Get to Know AAS

Rachael Frush Holt, AAS President   Posted: March 13, 2025

As we start to curate content and discussions in our Mentoring Community, we thought it might be fun to start a Get to Know AAS Series. To kick off our series, AAS Student and Mentoring Committee Chair, Tina Grieco-Calub, had a short Q&A with our President of AAS, Rachael Frush Holt. Thank you, Rachael, for sharing with us!!

How long have you been affiliated with AAS?
Dr. Frush Holt: I have been attending the AAS meeting for over 20 years. I started coming as a doctoral student and presented my first podium presentation as a post-doc in 2005.

What is one of your favorite things about AAS?
Dr. Frush Holt: I have two equally favorite things. They are that the scientific content of the AAS meeting is always high quality such that I learn something new from all the talks and posters, and that the people who attend our conference and are members of our society are some of the most collaborative and welcoming scientists, clinicians, and professionals in our field. Together, these two things make AAS my favorite society in which to be involved.      

If you could give one piece of advice to a student entering the field of auditory science, what would it be?
Dr. Frush Holt: Find a team of people who can mentor you from diverse perspectives. No one person can provide all the mentoring that one individual needs; assembling a team that can support you in different ways is important for your success. These people don’t need to be, nor should they all be, academics. You are a multidimensional person and your mentoring team should reflect that.    

If you could give one piece of advice to someone starting out in their career (auditory science or not), what would it be?
Dr. Frush Holt: In addition to assembling a mentoring team as discussed above (everyone needs mentors), my advice for early career folks is really basic and practical: create a writing group. This can take multiple forms, but the part that I think is most critical is that it has an accountability component – group members who you tell your writing goals to and who you must fess up to every week or every other week as to whether you met those goals or not. I have a writing partner (we used to be a group, but it’s just down to the two of us) that I have shared my writing goals, achievements, and failures with for almost 20 years. It has been one of the best ways to keep me honest and on-track with writing when other work responsibilities and life gets in the way…..because they both will and your writing group can help keep you honest and support you.  

What is one fun fact about you that we might not know?
Dr. Frush Holt: As a child and teen, I was a competitive gymnast and played in the International Floor Hockey Tournament twice as a defenseperson. I’m guessing you didn’t even know there was an international floor hockey tournament! It’s held annually in Battle Creek, MI.  

Any other things you would like to share? 
Dr. Frush Holt: No, because I’m an introvert!!

Darla Eastlack, AAS Executive Director   Posted: April 8, 2025

Although the name, Darla Eastlack, is likely very familiar to you, we had an opportunity to learn more about the amazing Executive Director of AAS.

How long have you been affiliated with AAS?
Darla Eastlack: I’ve been affiliated with AAS for 12 years. Drs. Harvey Abrams, Carmen Brewer, Linda Hood, Anil Lalwani, and Beth Prieve were members of a management search task force that hired me as Executive Director in 2013.

What is one of your favorite things about AAS?
Darla Eastlack: My favorite thing about AAS is the people. Our membership and conference attendees have such a great sense of camaraderie! Witnessing the collaboration and support is inspiring, and I love meeting new attendees and catching up with regulars at our conferences.

If you could give one piece of advice to someone starting out in their career (auditory science or not), what would it be?
Darla Eastlack: Embrace continuous learning and adaptation. Changes and challenges are going to arise…view those instances as an opportunity for learning and development.

What is one fun fact about you that we might not know?
Darla Eastlack: I was born and raised in the Garden State and I'm a farm girl at heart. My family sold Christmas trees from our historic farmhouse…former colleagues were always surprised to see me driving a John Deere and using a chainsaw to cut trees. My focus has moved to gardening, and I’ve become quite the pumpkin farmer!