AIC Member Community

By Lissa Rosenthal-Yoffe, Executive Director, AIC

These times call for greater connection—and that’s exactly what AIC membership is built on.

Across the conservation field, we’re all navigating rapid change: new technologies, evolving roles, tighter budgets, and the constant need to balance care for collections with care for ourselves. Through it all, connection is what keeps us steady. It’s what turns individual effort into collective progress.

Connection Is Our Strength

AIC isn’t just a professional association… it’s a community of people who know what it means to show up for this work and for one another. Being a member means you’re not doing it alone. You’re part of a network that continues to seek improvement, along with volunteers and staff members that listen, learn, and lead together. Every member adds something vital — expertise, support, perspective, energy, and care.

That’s what sustains us now and moves our field forward. That’s what makes belonging to AIC matter.

When you renew your membership this year, you’re doing more than maintaining a benefit, you’re investing in a community that amplifies your work, celebrates your contributions, and stands beside you through every challenge.

Simplified Options. Flexible Payments. Referral Credits for You.

Renewing is simpler and more flexible than ever:

•  Add a print journal for just $12
• Retirees receive a 50% discount—or stay at your current level to continue supporting AIC and remain in Find a Professional
• Students and post-grads renew at half price
• If your salary is $40,000 or less, you qualify for a 30% discount
• You can even spread payments over three months or enable automatic renewal (and enter our prize drawing!) 

We continue to do our best to listen and learn what members have said they need — options that reflect real life. We hope joining and renewing membership is easy, flexible, and meaningful for you.

Opportunities to Connect, Contribute, and Lead

AIC thrives on our member energy. There are more than 300 ways to volunteer and get involved — from writing for the wiki or mentoring a peer to serving as a group chair or board member. 

Even if you can’t volunteer right now, connection still counts. Join a member meetup, attend the annual meeting, or add your voice to an online conversation. Every interaction strengthens our community and keeps our field dynamic.

Support AIC and Bring a New Member

Everything you do — registering for the Annual Meeting, purchasing a book, joining a specialty group — helps us sustain AIC’s mission.

And now, you can multiply your impact: invite a colleague to join. For every new or returning member you refer (who wasn’t a member in the past 2-3 years), you’ll receive a $50 AIC credit.

Our Bring a Friend campaign makes it easy to grow our circle and welcome new voices into a community that keeps evolving and keeps showing up.

Let’s Keep Connecting and Collaborating

As part of a community that believes in the power of care, collaboration, and creativity, I’d love to hear from you:

• What do you most need from AIC right now?
• How can we better support your work, and your well-being?
• What should we be building together for the year ahead?

AIC’s collective voice is what moves this field forward, and I want yours to be part of it.

Let’s stay connected — please reach out any time and tell me what matters most to you this year. Email me to share feedback, schedule a chat, or join my monthly member lunches on the first Wednesday of each month. 

—Lissa Rosenthal-Yoffe, Executive Director, AIC