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INFORMS 2024 Board of Directors

President-Elect


David T. Hunt
(he/him)
David T. Hunt
Title
Education
Professional Experience
Selected INFORMS and Related Activities
Selected Professional Honors and Awards
Selected National Service Activities
Selected Publications

Vision Statement

When the INFORMS Pro Bono Analytics program was launched, I received a heartfelt request from the founder of a community-based homeless shelter serving women and children. The founder said she collects data on families at the shelter and the services they use. She was sure the data could help her provide better services, but she didn’t know where to begin. We connected her with local INFORMS volunteers, who helped organize the data to support program improvements through more informed decision-making.

This story, to me, is what operations research and analytics represents – making direct and lasting impacts on society and the lives of people through research and applications. INFORMS members drive fact-based policy decisions, improve profits and growth at corporations, reduce inefficiencies for a more sustainable world – and help a homeless shelter better serve its community. Our vision succinctly sums it up: “Better decision-making for a just, prosperous, and sustainable world.”

I am honored to be nominated for President-Elect of INFORMS. My 32 years as a member, 6 years on the INFORMS Board, and a career in management consulting have helped prepare me for this position. If elected, I will strive to advance the five goals in our strategic plan:

Enhance Member Value

INFORMS provides tremendous member value through connecting people, disseminating research and best practices, honoring achievement, providing volunteer opportunities, and promoting the profession. There is, however, always room for improvement.

I will focus on enhancing value for all members, both in the United States and internationally, but especially for two cohorts:
Champion our Profession

A benefit of being INFORMS President is the opportunity to tout the cutting-edge research and impactful applications developed by our members. INFORMS needs to continue communicating these contributions outside of the O.R. community. I will therefore build on existing efforts to:
Advance the Science and Technology of Decision Making

During this golden age of algorithms, with frequent advancements and new buzzwords, INFORMS must promote the contributions and impacts from the O.R. community to ensure our voices are heard. Nominating members to serve on relevant national and international boards and committees is a key strategy to advancing our viewpoints.

Advance Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

INFORMS is making great strides around volunteer and leadership opportunities, awards and recognition, and codifying DEI values in policies and procedures. I will:
Ensure Operational Excellence and Financial Health

Having just completed four years as INFORMS Treasurer, I have a deep affinity for ensuring our financial health. INFORMS is in strong financial shape, but the budget impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are still being felt and curtailing opportunities to advance new member benefits. During my tenure as treasurer, the Finance Committee and INFORMS staff developed the first-ever 5-year financial plan with a path to a balanced budget. I would like to see this effort through.

Thank you for considering me for President-Elect of INFORMS!

For more information, visit David Hunt | LinkedIn


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Harrison C. Schramm, CAP
(he/him)
Harrison C. Schramm
Title
Independent Consultant

Education
Professional Experience
Selected INFORMS and Related Activities
Selected Professional Honors and Awards
Selected National Service Activities

Vision Statement

I am both honored and humbled to be running for President-Elect of INFORMS. As your president, I will strive to increase the reach and impact of our society, and by extension, our profession. To reach our full potential as individuals and as a profession, we need to continue our current activities, and in some cases, increase our focus. 

My personal journey in operations research began as a helicopter pilot in the U.S. Navy. Flying over the open ocean has two analytic problems: aircraft reliability and ensuring that fuel onboard is greater than distance to landing. It is the reliability problem – which claimed the lives of several of my shipmates – that drove me to the study of O.R. This ethos became my “fuel.” While I primarily identify as “practitioner,” my career has traversed three major areas: government, industry and academia. My industry involvement has ranged from grand problems – mostly around public policy – as well as trivial – such as AI-enabled skateboards.  INFORMS is my professional home; these are my people. I have been a member long enough to have a physical membership card.

