These are my people: Reflections on 30 years of ACES
Jul 8, 2026
By Mark Allen, President, ACES Board of Directors
ACES had been around for nine years when I first attended a national conference, in Cleveland. What I knew right away (and this has been said many times before) was that these are my people: people who care about the written word, people who care about getting it right for their readers, people who care about their craft and care about how their colleagues are contributing to the common goal of clarity.Â
What strikes me as we approach our 30th year is how much we have grown in terms of the breadth and diversity of our membership, training, voice, and resources while still maintaining that sense that we all belong to a community. We share a common language, common goals, common outlook.Â
ACES has always been focused on cultivating a sense of belonging for its members. I feel very confident following Heather E. Saunders into the presidency because I know our members share that understanding and common sense of purpose. I have trust and admiration for Executive Director Gigi Sutton, her staff, the 13-member ACES board, and the dozens of volunteers on committees and task forces who help ACES maintain a special relationship with each member. And I know I am among my people — a diverse group of thousands of professionals, any one of whom I could sit down with for a coffee and feel I am chatting with a friend.Â
Our 30th anniversary offers a great chance to look to our legacy to inform our future. My second conference was in 2009 in Minneapolis. Since then, ACES has continually been an important part of my professional life. After the Minneapolis conference, ACES expanded beyond newspapers — as did I — embracing the idea that all editors are fighting a good fight for clarity and truth in communication.Â
As we look ahead with some trepidation about perceptions of the relevancy of editing, we do so knowing there are thousands of us who get it, who have our backs. If I have one goal for the next two years, it’s to elevate the field in the public’s eye. I’m confident we can all accomplish that together.Â
