ISA Welcomes New President, Leo Staples

The first challenge is financial performance that would enable ISA to recover from the economic recession while setting the stage for long-term health and profitability. “Many ideas are on the table, from improving revenue from existing products to development of new product lines,” Staples said.
The second challenge is to evaluate the effectiveness of ISA’s current Society governance model, and, where appropriate, make changes. “Even though changes had been made in the past, our leaders knew there was still a lot more work that needed to be done. A task force has already begun work on this evaluation process. Our members will be hearing more about it as we move into the year. I ask for their support in validating, endorsing, and implementing the work of this governance task force,” he said.
The third challenge for the Society is to strengthen the ISA family. “A strong ISA family consists of a dedicated group of volunteer leaders working together, sharing a common vision, and operating within a governance structure that fits the organization,” Staples said. “We need to maintain a strong value proposition so we can keep the ISA family strong, so we can attract new leaders for the future, and so we can develop and engage tomorrow’s automation professionals,” he added.
Staples wants ISA to refine and enhance workforce development programs and give sections and divisions the tools they need to implement these programs into their existing activities. He suggested that many of the tools can come from strategic partnerships, such as the affiliation ISA has with inventor Dean Kamen’s FIRST® organization (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology).
The fourth challenge Staples presents ISA membership with is to embrace technology. “We have a task force that is evaluating technology and investment priorities that will allow us to expand social media and provide an enhanced experience for virtual attendees of events, functions, and courses—so we can expand the audience we reach,” Staples said. He encourages all members to take advantage of ISA’s movement into social networking by participating in the many online opportunities that already exist and new ones to be offered in the future.