Responsibilities to Ourselves
I have long said that if you are receiving OR/MS Today – in whatever form – you are amongst the wealthiest and most actualized humans that have ever lived. We need to appreciate that position and use it as motivation to constantly strive to bring out the best in ourselves, each other and the world. I am committed to this singular goal. No professional society exists long without being fiscally responsible and INFORMS sits in a strong position compared to similar organizations. Having said that, not every decision is fiscal, and not every activity needs to turn a profit to be “worthy.” I am unafraid to launch new initiatives; specifically, I was the inaugural chair of the INFORMS Security Conference, which is now in its third offering for 2024. As president of the Analytics Society, I am proud to have supported the launch of both the Military Veteran’s Interest Forum and new Pride Forum. 

Responsibilities to the Profession
The defining characteristic of a professional is their responsibility to the profession. As your president, this will include both an INFORMS focus as well as increasing our reach and involvement with partner societies. I will focus on building these relationships where they make sense, in a manner that is mutually beneficial for both sides with an eye toward using our skills and tools for the betterment of society. Similarly, we need to ensure that we balance our focus on sound technical rigor with the need to be forward leaning. Our “forward lean” has both technical and social aspects, and I applaud – and support – INFORMS’ long-running DEI initiatives. Additionally, viability as a professional society critically depends on the engagement of our members. One area that I plan to pay specific attention to is the creation of “on-ramps” for newer members to take on increasing volunteer roles throughout the organization. This requires intentionality from those of us who have “been around,” and as president, I plan to take the leading role.

Responsibilities to Society
This responsibility goes beyond the business, government and academic fields we directly support. As a practitioner with one foot in academia, it is important to me – professionally as well as personally – to continue to deliver timely, actionable insights in a way that is palatable to those we support, and ultimately, the public writ large. This has been the singular focus of my career for the past decade and will continue to be so. Finally – fulfill your responsibility to the society and vote!

For more information, please visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harrisonschramm/



Vice President - Membership and Professional Recognition

Banafsheh Behzad
Banafsheh Behzad
Associate Professor
Information Systems Department
College of Business
California State University, Long Beach

Education

Ph.D. Industrial Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 2014
M.S. Industrial Engineering, Northern Illinois University, 2008
B.S. Industrial Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, 2006

Professional Experience

California State University, Long Beach, 2014-present

INFORMS Related Activities
Selected Professional Honors and Awards
Research Summary

My research focuses on two main areas of public health and social media. I use game theory and optimization approaches to study problems such as vaccine pricing and the propagation of fake news in social media.

Vision Statement

It is an honor to be nominated for the position of Vice President – Membership and Professional Recognition. As the new VP of Membership and Professional Recognition, I would work collaboratively with INFORMS staff and board on the following three INFORMS Strategic Goals:

1) Advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in all we do
I have been a strong advocate of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in my career and the activities I have been involved in at the INFORMS level. As president of WORMS, a member of the DEIC, an INFORMS DEI Ambassador, and co-chair of the INFORMS DEI Ambassador Project Committee, I put forth a considerable amount of effort toward increasing DEI initiatives at the INFORMS level. Examples of these activities are introducing a new position, “DEI Liaison,” in the WORMS forum in 2023, and launching a new mentoring program, “To My Younger Self (TMYS),” as part of the INFORMS DEI Ambassador Program.

Moving forward, I believe DEI initiatives could be enhanced in both membership and professional recognition at INFORMS. Diversifying the membership of INFORMS is essential for promoting creativity and innovation. New policies and initiatives should be launched to diversify our membership. Diversifying INFORMS professional recognition and awards involves creating more inclusive and equitable policies that recognize and celebrate a wider range of achievements and contributions. Every single member of our professional community should have an opportunity to be recognized based on merit. These will result in an enhanced member value and experience, which is another strategic goal of INFORMS that I will work to advance.
2) Enhance member value and experience
As the former chair and longtime member of the INFORMS Membership and Member Services Committee, I had the opportunity to work diligently with INFORMS staff and the Director of Membership and Communities to study membership at INFORMS. We dedicated a substantial amount of effort to launch new initiatives to increase membership and elevate the value provided to members.

