2021 APDU President’s Message

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Dear APDU members,

Happy New Year and thank you for either renewing or joining the Association of Public Data Users (APDU). I am honored to serve as the 2021 APDU President, and I look forward to working with you this year.

I am sure many of you are happy to turn the page on 2020 and are looking forward to more positive developments in 2021. There are many reasons to be hopeful; however, the pandemic continues to cast a cloud of uncertainty, which is forcing organizations, including APDU, to plan accordingly. As a result, our annual meeting will be held virtually again later this summer. Fortunately, the success of the 2020 meeting portends a repeat performance! I urge you to stay tuned as details emerge in the coming months and to plan to attend the 2021 APDU annual meeting.

While working to ensure a high quality, well attended annual meeting is always the APDU President’s top priority, I have other goals that I hope the APDU staff and board, with support from its members, can achieve this year. These goals include:

  • Increasing APDU membership – I will be forming a working group comprised primarily of APDU board members to develop strategies for boosting APDU membership– particularly among data users outside of the DC metropolitan area. We may be contacting APDU members to help inform the working group’s deliberations.
  • Enhancing Training – Throughout 2021, the APDU board and staff will be identifying opportunities to offer expanded training and networking opportunities for our members outside of those offered in conjunction with the annual meeting. We hope to host in-person events later in the year when it is safe for us to gather once again.
  • Improving communication  I want to continue to build upon the progress that has been made in recent years to enhance the APDU newsletter and to improve the organization’s website. I am also going to be asking the APDU board members to post at least one blog during the year on a topic they choose and encouraging APDU members to consider serving as “guest bloggers” on issues of interest to them, too.

Once again, thank you for being an APDU member! Please feel free to contact the APDU staff or any board members if you have ideas, concerns, or need assistance. We want to ensure APDU is serving the needs of its members and the broader public data user community.

Warm regards,

Mary Jo Hoeksema