Two candidates will vie for the office of president-elect of the American Chemical Society for 2027 in this year’s election. They are Lisa McElwee-White, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at the University of Florida; and Laura Sremaniak, associate department head at North Carolina State University. The successful candidate will serve as ACS president in 2028 and as a member of the ACS Board of Directors from 2027–29.
ACS Districts III and VI will hold elections for director. Successful candidates will serve on the ACS Board of Directors from 2027–29.
Candidates for District III director are Bonnie Lawlor, a retired executive director at the National Federation of Advanced Information Services; and Stephanie Watson, a research chemist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
District III consists of members assigned to or residing in local sections having their headquarters in Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania (except the Erie Section), Maryland, and the District of Columbia.
Candidates for District VI director are Anna Cavinato, professor emeritus at Eastern Oregon University; and Jeanette Van Emon, a retired research chemist at the US Environmental Protection Agency.
District VI consists of members assigned to or residing in local sections having their headquarters in headquarters in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.
The five candidates for two director-at-large positions are Michael Hurrey, chief scientific officer at PKx Bio; Beth Lorsbach, group executive for portfolio solutions at Nufarm; Donna Nelson, professor at University of Oklahoma; William Provine, founder at The Innovation Space; and Carolyn Ribes, business analytical leader at Dow Chemical. The candidates receiving the highest number of votes will serve a 3-year term from 2027–29.
Balloting will be conducted online with the option to receive a paper ballot upon request. Ballots will be distributed starting Sept. 14, with a voting deadline of Oct. 9 at noon Central time.
All eligible voting ACS members—members as of Aug. 14—received information at the end of August on how to request a paper ballot. All voting members of ACS may receive a ballot enabling them to vote for president-elect. Only members with mailing addresses in District III or District VI may receive ballots to vote for a director from those districts. Only voting councilors may receive ballots for the director-at-large election.
The ACS Committee on Nominations and Elections did not provide candidates with specific questions to frame their statements. Information about ACS policies for elections and campaigning can be found in the ACS Governing Documents, standing rule IV, section 17, and on the ACS website’s “Guidelines on Campaigning and Communications” page. Candidates’ views are also available online at www.acs.org/elections.