Moving forward, I am interested in opportunities to retain our current members and expand INFORMS membership to practitioners, students, and international members, among others, and broaden the benefits of being an INFORMS member for different groups based on their interests and goals. It is crucial to personalize and customize membership benefits for our members to raise the member satisfaction and engagement.
3) Champion our profession and our brand
I believe that expanding and diversifying our membership and professional recognition is an excellent opportunity to champion our profession and brand. By actively engaging with individuals from diverse backgrounds, we will better serve the needs of our community. This will further aid us in showing the value of our profession to a wider audience. Moreover, by diversifying our professional recognition, we can ensure that a wider range of achievements and contributions are rewarded. This will promote excellence in all areas of our profession. Through these initiatives and policies, we could have a role in championing the OR/MS profession and brand.

INFORMS is an incredibly valuable professional community to me and has played a significant role in my career. Volunteering at INFORMS is a top priority because it provides me with an opportunity to give back to this community that has given so much to me. If elected, I am committed to championing our profession and brand, increasing DEI within INFORMS membership and professional recognition, and enhancing our membership value. My previous experience at INFORMS has provided me with the skills and knowledge necessary to tackle the challenges. I am eager to devote my time and energy toward achieving these goals.

For more information, please visit https://home.csulb.edu/~bbehzad/.


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Anahita Khojandi
Anahita Khojandi
Associate Professor
Industrial and Systems Engineering
University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK)

Education

Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh, 2014
M.S. University of Pittsburgh, 2009
B.S. Sharif University of Technology, 2008

Professional Experience

University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2014–present

Selected INFORMS and Related Activities
Selected Professional Honors and Awards
Selected National Service Activities
Selected Publications
Vision Statement

First, I would like to thank the nominating committee for including me on the slate of nominees for the 2023 election. I am honored to be considered as a candidate for the VP of Membership and Professional Recognition, among all the impressive and dedicated candidates who have volunteered their time (and continue to do so) to make INFORMS a better and more inclusive society.  

Over the past few years, I have had the great honor of serving INFORMS members in various capacities, including president of the Junior Faculty Interest Group (JFIG) and the chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee. Through these experiences, I have had the opportunity to learn more about various aspects of how INFORMS operates and how it provides value to members. I have also had the chance to facilitate various cross-cutting activities, with an emphasis on diversity and inclusivity, focused on research, teaching, practice, and communication and community building, among others. My past roles have given me new insights into the broader INFORMS membership, and allowed me to interact with various volunteers and staff across INFORMS to better understand their goals and concerns.

The VP of Membership and Professional Recognition has to actively engage with activities that grow the INFORMS membership, maximize member engagement and satisfaction, and recognize members’ outstanding accomplishments. As such, the person taking on this role has to understand who our current and potential members are and what creates value for them. This includes understanding members’ professional backgrounds and aspirations, as well as ensuring they feel welcome, seen, and included. Aligned with the strategic goals of INFORMS, this further means advancing the science and technology of decision-making and championing our profession, while simultaneously and purposefully pursuing diversity, equity, and inclusion within our institution and in all we do.

In the role of VP of Membership and Professional Recognition, I plan to support and further the strategic goals of INFORMS and create value for the membership. This includes evaluating the composition of membership and how it may have changed over the past few years (practitioner vs. academician, U.S. vs. international, etc.) to identify (1) the areas of growth and see how to better serve these new members and ensure sustained growth; and (2) the areas with untapped potential and see how new services can be provided to increase engagement. This also includes looking into various diversity and inclusion metrics to examine where we stand in terms of member engagement and recognition, and how to address the areas where representation may be lagging. Another goal will be to create value for members beyond the meetings and conferences and engage them yearlong. This can potentially be accomplished through creating additional multimedia content, better leveraging social media, and providing additional mentorship programs with an emphasis on underrepresented groups. Lastly, one way to sustain the growth in INFORMS membership would be through building on the recent emphasis on the broader domain of analytics and engaging the audience working or doing research in data science. This goal can be pursued via various initiatives, such as creating new data science-related offerings, possibly through collaborations with other institutions that are active in the area. As the membership grows, however, there is a need for more formal documentation and communication of INFORMS’ values with members. This can be made possible through leveraging the current knowledge and infrastructure within INFORMS to ensure that all members feel welcome and consider INFORMS their professional home.

