Dr. Andrea Ludwig is currently serving as the President of the American Ecological Engineering Society (AEES, ecoeng.org). The society’s mission is to promote the development of sustainable ecosystems that integrate human society with its natural environment for the benefit of both by fostering education and outreach, extending professional development and associations, raising public awareness, and encouraging original research. AEES has been an integral part of Dr. Ludwig’s professional life– quite literally– since day one, as both of her graduate advisors were past AEES presidents. She had the opportunity to help host two annual meetings as a graduate student at the University of Arkansas and then at Virginia Tech. She was able bring the annual meeting to UT as a faculty co-host in 2016. Being involved in AEES showed her the wide variety of career paths after college, helped guide her to find a perfect fit in academia, and continues provide her the opportunity to work with remarkable and passionate people towards shared goals related to sustainable systems and protecting our environment. As President, she is finding new ways to keep the membership engaged to maintain momentum and grow the society. She is following in the footsteps of her graduate advisors and role models to return the service back to the society that has opened many career doors for her and helped bring national recognition to our BESS programs.