Gen Hashida, MNAP from Japan’s National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR), was elected as Vice Chair in 2020. Gen is a Professor at the NIPR whose research field is Polar marine biogeochemistry, based on measuring changes in carbon dioxide in the sea waters. He carries out his research through participation in various scientific cruises in the Southern Ocean. Gen has served on the 39th and 44th Japanese Antarctic Research Expeditions (JARE) and wintered at Japan’s Syowa Station, monitoring greenhouse gases. He was the leader for the wintering team of the 54th JARE and for the 62nd JARE summer expedition and is the current JARE Expedition Leader for the 2023/24 Antarctic season. He works on coordination and planning of the Japanese Antarctic research programmes and on international cooperation as a delegate to COMNAP and to the DROMLAN.

Pavel Kapler, MNAP from the Masaryk University, Czech Republic, was elected to the role of Vice Chair in 2021. Pavel is the manager of the Czech Antarctic Research Programme (CARP) since 2010. He has been involved in all of the major changes the programme has undergone, including the construction of the J.G. Mendel Czech Antarctic Station (2004-07); Gaining Membership in COMNAP (2013); Associating CARP into the SCAR (2013); and gaining Antarctic Treaty Consultative State status of the Czech Republic (2014). He was in charge of the hosting of the COMNAP AGM XXIX in Brno (2017) and he was the head of Host Country Secretariat for 42nd Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting and Committee for environmental Protection Meeting in Prague (2019). From 2014 to 2021 he served as Co-leader of the COMNAP Technology and Energy Expert Working Group (now Advancing Critical Technologies Expert Group). He also serves as an advisor to the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Czech Ministry of Environment with regards to Antarctic issues. He has been the leader of eight scientific expeditions to Antarctica. His professional background is in climatology and environmental impact assessment.

Dragomir Mateev, DMNAP from the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute (BAI), was elected to the role of Vice Chair in 2021. Dragomir has worked at BAI since 2013 and is an employee of the National Centre for Polar Studies, Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski, since 2018 as a Logistics and Project Manager. He has participated in nine national Antarctic expeditions and during three of these he was Base Commander at the Bulgarian Antarctic Station. Dragomir is a permanent member of the Bulgarian Antarctic delegation for the annual Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings and COMNAP delegate since 2012. In 2015, Dragomir was a member of the of Organisational Committee for the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting, held in Sofia, Bulgaria, as well as a member of the Organising Committee of the COMNAP AGM XXXI. He convened the Education, Outreach and Training Workshop, held in Plovdiv, Bulgaria in 2018. Since 2015, he is a Co-chair of the Education and Outreach Intersessional Contact Group within the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat forum, and was Leader of the COMNAP Education, Outreach and Training Expert Group.

Antonio is the MNAP for the Spanish national Antarctic programme through Spain’s lead agency for the purposes of COMNAP, the Comité Polar Español (CPE). Antonio was elected to the role as Chair in 2021 and will serve a 3-year term of office. Antonio is a Professor at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid whose research focuses mainly on non-marine aquatic ecosystems. He has led several research projects in the Arctic and the Antarctic since 2001, and has participated in over a dozen Polar expeditions. Antonio was the scientific manager of the Spanish Polar Program from 2011 to 2017, and became Executive Director of the CPE in 2017. He is the representative of Spain to the Committee for Environmental Protection, International Arctic Science Committee, the European Polar Board and deputy representative at the annual Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings.

Wendy Rubio is the DMNAP for the Insituto Antartico Chileno (INACH). She was elected to the role of Vice Chair in 2023. Wendy is the Head of Operations at INACH, an engineer with over two decades of experience, overseeing the planning of scientific and logistical activities carried out by Chile in the White Continent. She has been a member of the National Committee for Antarctic Geographical Names (CNNGA) for over 15 years. She has served as a coordinator for the national Antarctic programs (NAPs) using Punta Arenas as the gateway to Antarctica for over 10 years. Since 2013, she has been part of the Chilean delegation at the Latin American Antarctic Programs Administrators Meeting (RAPAL), and since 2019, she has been a member of the delegation attending COMNAP meetings.

Simon Trotter is the DMNAP for Antarctica New Zealand. He was elected to the role of Vice Chair in 2023. Simon is the General Manager, Antarctic Operations for Antarctica New Zealand.

Chair: Uwe Nixdorf
Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI), Germany

Chair: Charlton Clark
Australian Antarctic Division (AAD), Australia

Chair: Margaret Knuth
National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs, United States of America

Chair: Mandi Livesey
Australian Antarctic Division (AAD), Australia

Chair: Agnieszka Kruszewska
Biophysics Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland

Chair: Gianluca Bianchi Fasani
Programma Nazionale Di Ricerche in Antartide (PNRA), Italy