Public Affairs & Engagement Committee (PAEC)

    The Public Affairs & Engagement Committee (PAEC) is standing committee that was formed in December 2016. It provides “an important means by which AAAL members can bring their collective expertise to bear on issues of social importance and inform public debate by speaking to issues of social and professional relevance” (AAAL Standing Rules). The PAEC is charged with engaging AAAL in the public domain.

    This can be accomplished by (a) preparing and proposing position statements; (b)processing position statements submitted by the general membership; (c)recommending for endorsement position statements/resolutions issued by other organizations; (d) organizing an annual public affairs event; and (e) other outreach activities (e.g., interviews, op-ed pieces, blog posts, social media outreach, other means of communicating with the public) (AAAL Standing Rules). The PAEC provides a set of interdisciplinary applied linguistics perspectives on issues of public concern. We take a collaborative approach to initiatives moving forward, seeking to facilitate projects that are critical to AAAL members and tackle relevant social issues of the day. We also see ourselves as a resource for consultation and facilitation as AAAL members conceptualize which issues to address, why, and how.

    How to Get Involved:
    1. We encourage AAAL members to join the Applied Linguistics & Social Justice listserv.  This is an online forum open to all AAAL members for exchanging of ideas, resources, publications, and initiatives focused on applied linguistics and social justice. The listserv is a collaborative space in which a growing AAAL network can share relevant interests and expertise in social justice-related areas. If you would like to be added to this list, please contact the AAAL Public Affairs & Outreach Committee Chair Anwar Ahmed (paec@aaal.org).

    2. AAAL members can also get in touch with ideas for projects and initiatives of social concern. Please feel free to contact Anwar Ahmed at paec@aaal.org with your ideas.

    Committee Members:

    • Chair: Anwar Ahmed, University of British Columbia (term expires in March 2025)
    • Vice-Chair: Uju Anya, Carnegie Mellon University (term expires March 2026)
    • Nasiba Norova, University of Massachusetts Boston (GSC Designee, appointed; term expires in March 2026)
    • Rima Elabdali, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, (appointed; term expires in March 2025)
    • Amelia Tseng, American University (ex officio: JNCL Representative) (term expires in March 2025)
    • Liying Cheng, Center for Applied Linguistics (ex officio: CAL Representative) (term expires in March 2025)
    • Ryuko Kubota, University of British Columbia (ex officio, voting, President-Elect; term expires in March 2025)