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The Great Lakes Section is pleased to announce that new officers have stepped forward to fill recent leadership vacancies. Their commitment to service ensures the Section&/greatlakesofficers2026/8217;s continued momentum and strengthens its ability to support members across the Great Lakes region.

Learn more about Local Sections and how you can get involved!

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Vice Chair: Dr. Mazeyar Parvinzadeh Gashti

Mazeyar Parvinzadeh Gashti is an assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Pittsburg State University in Kansas, USA. He got his PhD in Textile Chemistry and Fiber Science and undertook three postdoctoral positions at the University of Bern (Switzerland), Laval University, and McGill University (Canada) from 2011 to 2016. With 20 years’ experience in the textile industry, he has led several R and D funded projects from the US National Science Foundation, the US Department of Agriculture, Innovative Solutions Canada Program, Innovation for Defense Excellence and Security Program (Canada), The Industrial Research Assistance Program (Canada), and Build in Canada Innovation Program for North America’s textile industry. Since 2019, he has been a member of the Directory Board of the Canadian Institute of Textile Science.

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Treasurer: Stephanie J. Rodgers-Ahnen 

Stephanie J. Rodgers-Ahnen is a serial textile engineer and sustainability expert with extensive experience in advanced development, materials engineering, and business development. As the Founder and CTO of Textile Made, Inc., she has led the development of advanced engineering textile materials for many Fortune 100 companies in automotive, and consumer electronics working and living around the world.  Now, in Michigan, as Chief Textile Officer at Textile Made Inc., she serves several Clients in technical textile product development and as a subject matter expert at NASA, assisting several Research and Engineering Centers to develop advanced suit materials and other textile hardware to meet mission requirements for Artemis and Moon to Mars expeditions. Through this work, Steph has co-authored multiple research papers for International Conference on Environmental Systems (ICES), showcasing collaborative knowledge sharing in advanced materials research, textile design, cryogenic testing, and advanced textile constructs.

Her previous roles include Director of Sustainable Materials Innovation at Fisker Inc., where she led the development of the world&/greatlakesofficers2026/8217;s most sustainable SUV, the Fisker OCEAN (2022). She has also held textile innovation and development positions at Apex Mills, Microsoft Corporation/XBOX, and Magna International, contributing to significant advancements in textile engineering and sustainable product development, including color development, mastering and validation.   Fun fact is that she has a perfect score on the Munsell 100-point hue test and has been the visual approver with a digital vision since 2006.

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Education Chair: Dr. Jody Neef

Currently, Dr. Jody Neef is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Pittsburg State University teaching organic chemistry. His research interests include addition reactions to epoxides, anti-bacterial materials and flame retardants. Prior to PSU, he worked at Texas State University and at Brewer Science, Inc. At Texas State University, he worked as a lecturer and researcher on nanocomposites, electroactive polymers, and light sensitive compounds. At Brewer Science, Inc. he developed materials [BARCs, DBARCs, and hardmasks] for the semiconductor industry. He has twenty-four publications and ten patents.