Agnieszka Kruszewska, MNAP for the Polish national Antarctic programme, was elected to the role as Chair in 2025 and will serve a 3-year term of office. Agnieszka is Deputy Director of the Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics of the Polish Academy of Sciences, she also serves as the Director's Representative for the management of the Henryk Arctowski Polish Antarctic Station. She is Vice-Chair of the Polar Research Committee of the Polish Academy of Sciences and Vice-Chair of the Polish Polar Consortium. As an expert, she is a member of the Team for State Polar Policy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland. She holds two master degrees, one in management and the other in law, as well as a Master of Business Administration degree.

Gianluca Bianchi Fasani, MNAP for the Programma Nazionale di Ricerche in Antartide (PNRA), Italy, was elected to the role of Vice Chair in 2025. Gianluca received a Degree in Applied Geology and a Ph. D. in Earth Sciences from Sapienza University of Rome. He’s currently a Senior Researcher in the Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development– Antarctic Technical Unit (ENEA-UTA). For seven years, Gianluca has been responsible for the Logistical Service in ENEA-UTA and Expedition Leader in Mario Zucchelli Station, Concordia Station, and onboard the RV Laura Bassi. He is responsible for the logistical aspect of the European Project “Beyond EPICA Oldest Ice” and for the technical aspects of the “Gravel-runway project” in Boulder Clay, Antarctica.

Ollie Darke, MNAP from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), was elected to the role of Vice Chair in 2024. Since joining BAS in 2015, Oliver has gained broad experience delivering challenging projects across Antarctica, including the relocation of Halley VI research station. He has led the BAS buildings and engineering team and supported the early establishment of the UKs Antarctic Infrastructure Modernisation Programme (AIMP). Today, he is the BAS Director responsible for Operations & Engineering, a member of the UK Delegation to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings, a UK Antarctic Heritage Trust trustee, and Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

Özgün Oktar, MNAP for the TÜBITAK Marmara Research Center, Polar Research Institute, Türkiye, was elected to the role of Vice Chair in 2025. Since 2015, beginning of his deep engagement in polar research, he has participated in eleven Antarctic and five Arctic expeditions. Since December 2019, he has served full-time at the TÜBİTAK Polar Research Institute, where he held the position of Deputy Director from 2019 to 2024. In this capacity, he has been responsible for coordinating international collaborations and managing the logistical operations of Türkiye’s national polar expeditions. His work includes overseeing operational logistics, managing field team deployment, and facilitating bilateral and multilateral partnerships. Özgün holds a PhD and his research centers on institutional design and governance frameworks for national polar research structures.

Wendy Rubio, DMNAP for the Insituto Antartico Chileno (INACH), 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 Antarctic. She has been a member of the National Committee for Antarctic Geographical Names (CNNGA) for over fifteen years. She has served as a coordinator for the national Antarctic programs using Punta Arenas, Chile, as the gateway to Antarctica for over ten 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.

Shailendra Saini, DMNAP of the Indian National Antarctic Programme was elected as the COMNAP Vice Chair in 2024. Shailendra is the Group Director at National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), and leads the Indian Antarctic Operations. With over two decades of experience in polar research, he has been instrumental in managing the Indian Antarctic Programme for the past 15 years. Shailendra is an Indian representative at DROMLAN and COMNAP. With a PhD in Electronics, Shailendra is actively involved in the space weather and atmospheric research in the polar regions.

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

Chair: Matt Filipowski
Australian Antarctic Division (AAD), Australia

Chair: Jessie Crain
National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs, United States of America

Chair: Rebecca Hingley
Australian Antarctic Division (AAD), Australia

Chair: TBA

Chair: Rocco Ascione
Programma Nazionale di Ricerche in Antartide (PNRA), Italy