Yvonne Towse is the Chief Operating Officer of AVS - The Society for Science and Technology of Materials, Interfaces, and Processing (aka The American Vacuum Society), a not-for-profit interdisciplinary, professional scientific Society, founded in 1953, that supports networking among academic, industrial, government, and consulting professionals involved in a variety of disciplines through common interests related to the basic science, technology development, and commercialization of materials, interfaces, and processing area. AVS has been a member society of AIP since 1963, has ~4,000 members in the sciences and each year hosts local and international meetings, publishes five journals, honors members through its awards and recognition program, provides training, webinars, and offers career services. AVS has 14 staff members with offices in Chico, CA; Cary, NC, and is headquartered in New York City, the majority of whom have been with the Society for 15+ years.
Following her graduation from Bernard M. Baruch College, Yvonne began her career with the AIP Career Network located in their original headquarters at 335 E. 45th Street, NYC. Following the AIP relocation to College Park, Yvonne assumed her position with AVS in 1993, moving with them to their new office in downtown NYC. In her capacity as COO, she is the corporate memory for the organization, oversees a $5M budget, directs operations and manages the AVS staff and contractors, in addition to guiding the activities of the Society’s ~200 volunteers. She reports to the Society President and Board of Directors who are all volunteers and serve one-two year terms in their elected capacities. Yvonne feels very fortunate to be part of the AVS family – a wonderfully unique and diverse organization filled with a very dedicated, loyal, hardworking engaged team of professional staff and volunteers.
Talk Title: Material Changes in Process: How AVS Reimagined Membership Structures
Abstract: This case study will examine how one society adapted to the current environment with a major change in their membership model, including sharing early results and learnings following the model’s implementation.