The Society for News Design seeks candidates interested in applying for open roles on its newly restructured board of directors.
Following a recent motion and membership-wide vote, the Society is shifting its leadership model to a new format that includes five (5) board members at large, serving 2-year terms each. The new board will elect a presiding officer from their ranks that will serve a 2-year term. For the sake of this first election cycle two (2) board members will serve 1-year terms; 3 board members will serve 2-year terms. Going forward, every year half of that board of directors would be up for re-election and potential new candidates would be welcomed to apply and run for the board.
This new format — essentially a cooperative board — replaces the historic tiered officer model that has been in place for many generations of Society leadership.
- The new concept allows those interested in getting involved to jump in faster and have an impact sooner without having to weigh as long of a time commitment. The old model served the Society well for a long time, when it had more active programs and a much larger constituency (both in raw numbers and geographic spread) and better reflected the industry.
- The new concept seeks to be more nimble and focused on serving membership best as it refocuses and pivots to serve key interests.
It will be at the guidance and determination of the new Board of Directors how they will approach management and jurisdiction of continuing and new business.
Key topics:
As you consider your interest and potential impact on the new board, there are many programs already in progress that the new Board of Directors would need to assess and prioritize:
- Continue to streamline business operations: Consider hiring of a permanent Executive Director; engage a bookkeeper to run Society finances
- Evolve the annual competition: Format and strategy of Best of Design Competition for 2022 and beyond
- Plot a course for reporting/celebrating/highlighting/archiving annual results. Determine strategy for annual awards book for beyond the 42nd edition; explore potential alternative formats.
- Shape and schedule calendar of events: Monthly virtuals and potential for the next in-person workshop.
- Grow membership: Continuing to audit and bolster Membership value proposition
- Education, outreach, connecting with partner organizations
- Curate rules and regulations: Full review and update to adjust Society bylaws to reflect new organizational approach, and leadership roles and definitions.
Timing:
July 12: Call for Board of Director applications. Candidates for this office must be currently active members; preferably with a history of volunteerism to the Society and/or the industry.
July 31: Candidate applications due.
Week of Aug 2: Introductions to SND membership. Bios and position statements published on snd.org in advance of the session.
Week of Aug 16: Scheduled full membership session with all candidates. Each will be invited to give a 5 minute presentation on their merits and vision for the Society, then join in a moderated panel discussion and Q-A with members.
Sept 1-14: Election open.
September: New board convenes; overlaps with the current Leadership Council, who would be available for transition planning, support and guidance for a defined period of time.
Apply
To apply for the SND Board of Directors, you can complete the embedded for below, or use the link to complete in Google forms. Upon competition of this form, please submit a headshot, short bio and a statement to the SND members about your vision for SND in the future to snd@snd.org by July 31. Your headshot, bio and statement will be posted on the SND website for our members in advance of the election.