Nominations for 2024 are now open through April 14.
The AIGA National Board nomination process is designed to identify, encourage, and enlist the active participation of dedicated professionals in the service of AIGA at a leadership level. The procedures outlined below assist the Nominating Committee in conducting a fair and equitable evaluation, deliberation, and recommendation process for all nominated candidates.
Nominating Committee
The nominating committee works to make sure member interests are represented, and that the National Board retains a fresh and diverse perspective. This process is an open, inclusive one; anyone who completes the nomination form is considered.
The 2024 nominating committee:
- Dawn Davidson, President/Creative Director, ABI - Alpha Business Images (chair)
- Aleksey Fedorov, Director of Global Brand Marketing, Microsoft
- Eileen Prado, Chief Financial Officer, CAP3
Nominating Committee Selection Criteria
Attributes
For the board to effectively govern, it is essential for directors to represent a variety of skills, experience, perspectives, and expertise. Considering the roles and contributions of departing and continuing board members, the incoming slate of directors should consist of individuals with Board-level leadership experience outside of AIGA who can best support three standing board committees that oversee the key functional areas of finance, audit & ethics, and corporate relations. Additionally, the board as a whole should embody the diversity that is reflective and representational of our national community.
Attributes of diversity
This category of criteria consists of general attributes that should be considered to advance the diversity of points of view and stakeholder awareness. Nominees are not required to reveal personal information about themselves. The nomination form does however provide board candidates with the opportunity to share any different points of view they feel they might bring to the board should they wish to. A representative board would reflect a diverse range of the following attributes:
- Age
- Disability Status
- Discipline (note: this is not limited to disciplines within the design profession)
- Ethnicity
- Gender
- Geographic location
- Race
- Sexual orientation
- Socio-economic background
- Workplace
Finance Committee Members
The Finance Committee of the AIGA Board supports the Board in fulfilling its responsibility to oversee AIGA’s financial strategy and performance.
We’re looking for candidates who have practical experience working in financial planning and analysis, who are comfortable using a financial lens to consider the organization’s plans and challenges, and who are excited to help AIGA’s staff and Board think through financial questions and develop options. The ideal candidate will have experience with financial transformations and also demonstrate a good understanding of the organization’s programs and community.
Audit & Ethics Committee Members
The Audit & Ethics Committee of the AIGA Board supports the Board in overseeing AIGA’s financial reporting process, the integrity of its financial statements, the organization’s accounting, internal controls and internal audit function, the qualifications of the organization’s independent auditors, the organization’s legal and regulatory compliance, and the ethics of its programs and systems.
We’re looking for candidates who are comfortable using financial, ethical, and mission-accountability lenses to assess the organization’s strategies, processes, programs, and systems. The ideal candidate is excited to help AIGA staff and the Board identify and mitigate risks, correct policies, and set new standards. The ideal candidate will also demonstrate a good understanding of the organization’s programs and community.
External Relations Committee
The Corporate Relations Committee of the AIGA Board supports the board in crafting and maintaining sustainable partnership models that align with partner’s needs, member’s needs, AIGA’s values, and which advance the mission of AIGA.
We’re looking for candidates who have experience identifying strategic partnerships, developing, and executing an annual giving program, and/or raising revenues to support strategic, mission- and community-aligned goals. The ideal candidate is excited to help AIGA’s staff and Board create and deepen relationships, expand impact, and think outside the box. The ideal candidate will also demonstrate a good understanding of the organization’s programs and community.
Other considerations
Board member participation
As leaders of a professional membership association, every member of the board is expected to participate in AIGA as an active member for the duration of their board service. Board members are strongly encouraged to join at the highest membership level that they are able, and to cover their own travel expenses and registration fees for AIGA meetings or events to the extent possible.
Representation from formal education sector
In each board cohort, the committee will aim to ensure that one member of the board is a full-time educator working design or a related field, a candidate with an expressed and principal interest in design education (pedagogy, curricula, theory, research) and demonstrated leadership in that community, or a candidate willing to be an active and accessible advocate for the Design Educators Community (DEC) Steering Committee, the DEC general membership, student group advisors, and education chairs within chapters.
Conflict of interest
We understand from time-to-time topics can arise over the course of board service that may provide the appearance of a conflict of interest. Each National Board member is expected to review and sign a Conflict of Interest statement at the start of their board service. Conflict of interest exceptions can be noted at any point during a board member’s term as board discussions arise or professional affiliations or relationships evolve or emerge. In such cases the board member must excuse themself from board discussion pertaining to any exceptions noted.
Policy on serving on national and chapter boards simultaneously
There is no reason that chapter board members should not be nominated and selected for service on the AIGA board. This is not necessarily a conflict of interest. However, every AIGA board member is expected to represent members as a whole throughout their service on the national board; and to respect both confidentiality and solidarity with board deliberations and decisions. For this reason, and to ensure that all AIGA board members can meet the expectations, norms, and ethical considerations of the board, any nominee selected to serve on the national board while still serving on a chapter board, must resign one of the positions of their choosing. AIGA board members must not compromise the ethical and principled expectations of their board position knowingly or unintentionally, as a result of conflicting responsibilities to other boards or positions.
Context
Nominating candidates to the AIGA Board is essentially succession planning. As such, each slate must be considered within the following contexts:
- Does each candidate individually meet the requisite criteria? Does the slate as a whole represent a balance of expertise, experience, and point of view that AIGA is proud to stand behind?
- How well does the slate represent the broader community, its needs, and interests?
- Does the slate result in an overall board that meets the necessary attributes to govern AIGA?
Completing the Nomination Form
Each year any individual willing to participate and to fulfill the obligations of board membership may self-nominate by completing and submitting the nomination form. The nominee need not be an AIGA member at the time of nomination, but will be expected to become a member if approved. Each nominee is expected to complete the online form so that the nominating committee may consider the credentials of all candidates individually, as well as comparatively. Read the Board Responsibilities and the Board Conflict of Interest Policy to better understand the responsibilities of elected board members.
The nomination form is designed to help the nominee prepare and present their qualifications in a consistent manner and assures that the committee has the same information on all candidates.
