AUECO is a volunteer-managed association of export compliance professionals led by an Executive Board elected annually by the membership. The members of the Executive Board serve as the principle contacts for various efforts of the Association. The information below about the 2024/2025 AUECO Executive Board team is provided to strengthen engagement between AUECO members and the Executive Board. Members are encouraged to contact any member of the Executive Board with questions about AUECO or the role of the Executive Board in the management of the Association.
The Board members below can be reached collectively at: board@aueco.org
2024/2025 AUECO Executive Board |
Chair: Scot Allen | Vice-Chair: Susan Gasparo |
Dr. Scot Allen leads Research Integrity and Security initiatives within the Office of Research & Technology Transfer at Colorado School of Mines, including responsibilities as export control officer and empowered official. Scot is an Air Force veteran. A lifelong learner, Scot has served as a leader in global education, engineering program manager, mentor for students, college French professor, survey lead for aircraft mishaps, volunteer firefighter, and biomedical lab tech. | Susan Gasparo is the Director of Research Security at Stony Brook UNiversdity, overseeing research security, export controls, conflict of interest/commitment and international activities. She has worked in research administration for over twenty years, with additional experience in sponsored programs, research compliance, and intellectual property. Susan is responeiblf ro team building across multiple campus areas (both administrative and faculty) to implement campus policies, processes, training, and guidance for a comprehensive research security program. |
Secretary: Aaron Taber | Treasurer: Abigail Nixon |
Aaron Taber is the Global Export and Trade Compliance Officer at NYU, where he works with leadership, faculty, and staff to manage export compliance risks and implement mitigation strategies across NYU's international campuses, including Abu Dhabi and Shanghai. Aaron has been an active member of AUECO since 2019, participating in the Newsletter Commitee and leading the Western Region. Prior to NYU, he was the Deputy Export Control Officer at UCLA, and he has international experience from roles in South Korea and Chile. | Abby Nixon has served as the Director of Research Operations at Weill Cornell Medicine for the past 8 years. In support of a comprehensive academic and research program, she oversees administrative, operational, and financial areas for all divisions of Research Operations. Abby is responsible for $50M+ in operating budgets, as well as export controls and hazardous materials. Prior to her current role, she was an administrator for Cornell's Embryology Lab for 8 years. Abby holds a B.S. in Hospital Administration & Biology from James Madison University. |
Membership: Kristen Bloomquist | Outreach: William Bucha |
Kristen Bloomquist has served as an Export Control Officer for the past decade, currently at NC State University and at the University of Nevada Las Vegas before that. Kristen first entered into regulatory compliance working with the Canadian government's Controlled Goods Program. | William Bucha is currently Assistant General Counsel and Institutional Compliance Manager at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. With over six years of combined legal and compliance experience working at universities, tech incubators, and healthcare centers, William continues to enjpy reducing the regulatory and legal burden on non-for-profit institutions in support of researchers, physicians, and scholars. Having been with AUECO for nearly five years, William has enjoyed learning and growing in the field of export compliance. As Outreach Chair, William wants to continue AUECO's positive impact on export complianec professional development, as well as helping to facilitate positive connections between AUECO and federal regulations. |
Past Chair: Josef Mejido |
Josef Mejido, the Export Control Officer at the University of Rochester, worked in private practice focusing on intellectual property law. He was previously a research biologist at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and as a research fellow in the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER). |
A special thanks to our prior Boards for all of their efforts and support!
Chair: The Chair is responsible for leading the organization (via cooperation with the other board members) while focusing on strategic organizational matters. The Chair also oversees the all organizational business and is the leader for setting governance and membership standards, motivating the membership to actively participate, ensuring any actions taken are in line with the organization's bylaws, goals, and mission, and finally - serves as the primary point of contact for the organization's membership, other board members, and governmental/legal officials. The Chair shall be the Past Chair the year directly following the year of Chair.
Vice-Chair: The Vice‐Chair assists the Chair and assume the duties of the Chair in his/her absence. The Vice‐Chair shall be the chair‐elect for the following year and serve as the past chair the year after that (3-year commitment).
Secretary: The Secretary takes minutes at all official meetings, creates agendas, helps administer elections and any votes of the general membership.
Treasurer: The Treasurer oversees all financial transactions for the Association, manages the bank account, collects and manages dues, and provides reports of the financial status of the Association.
Membership Chair: The Membership Chair chairs the Membership Committee, is responsible for maintaining the membership roster and coordinating the AUECO listserv/group lists, approves or denies applications with assistance from the committee, and maintains the membership related content of the website as directed by the Chair.
Outreach Chair: The Outreach Chair coordinates the development of public resource documents for the AUECO website, assists in program development and coordination, facilitates webinars and roundtables, performs daily checks of the federal register, initiates surveys and voting, liaisons with government and other officials, manages social media pages, oversees the mentorship program, and facilitates and submits comment letters on behalf of the organization.
Past Chair: The Past Chair continues to serve for one year after they have been Chair in a supporting role for organizational consistency and stabilization.