

Committee Mission
The SAME Membership Committee develops and communicates to all Posts the strategies, best practices, and tools that are most effective for them to grow their membership, to foster greater member engagement and leadership, and to enhance their members’ experience with SAME, further enabling each Post to support the current Strategic Plan of the Society.
Join the SAME Engage Membership NetworkOverview
As one of the “operational” Communities of Interest (vs. “technical” COIs), the Membership Committee serves as an extension of the national office staff to assist all Post leaders, especially Posts’ Membership Chairs/POCs, with the tools, resources and connections necessary to help enhance their members’ society experience through their locally relevant Posts. Between our COI members and the post membership chairs/POCs, invited to our calls and sponsored webinars, we are over 140 people strong across SAME.
SAME’s Membership Committee is open to any SAME member to participate. Unlike many of our other COIs that focus in on special professional and technical interest areas important to SAME members, the Membership COI provides participants with a broad-ranging opportunity to become involved at the national level. Our forum has the potential to positively impact the experience of every current and future member of the society as it pursues its strategic goals.
COI Objectives
- Provide opportunities to foster connections with other Post leaders across all sizes and post geographies
- Engage with best practices employed at other Posts by their leaders and members
- Share creative tools and resources aimed at improving post level retention and recruitment successes

Committee Chair
Bobbi Jo Lang, Olsson
Organization Structure
Vice Chair, Tools & Resources: Dick Kochanek
Chair-Elect, Strategic Direction: Lee Ann Zelesnikar
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion:
- Shante Fields – Mead &Hunt
- Lalitha Benjaram – Mead & Hunt
Staff Liaison: Jill Murphy
Webinar: Understanding the New Membership Structure
Military Membership – What’s in it for You?
Upcoming National Webinars
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- Webinar
Journey to SAME Fellow Webinar
No two careers are the same and our paths may twist and turn as we carry our passions towards out goals. However, those detours don’t need to come at the expense of our long-term goals and achievements! In fact, they may be some of the most rewarding and challenging experiences. Thinking through and making a game plan during these seasons to make sure our long-term goals stay on track is incredibly important if we want to meet those goals. -
- Webinar
Assessment and Inspection Process for Sites with General Radioactive Materials
A framework has been recently developed which provides a standardized approach in conducting a Preliminary Assessment (PA) and Site Inspection (SI) for sites with a known presence or potential presence of General-Radioactive Materials (G-RAM). -
- Webinar
Business Impacts of the FAR Revisions and Contract Vehicle Realignment
The government contracting landscape has been redefined through recent revisions to the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FARs). All businesses alike and federal agencies are operating under a totally new set of rules based on recently released FAR 19 revisions and contract vehicle realignment. -
- Webinar
Credentialing for Successful Careers
This webinar will provide an overview of professional credentialing pathways for individuals transitioning within or into the A/E/C, national security, and public service sectors.
Related TME Articles – Membership
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The Benefits of Defensive Wetlanding
The practice of strategically creating wetlands to enhance defensive terrain can have significant environmental benefits in addition to increasing defensive military advantages. -
Fortifying Energy Resiliency and Preparedness
At Joint Forces Training Base, Los Alamitos, the U.S. Army is achieving energy reliability through a partnership with the private sector on a commercial power plant that is capable of rapidly providing standalone, off-grid power to the base and which it has already proven in a real-world outage event. -
Mitigating PFAS at Naval Air Station Alameda
Historical firefighting training at the former Naval Air Station Alameda led to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance impacts in the groundwater, necessitating the installation of a 720-ft permeable adsorptive barrier. -
Leveraging Data for Better Stormwater Drainage
An extensive drainage study conducted for a pair of airfields in Oklahoma leveraged geospatial technology, stormwater modeling, and data analysis to develop tailored solutions that will help contribute to improved readiness at these key training installations.