For more information, please visit: https://ise.utk.edu/people/anahita-khojandi/


Vice President - Marketing, Communications & Outreach


Tinglong Dai
Tinglong Dai
Professor, Carey Business School
Co-chair, Johns Hopkins Workgroup on AI and Healthcare
Johns Hopkins University
 
Education
Professional Experience
Selected INFORMS and Related Activities
Selected Honors and Awards
Selected National Service Activities
Selected Publications

Published 17 articles in INFORMS journals, covering diverse topics such as artificial intelligence, global supply chains, healthcare operations, and marketing, including in Management Science (5), M&SOM (7), Marketing Science (2), Operations Research (1), INFORMS Journal on Computing (1), and Service Science (1).

Vision Statement

I am honored and thrilled to be nominated for the position of Vice President of Marketing, Communication, and Outreach at INFORMS, the world’s largest professional society for decision and data sciences. My experience at INFORMS includes serving on the Advocacy Governance Committee, working with the Outreach and Advocacy team on round-the-clock media coverage, engaging with federal agencies and on Capitol Hill, and publishing in leading INFORMS journals such as Management Science, Marketing Science, M&SOM, and Operations Research. With my passion and commitment to making a difference within and beyond the INFORMS community, if elected, I will focus on the following S.T.A.R.S. priorities:
INFORMS has made it a top priority to share our members’ knowledge and disseminate their research through media interviews, op-eds, speaking engagements, and other thought leadership opportunities. More than 300 members have been involved in these efforts. I am committed to sustaining and expanding this work and supporting the continued recruitment and engagement of INFORMS members in our advocacy efforts.
I am running for this position because I believe in our value proposition. As a S.T.A.R.S-studded cast of decision and data scientists, we have the brains and star power to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems. Together, we can use our expertise to make a real difference in the world. Thank you for your support.

For more information, please visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tinglong/


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Irv Lustig
Irv Lustig
Optimization Principal
Princeton Consultants

Education
Professional ExperienceSelected INFORMS Activities
Selected Professional Honors and Awards
Selected Publications
Vision Statement

I am honored to be nominated for the position of INFORMS Vice President for Marketing, Communications and Outreach. If elected, I will lead the effort for INFORMS to realize its strategic goal of “Champion our profession and our brand.”

I believe that I am uniquely qualified to help INFORMS achieve this goal. From 1997 to 2001, I was part of the marketing organization at ILOG. From that experience, I learned how to define products that resonate with an addressable market. I am knowledgeable about how effective promotional strategies driven by consistent messaging and positioning can drive increased revenue and market penetration. For one year, I was ILOG’s Optimization Evangelist, which included formal media training and multiple interviews with a variety of publications. From 2003 to 2005, I contributed my marketing experience to a committee led by INFORMS President Tom Cook that positioned our profession as “The Discipline of Applying Advanced Analytical Methods to Make Better Decisions.” This led to the definition of “Operations Research” as the “Science of Better,” creation of a website describing the profession and a second website providing materials to INFORMS members to help them in promoting the profession, and making the INFORMS Edelman Award a focus of our marketing efforts. This resulted in creating the Edelman Gala that is held annually as part of the INFORMS Business Analytics Conference. To achieve the new INFORMS strategic goal of promoting our profession, I plan to leverage the lessons learned back then to create a multiyear promotional strategy that will make the outside world more aware of the improved profits, efficiencies, and even lives saved brought about by the work done every day by INFORMS members.

If elected, I will collaborate with fellow board members and the INFORMS staff on the following activities, some of which are already underway:
I am confident that a well-executed and appropriately funded marketing strategy consisting of properly aligned activities can lead to increased enrollments in our academic programs, more jobs for people with our unique skill sets, and an increase in INFORMS membership. These efforts will then contribute to the other strategic goals of INFORMS.

Many people ask why I am always seen wearing a hat at INFORMS conferences. Since 1991, “the guy with the white hat” has been part of my personal brand. It sets me apart and makes me memorable. If elected, I will use my marketing skills to create an effective brand for INFORMS and our profession. I hope to receive your support as we work together to increase the visibility of our profession as your next Vice President for Marketing, Communications and Outreach.

For more information please visit: https://sites.google.com/princeton.com/irvlustig/