Your Chance to Embrace the Future of ID Coming Soon
You will be receiving your ballot for the IDSA/HIVMA bylaws vote next week. Please take the time to learn about what these changes mean, and how they can help improve the governance of the Society so that it better reflects our membership. Members will be asked to vote on two changes to the bylaws: moving from a Nominations Committee to a Leadership Development Committee for the identification and fostering of future Society leaders and changing the name of the Finance Committee to the Investment Committee. The latter is a change in name only. You can find answers to frequently asked questions here.
In an effort to integrate principles of diversity, inclusion and equity into everything we do at IDSA, the Board of Directors approved governance changes this past summer to ensure that every level of the Society leadership reflects the full dimensions of our ID community.
IDSA Members Speak Out on Diversity, Inclusion and Equity
As IDSA embarks on important governance changes for the Society, IDSA members discuss in a new video the importance of weaving principles of diversity, inclusion and equity into everything we do. https://vimeo.com/302921986
The new Leadership Development Committee will have a broad mission. Namely, it will identify gaps in leadership within the Society and help us recruit volunteers with unique experiences and skill sets. Working in tandem with our newly established Diversity, Inclusion and Equity Task Force, it will also help us tap into a new pool of potential leaders and volunteers with diverse competencies and backgrounds.
The Leadership Development Committee will be a diverse group consisting of about 12-15 people identified from the Society membership at large. By comparison, our current Nominations Committee consists of seven members drawn largely from current and past members of the Board of Directors. This change was outlined by our Governance Task Force as an important step toward ensuring that our governance structure is one that will foster a successful future for IDSA. Further, we believe we can better engage new generations of ID specialists, help the Society identify specific talents and competencies and help us ensure that the Society leadership reflects the face of ID.
Importantly, while we're transitioning the Nominations Committee to the Leadership Development Committee, our current election process will remain the same. Next year, we will be exploring other changes in our election process to better incorporate principles of diversity, inclusion and equity. You'll be hearing more about these opportunities in the months ahead.
Please look for your emailed ballot with the subject line “IDSA/HIVMA Bylaws Vote” and vote YES to approve these changes – for the future of ID.
Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter and support the vote using the hashtags #FacesofID and #IDBylawsVote.