Chris Stelzig, a 20+ year veteran of the Entomological Society of America (ESA), visited the University of Maryland on February 13, 2026. He has been with ESA since 2000 and was chosen as their executive director in 2019. He visited to share his perspectives on the challenges ESA faces in the near future and hear our thoughts on ESA as a whole.
Stelzig earned his undergraduate degree from West Virginia University. He worked in business and advertising at several places on the East Coast before being hired by ESA. Over the years, he has worked directly for ESA and as an independent contractor, where he managed member services and data operations. With ESA, Stelzig has helped to launch the Associate Certified Entomologist program, form a Vector-Borne Disease Network, and lead in developing ESA’s government relations program. Additionally, Stelzig has been involved in the Grand Challenges Agenda for Entomology, in which the Society focused on issues which broadly affect society.
The society has a working list of Big Challenges: COVID recovery, diversifying revenue streams, and strengthening international connections. Membership and conference attendance have not quite recovered to pre-COVID levels. ESA is ruminating on what services, certifications, and programs they can offer to members and the wider public. They also have ambitions of connecting with international entomology societies and building up their own international branch.
At our seminar, we discussed everything from what the society does to the ultimate purpose of ESA. Stelzig turned us into an impromptu focus group, quizzing us on what we knew about the society. We learned that ESA does a lot more than host meetings and publish journals. They train and maintain staff to lobby the federal government, provide micro-grants for insect related programming (Chrysalis fund), and coordinate with the CDC on emerging threats to health (like the New World screwworm). They have a total of eight journals, plus a blog, and recently an Instagram account. Stelzig was eager to share ESA resources for young members, like an internship&fellowship program with the CDC and the EntoMentos program.
Then things got a bit philosophical. Do I consider myself an Entomologist, or a different type of scientist who happens to work with insects? Some members of ESA have been insect enthusiasts since they grew thumbs; others fell in love later in life. Still others consider themselves toxicologists, geneticists, or developmental biologists who use insects as models but don’t identify as Entomologists. So how do they fold into the Entomological Society of America? At conferences and in journal publications you can find members of industry, extension specialists, hobbyists, and more. They are not necessarily Entomologists in the same way the science would have been seen in 1889, when ESA was founded. That relates to ESA’s purpose, to not just support the science of Entomology but to support entomologists, from academic labs to the private sector to the government. This goal has seen ESA through massive changes since its founding, letting it welcome women, minorities, and non-academics into its ranks. This people-oriented approach has helped ESA weather a changing world and the changing needs of the people in it.
More information on Chris Stelzig
Page on what the Eastern branch is doing
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