MEMORANDUM

Association Governance Update

In May 2023, ATSA’s Board of Directors set five prioritized goals for the following 12 months to lay a strong organizational foundation headed into the development of a strategic plan in Spring 2024.  The goals focused on membership, chapter support, financial stability, messaging and marketing, as well as moving the organization to nonprofit best practice in governance models.

As the Board of Directors began to review variance governance structures and options, it became clear that ATSA’s model was no longer serving the organization in the most efficient manner.  As a result, the Board of Directors recently voted to make the following changes to the bylaws:

• Decouple Committee Chairs from Directors’ seats.  Committee Chairs will be selected by Committee members and approved by ATSA’s President.
  
  
• Annually, a Nominating Committee will be formed at the direction of ATSA’s President to consist of the following positions: a Past ATSA President, members of ATSA having competence in each of the following areas: Research, Public Policy, Prevention; three board members selected by the President, and the Executive Director or their designee.  The Nominating Committee will review open positions annually and develop a call for nominations based on needed skill sets on the Board of Directors.  The membership will have 30 days to submit nominations to the Committee for review.  The Committee will vet potential candidates and recommend a slate of candidates to the Board of Directors for review and approval.
  
  
• Candidates for the Executive Committee, which is comprised of the following officers: President, Incoming or Immediate Past President, Treasurer, and Secretary, will be elected by the Board of Directors from the current members of the Board of Directors.  Eligible Board members must have served at least one full year on the Board of Directors.  Nominations for officers can be self-submitted or submitted by other members of the Board.  Officers will be elected by a majority vote of the Board, excluding the nominees.
  
  
• To ensure the Board is aligned with the wishes of the membership, incoming Directors and Officers will be ratified annually by the membership at the Annual Meeting of the Membership which occurs virtually each fall.

The Board of Directors has been very thoughtful in ensuring the membership is represented and has developed a skill matrix to ensure that as many areas are covered by the expertise and background of board members, which will also enable the Nominating Committee to develop a specific call for nominations annually. The Nominating Committee members will be named by June 1, 2024, with nominations opening shortly after.

As Committees are working through the process of selecting new chairs, we look forward to sharing the newly identified ATSA leaders with you.  ATSA Staff will play a critical role communicating Committee work to the Board to ensure it aligns with their strategic vision.

The Board of Directors is excited to implement these governance modifications which will free up time and resources for them to focus on developing and implementing a new strategic plan this May!

*ATSA Bylaws can be accessed under the Resources tab in the members only section.