OCTOBER 2018 SEEDWORLD.COM / 63 Moving Forward In a transitional phase, the board of directors of the Seed Science Foundation is comprised of leaders from the American Seed Research Foundation and the National Council of Commercial Plant Breeders. For individuals and companies interested in learning more about mem- bership and to become a founding member of the new foundation, contact ASTA’s Ann Jorss at ajorss@betterseed.org. Foundation membership will be structured similarly to ASTA’s in that small companies will have the same voice as large companies — one member equals one vote. Jorss says the goal is to announce the new slate of directors for the board at the association’s annual Corn, Sorghum & Soybean Seed Research Conference in Chicago, Ill., in December. Before merging funds, both organizations will undergo an audit. Once approved, the new board will consist of 10 members: six subject matter chairs, one person from the American Seed Research Foundation, one person from the National Council of Commercial Plant breeders, and two members from ASTA’s board of directors. Additionally, the president of the board will have a seat on ASTA’s board of directors as an ex-officio member. Subject matter chairs will represent the areas of breeding systems, seed health and pathology, digital agriculture, seed quality and testing, seed pro- duction technology and equipment, and seed-applied technologies. These chairs will be responsible for developing, reviewing and managing projects specific to their area of expertise, and each will maintain a list of experts to draw upon as needed to work through industry issues. “This expertise is critical to the evolution of the U.S. seed industry as it par- ticipates on the global stage,” Dunkle says. SW The Seed Science Foundation’s mission is to address seed and plant science challenges and encourage plant breeding education and seed research in support of the ever-changing needs of the seed industry.