AAFCS turns the spotlight on individuals, their experiences, and how they have benefited from AAFCS membership. It offers an opportunity for you to share your story with your colleagues and the greater FCS community.
Isn't it your turn to grab the spotlight? Download a submission form here!
Gus Vouchilas, Ed.D.
San Francisco, California
We head to sunny California for our first spotlight of 2010! Gus Vouchilas has been teaching interior design for 15 years. A presenter at the Centennial Annual Conference in Knoxville last year, his design interests include sustainable and universal design, space planning, and human perceptions related to the design of the built environment. We’re proud to recognize him this month -- he’s an inspiration for the second century of AAFCS!
Why did you join AAFCS? As an assistant professor of interior design in the Consumer & Family Studies/Dietetics department at San Francisco State University, I appreciate the overarching concepts found in the integration of the various disciplines that make up family and consumer sciences. I chose to become a member of AAFCS as I believe the opportunity for professional development is enhanced through vital research and communication which are practiced and disseminated through various AAFCS channels. As such, there is an impact on the overall body of knowledge that makes up these disciplines and a strengthening of the sciences in general.
How has membership in AAFCS been of value to you and your practice? Membership has offered me a foundation through which to seek current industry information, to engage in discourse, to create collegial relationships, and through which to reach professionals and academics through publication and research presentation. The community at large is a dynamic and crucial component of engaging in and understanding policy, practice, and scholarship as they relate to family and consumer sciences.
How would you complete the following sentence:
AAFCS is …a leader in bringing together disciplines which seek to enhance the overall health and well being of individuals, families, and communities.
Please explain your answer: AAFCS takes pride in what they do. The need to bring the disciplines together to look deeply into societal issues which have an impact on life in general is at the forefront of the organization’s mission and goals. The family and consumer sciences are crucial to the development of society in an ever-changing and global community.
Why did you choose the field of family and consumer sciences? Family and consumer sciences offers so much to so many. It is a field which is seated at the heart of the quality of life; something which touches each and every one of us. It is the melding of research, ideas, concepts, and policies which seek to enhance life as we know it, and to build upon a well-rooted foundation. Personally, it pulls at the strings which give me the strength, confidence, and knowledge to know that what we do has an impact on so many.
Recent accomplishments:
- Published an article on sustainable design practices and consumer behavior of a sample of university students with a colleague in the Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences (November/Fall, 2008).
- Presented a new concept of a work in progress with a colleague at the AAFCS Annual Conference & Expo in 2009 and continues to seek out channels for engaging in sustainable design practices.
- Volunteer for the Dining by Design event in San Francisco sponsored by DIFFA since 2005.
Contact Gus at 415.350.6344 or by email at gusv@sfsu.edu.
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