Announcing 2019 Executive Council Elections

The Executive Council (EC), which provides governance for The Carpentries, is pleased to announce the election process for 2019. If you would like more information on the roles and structure of the EC, please see this blog post. These elections are for two community-elected seats, which are selected by all voting members of The Carpentries community. You must be a voting member of The Carpentries to self-nominate yourself for a community-elected position. The Executive Council is also looking for recommendations to three Council-elected seats. Anyone may recommend someone, independent of whether or not that person is a a voting member of The Carpentries.

What expertise do we need on the Executive Council?

The Carpentries Executive Council should represent a diversity of experience and viewpoints from across our global community. Some of the skills/assets which would be most useful to the EC during this stage of our organisation’s growth include:

• Membership in or previous experience working with diverse communities
• Experience with non-profit finances and fundraising, especially with regards to sustainability
• Familiarity with non-profit and open source governance
• Expertise in educational pedagogy

How to self-nominate for a community-elected position

In order to stand for election, first make sure you are a voting member of the Carpentries (see below). Then, write a blog post that introduces yourself to the community and submit your nomination blog post as described in The Carpentries Handbook. The post:

• must be about 500 words and can be written in any format (question and answer, paragraph etc.)
• must be titled “2019 Election: Your Name”
• must be submitted by Monday, November 26, 2018
• should explain your previous involvement with The Carpentries
• should explain what you would do as a member of the Executive Council to contribute to the growth and success of the community

You can view examples of nomination posts in this list from last year’s candidates. Candidates will be given the opportunity to share their thoughts with our community, including ideas for continued involvement, at our online community calls in late November. The schedule for these calls will be announced separately.

How to nominate someone for an Executive Council-elected position

Use the nomination form to nominate someone for an Council-elected position. Nominees for Council-elected members do not need to be voting members of The Carpentries. The EC will contact candidates nominated for board-elected positions to ensure they are prepared to serve if elected. The Executive Council will vote on council-elected members after the results of the community election are available, and may consider non-community-elected nominees for these positions.

Are you a voting member?

Only voting members of The Carpentries can vote in the election and self-nominate for community-elected positions. To be a voting member, you must meet one of the following conditions:

• Every individual who has completed instructor or trainer certification in the past year
• Every individual who has completed their instructor certification in the last two years and has taught at least one workshop of The Carpentries
• Every individual who is a certified instructor and has taught at least two workshops of The Carpentries in the past two years;
• Any individual who has participated on a committee, served as a mentor or maintainer, or otherwise made a significant contribution to any Lesson Program or The Carpentries organization in the past year is also considered active in the community and is welcome to apply for Voting Membership.

If you’re not sure if you’re a member, log in to AMY and see if records show that you have taught in the last two years. If you need records updated or have any questions, please email team@carpentries.org. If you have taught workshops that aren’t registered, please include a link to those workshops. We’ll also be sending out an email to each instructor with their status.

Timeline for 2019 Executive Council elections

• Mid-October: nominations for community-elected and recommendations for council-elected positions open
• November 26, 2018: nominations and recommendations close
• November 27-29: EC hosts community calls to answer questions and for community-elected candidates to meet with community
• December 3-7: community votes on community-elected candidates
• Mid-December: EC votes on council-elected candidates and announces 2019 Executive Council