The Team
Sam Erickson
President & Event Organizer
slerickson2@wisc.edu
Sam is an undergraduate sophomore studying Economics & Mathematics. He was elected President of AHA in December '13 after serving as Outreach Chair since June.
While ultimately undecided on a long-term career path, he is seeking to acquire a broad base of knowledge and experiences to help mold him into an upstanding, intelligent individual. He has no idea where he'll be in four years, but knows one thing for certain: he will never lose his passion for atheist activism.
He is proud to be this year's primary event organizer and looks forward to a great conference.
Chris Calvey
Vice President
calvey@wisc.edu
Chris has been either the President, Executive Director, or Archduke/Spiritual Leader of AHA since reviving the group in 2009, and was the creator & event organizer of the 1st and 2nd Freethought Festivals.
He holds degrees in Materials Science Engineering and Molecular & Cellular Biology from the UIUC, where he also founded the Illini Secular Student Alliance. He is currently finishing up his PhD, with research focusing on biofuel production in yeast. Prior to moving to Madison, he worked at the J. Craig Venter Institute and was a member of the team responsible for creating the world's first "Synthetic Bacterial Cell."
Cole Dreier
Senior Secretary
Brandon Frederick
Co-Volunteer Chair
Elle Russell
Technology Chair
Adam Benton
Senior Service Chair
Amanda Supak
Co-Volunteer Chair
Calli Miller
Senior Treasurer
Sarah Eucalano
Outreach Chair
Tyler Centers
Junior Service Chair
Mark Pan
Junior Treasurer
Darcy Davis
Junior Secretary
Mendel Mayr
Officer
Sam Erickson
Chris Calvey
Senior Officers
Rest of Team
Special thanks to Dillon Wiesner, former AHA President, for his help in event planning & expense coverage.
What is AHA?
Every year, we organize the Freethought Festival, which is the largest student-run atheist conference in the country (with the possible exception of Skepticon). This is by far our largest undertaking of every year, and is one of our brightest accomplishments.
But Freethought Fest is only the tip of the iceberg.
For fiscal year 2013-2014, we have been awarded an annual budget of $69,161.10 from UW-Madison. This is the largest budget ever received by an atheistic student organization by far. This budget goes towards events, advertising, printing, and salaries, among other things. Our budget for next year will be $61,315.51.
Atheists, Humanists, and Agnostics (AHA!) is the only nonreligious student organization at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. We provide a safe place for nonreligious people while promoting the discussion of faith and religion on the UW-Madison campus. Through our services and programs AHA seeks to educate students on issues important to the secular community, and encourage the personal development of one’s religious identity.
After being founded in 2005, the organization experienced mild success until the arrival Chris Calvey in 2009, who gradually transformed the organization into arguably the most prominent nonreligious student organization in the country.
This year, two of our most notable activism stunts include our Wisconsin State Capitol Flying Spaghetti Monster and God Graveyard displays. A simple google search for the words "God Graveyard" or "Flying Spaghetti Monster Wisconsin Capitol" will yield hundreds of hits related to these displays. You can also read about the displays on our blog, found here and here.
Lastly, we put on many charitable events throughout the course of the school year. We have raised close to $4,000 for cancer research over the last two years and put on an annual blood drive, in addition to many other philanthropic campaigns.
Long story short: Join AHA! We're awesome.
Sponsored By
Hosted By
Atheists, Humanists, & Agnostics
at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Website Designed by Sam Erickson, AHA President
Funded By
