Chairperson: Andrea Bleistein

Andrea Bleistein is a graduate of Penn State University with a Bachelor’s in Meteorology. She is a full member of the American Meteorological Society and has been highly involved with the AMS as a participant, speaker, co-chair, and organizer of the Annual Student Conference Planning Committees from 2003 through 2006. She is also an alumna of the 2006 AMS Summer Policy Colloquium and the 2007 Weather and Society Integrated Studies (WAS*IS) workshop. Andrea is also a member of the AMS Board on Enterprise Economic Development (BEED) and the Local Chapter Affairs Committee (LCAC).

Andrea has worked for NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS) as a weather and river forecaster in the Student Career Experience Program (SCEP) and for NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite Data Information Service (NESDIS) as a satellite controller. She has also spent time working in the private sector as a consultant for NOAA within the National Ice Center and the Satellite Analysis Branch of NESDIS and Lockheed Martin’s GOES-R Program Design Risk Reduction team. Currently, Andrea is employed at NWS Headquarters supporting the Office of the Assistant Administrator. In this role, she supports both the Director and Deputy Director in their activities with the NWS Corporate Board, NOAA Executives, internal and external partners and the environmental community the NWS serves. Many of these activities involve issues such as climate, tsunamis, hurricanes, aviation and policy.

Vice Chairperson: Samantha Segall

Samantha is with Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), working Business Development for their Advanced Sciences & Engineering Operation (ASEO). In this capacity, she focuses on creating new & innovative solutions for her NASA, NOAA & USGS customers, as well as service and maintain current contracts. She is responsible for finding new opportunities to expand SAIC’s capabilities into other agencies. Samantha also focuses on the advancement of SAIC’s Corporate Global Climate Campaign, which involves subjects as diverse as environmental and atmospheric sciences, policy analysis, information technology, and energy-efficient design-build services.

Prior to SAIC, Samantha was the Manager of Legislative Affairs for United Space Alliance (USA). Her responsibilities included managing the USA PAC, lobbying Capitol Hill, and planning USA sponsored events. Additionally, she spent time working on Capitol Hill for a Congressman from Southern California. She worked on multiple issues with a focus on telecommunications, oversaw all constituent services and supervised the internship program. In addition, Samantha worked for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Space Enterprise Council (SEC). She participated in projects focusing on NASA's economic data and NASA developed technologies, which were used to gain support for the Vision for Space Exploration, and the passing of the NASA Authorization Bill.

Treasurer: Joe Bartosik

Joe works as a meteorologist in NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research dealing with high-impact weather and water issues. Most recently, Joe worked at WeatherBug in Germantown, MD as a Senior Meteorologist in their Professional Services division. He first started his meteorological career in the broadcasting industry, which allowed him to forecast and research a variety of weather events while working in Lancaster, PA, Abilene, TX, and Syracuse, NY where he earned the AMS Seal of Approval in June, 2001.

Joe is a 1999 graduate of Millersville University of Pennsylvania with a B.S. degree in Meteorology. Throughout his four years at Millersville, Joe was actively a part of Campus Weather Service, as well as the student AMS Chapter, serving as Chapter Secretary in his junior year.

Outside of the office, Joe spends much of his time from March through November rowing on the Anacostia River. When he can, Joe also enjoys spending time talking to school kids about weather as he feels it is an important part of giving back and fostering growth within the scientific community.

Corresponding Secretary: Brent MacAloney

Brent graduated from Lyndon State College (VT) in 1999 with a B.S. in Meteorology. His career began in July 1999 when he was hired by SAIC and contracted to the National Weather Service's Performance Branch as a programmer / analyst. He served as a contractor for five and a half years before being hired as a federal employee in 2004. Brent's whole career has been spent within the NWS's Performance Branch and he now serves as the national storm data program manager and forecast and warning verification expert. Brent was a participant of the Weather and Society Integrated Studies (WAS*IS) workshop in July 2006.

Brent became interested in meteorology after an F3 tornado went through his hometown of Westminster, MA on June 22nd, 1981. He was absolutely fascinated by the pure power and strength of the tornado, as well as the impact on his community. It was at that point he knew he wanted to be a meteorologist when he grew up.

Brent's interests outside of meteorology include photography, travel, home brewing, cooking, going to concerts, watching baseball and football, and spending time with his wife, Manina.

Recording Secretary: Robert Banks

Robert Banks has been a marine forecaster at the NWS Ocean Prediction Center (OPC) in Camp Springs, MD since August 2006. OPC is responsible for issuing warnings and forecasts of hazardous conditions for portions of the North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans. OPC is a 24x7 operational center and is one of six centers which make up the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). Before joining OPC, Robert began his government career in the National Ocean Service (NOS) Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment as a remote sensing specialist. At NOS he was responsible for creating operational bulletins to inform decision makers about possible effects of harmful algal blooms (HABs) along the U.S. coasts.

Robert is a graduate of The Florida State University with B.S. (2004) and M.S. (2006) degrees in Meteorology. At FSU his main thesis research focused on air-sea flux interactions over the Indian Ocean using a new flux model. While at FSU Robert held the position of recording secretary of the North Florida chapter of AMS and attended two student conferences at national AMS meetings.

Outreach Officer: Kevin Shaw

Kevin Shaw has a B.S. in Geography from the University of Wisconsin. He has been a nautical cartographer for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and an active weather observer for over 35 years, including as a member of the Baltimore Washington Climate Review. More recently Kevin became a SKYWARN observer for the National Weather Service in Sterling, VA. Kevin has also been the coordinator of the Maryland/Delaware Atlantic Coast Observer Network (MD/DE ACON) since the fall of 1986, which includes over 40 observers throughout the region.

Kevin has been married for over 30 years and has two grown daughters and three dogs. He has been an active member of DC-AMS for over 20 years and is looking forward to supporting the outreach initiatives of the local chapter.