Governance Navigation

    The Board of Directors and Officers Committee are responsible for the governance of the society. Several committees and the business manager work with the board to implement their vision.

    Board of Directors

    CSSA 2024 Board of Directors
    Left to right: Jackson Burkholder, Julie Taber (Business Manager) Rod Haenni (President), Nick Diomede (Treasurer), Kyle Williams, Dave Ferguson, Vonn Watkins, Phuc Huynh, Zack Repko, Art Scarpa, John Martinez, Roxie Esterle (Secretary), Irwin Lightstone (Vice President), Ann Hopkinson, and Nick Renteria. Not shown: Kelly Griffin and Der-Shing Helmer

    2026 Board Members

    Officers

    Directors

    Rod Haenni, President
    Irwin Lightstone, Vice President
    Nick Diomede, Treasurer
    Roxie Esterle, Secretary
    Jeff Pavlat, Past President

    Jackson Burkholder
    Dave Ferguson
    Kelly Griffin
    Der-shing Helmer
    Ann Hopkinson
    Phuc Huynh
    John Martinez
    Nick Renteria
    Zack Repko
    Art Scarpa
    Vonn Watkins
    Kyle Williams

    Officers Committee

    The Officers Committee is responsible for the day-to day operations of the society and includes the President, Vice-President, Recording Secretary, Treasurer, Past-President, Business Manager, and an at-large board member or advisor chosen by Board vote during the January meeting.

    Standing Committees

    Several standing committees run various programs within the organization. The Board President and Business Manager attend all committee meetings.

    Ad Hoc and Sub Committees

    • Nominations Committee (Ad Hoc)
    • Art Committee (Sub Committee of Publishing)

    Elections

    Election Process Overview

    Directors serve four-year terms with a two term limit. Officers serve for a two year term and may run for a second term or, in the case of Secretary and Treasurer, until replaced.

    Elections are held from September 1 until November 1 each year for officers and directors whose terms have expired, but the work to find qualified directors starts long before that.

    Nominations Committee

    The search for new board members begins each January at the CSSA Board of Directors Meeting when three current directors are elected to form the Nominations Committee. Directors who are candidates for re-election, or officer positions, may not serve on the Nominations Committee. The Committee Chair is selected and the search for qualified nominees begins.

    Open Nominations

    Recommendations may come from both the Board and the broader CSSA membership.

    Affiliate Clubs are encouraged to submit names of active leaders from their local societies.

    Nominees must be current Standard, Life, or Fellow members of the CSSA.

    Nominee names submitted between March 31 and the following January Board of Directors meeting are retained for the next Nominations Committee. 

    Committee Recommendations

    Each year, four or five nominees are recommended by the committee based on their selection criteria.  This may include current office holders wishing to serve for a second term.

    The selected nominees are approved by the Board at the April meeting, after which they are required to submit a short personal statement and a photo for publication with the ballots.

    From Nomination to Election

    Nominees are officially presented to the CSSA membership at the June Annual Members Meeting. 

    Thereafter, the candidates pictures and bios are posted on the website and membership is emailed the candidates list and ballots on September 1.

    Image of a stack of past CSSA convention programs

    Nominee Selection Criteria

    The Nominations Committee carefully reviews and interviews each potential nominee. CSSA members who are active in their local clubs and demonstrate leadership, collaboration, and communication skills are especially encouraged to serve. 

    The CSSA Board of Directors is a working body and we seek Board Members who have the time and dedication to bring special knowledge and skills to the table. The committee seeks a diverse board with representation from around the country. Board Members are required to:

    • Use standard tools such as Google, Word, Excel, Email, and video-conferencing for communication and documentation
    • Attend three Board of Directors meetings per year, one of which is in-person at The Huntington in Pasadena, CA 
    • Sign and adhere to Conflict of Interest Statement and Code of Ethics  
    • Serve on two or more committees (permanent or ad hoc) that will require work outside meetings 

    NEW IN 2026 – Digital Voting

    To assist with our ongoing efforts to encourage more member participation in the election process, and to reduce paper use and eliminate the costs associated with printing and mailing ballots, the CSSA election process is now conducted digitally.

    A Ballot link will be sent to each Standard, Associate, and Life member, along with Fellows, and Affiliate Society representatives.

    Ballots will be emailed out to each member on September 1st.

    The link will also be available through the member portal.

    For more information about the voting process, click here.

    If you need assistance logging into the member portal, or wish to receive a paper ballot, please contact our office.

    Ballots must be received by November 1st to be counted.

    Recent Governance News

    Check out the latest governance news, including election announcements and general meeting posts.

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