EHPs enjoying last year’s Annual Meeting mixer in Detroit. Image courtesy of Hannah Hethmon.

On behalf of the Emerging History Professionals (EHP) Affinity Community, I’m happy to announce the events and initiatives planned for AASLH’s EHP members at this year’s Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas.

First, when you arrive at the registration desk, be sure to grab a copy of the EHP guide to the Annual Meeting. The guide highlights sessions and other events that may be of particular interest to members of the EHP community. We’ll also post the guide to our blog in the weeks before the annual meeting to give you plenty of time to lay out your Austin itinerary.

We have two big events of our own planned for Thursday, 9/7: the session we sponsor and the EHP mixer. They’ll take place back to back, the session from 4 to 5:15 PM and the mixer right after at 5:30 PM. The session, titled “Next Steps: Navigating Career Pathways with People Who’ve Been There,” provides attendees with the opportunity to speak one-on-one with seasoned professionals working in education, administration, collections, community outreach, academia, and other areas related to state and local history. History professionals at all stages of their careers are welcome to attend. Have a professional goal but aren’t sure how to meet it? Want to know more about a particular field and how to break into it? Feel free to ask these and other questions at the session.

After the session, we’ll walk to the EHP mixer at Dive, a bar and lounge located just a few short blocks away from the conference center at 1703 Guadalupe Street. This is a great time to relax and chat with other EHPs after a long day of conferencing. There is no charge to attend the mixer, though attendees will be responsible for their own food and drink.

Lastly, the committee that runs the EHP Affinity Community will hold an open business meeting at 12:30 PM on Friday, 9/8. All annual meeting attendees are welcome to attend. We’ll discuss current projects and plans and talk to EHPs about what they’d like to see from the committee over the coming year.

We can’t wait to see you in Austin!