Presidential Punk Rock O.R. By the Numbers

As I write my last “Presidential Punk Rock O.R.” column, I am officially the INFORMS past-president. Now that my term has ended, I have been reflecting on my time as the 2023 INFORMS president, and will summarize my year by the numbers. In 2023, I …

• Chaired 4 Board of Directors meetings held over 9 days
• Worked with 19 board members (as president and president-elect)
• Wrote 4 OR/MS Today print columns
• Including this article, published an additional 9 Presidential Punk Rock O.R. online articles and videos
• Recorded 7 Resoundingly Human podcasts
• Published 2 op-eds (in the Chicago Tribune and The Hill)
• Moderated 1 panel discussion (at the Conference of International Federation of Operational Research Societies (IFORS))
• Participated in 8 briefings with U.S. Senate, House and White House staffers
• Chaired 12 INFORMS Executive Committee meetings
• Attended 2 INFORMS Book Club meetings (and read 5 of the selected books throughout the year)
• Recorded 1 data literacy webinar for policymakers
• Announced 1 Franz Edelman Award winner
• Attended 20 award ceremonies, receptions and meals (12 at the INFORMS Annual Meeting and 8 at the Analytics Conference)
• Wrote 30 INFORMS Connect posts as well as many more posts on LinkedIn and X
• Showed up in approximately 1 gazillion pictures with INFORMS award winners at INFORMS conferences
• Most importantly, met countless (Although I tried to meet every single member, I did not achieve that goal. Please introduce yourself in 2024 if we have not yet met.)

It has truly been an honor to serve as the 2023 INFORMS president. I look forward to continuing volunteer service to INFORMS and the OR/MS community as the past-president in 2024, and beyond as an INFORMS member. I know 2023 will be hard to beat, but I will keep crunching the numbers and the countless ways INFORMS members are making smarter decisions for a better world.