the membership and board also go to departing Executive Board members Karen Abdul-Malik, Tim Frandy, Rossina Zamora Liu, and Meltem Turkoz, and to departing Immediate Past President Marilyn White. We appreciate their service and look forward to continuing working alongside them for the benefit of the society. 

Incoming Nominating Committee chair Carrie Hertz, along with Committee members Naomi Sturm-Wijesinghe and Kelly Totten, will be taking up the 2025 nominating process—which will elect two Board members and a member of the Nominating Committee—later this spring. All AFS members are encouraged to reach out to the committee with their suggestions and ideas for leadership. 

Speaking of this year’s election, AFS President Amy Skillman (Goucher College) noted: “The nominating committee once again brought forward an outstanding slate of folklorists willing to serve the society and field. I am eager to work with all of them in various ways in the period ahead and I look forward to serving on the board with Rachel, Anika, and Jason. I know that Kelley will bring much to her work with our dedicated nominating committee.” She added: “Just as I benefited from working with Past President Marilyn White when I was President Elect, I look forward to partnering with Jason as he takes up this role.”

Founded in 1888 and a constituent society of the American Council of Learned Societies since 1945, the American Folklore Society is a membership organization dedicated to supporting individuals and organizations engaged in the study and advancement of folklore and expressive cultural traditions throughout the world. AFS serves its members, and the general public, by providing programming, publications, policies, and resources examining and affirming the diversity of human creativity across time, heritages, and places. The American Folklore Society is based on the campus of Indiana University Bloomington and is a partnered agency of its College of Arts and Sciences.

* AFS Presidents serve one year as President-elect, two years as President, and one year as Past President.