The Williston Fund supports all of WCG’s emerging professionals by providing activities such as lab tours, social events, and virtual learning workshops. In addition, the Guild awards five recipients with free WCG professional organization membership and reduced registration fees for all WCG sponsored workshops and events. This season, free membership to the American Institute for Conservation (AIC) and a special gift will also be included.

Recipients will be given first priority to present at the Emerging Professionals meeting in the spring and will be given the opportunity to assist the WCG board with meeting administration, such as writing meeting summaries to be published on the website. These are great opportunities for emerging conservators to network with area professionals and learn more about our field.

Williston Fund applications are open to all emerging conservation professionals in the DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia area including students, recent graduates, volunteers, interns, and fellows. Virtual interns and fellows are also encouraged to apply. Since the Guild is currently providing one year of free membership to all emerging professionals, not just Williston Fund recipients, we are requesting that applicants join WCG as part of their application.

The application is available at this link: Sidney S. Williston Memorial Fund

Alternatively, the following information can be emailed to epc@washingtonconservationguild.org:

1. Name and email address of applicant
2. Local address (if unaffiliated with a local institution)
3. Position and institution of applicant (if applicable)
4. Brief description (250 words max) of applicant’s qualifications plus their conservation interests or volunteer/intern/fellow project
5. Brief description (250 words max) of how the applicant will benefit from the Williston Fund or why the applicant is applying

Applications are due by 5:00 PM EST on Friday, October 28th, 2022, and award recipients will be announced via email and at the November 3rd meeting.