Is the UPA Board a Good Fit for You? You Now Have an Opportunity to Contribute to UPA’s Success.

By Eva de Lera (President, UPA Spain), Peter Picone (UPA Boston, UPA Director for Student and Young Professionals), and Whitney Quesenbery (UsabilityNJ, UPA Web Director), who are the 2006 Elections Committee. They can be contacted at elections2006@usabilityprofessionals.org.

Serving in the UPA Board of Directors can be fun and challenging, open new doors and also put your skills and abilities to use to help build the UPA of the future. If you have been a UPA member for longer than two years and also have previous experience volunteering in UPA (or other similar associations), then you’re just two steps away from becoming a candidate for the 2007-2009 UPA Board!

Your UPA Board requires directors with enthusiasm and dedication. The UPA Board needs YOU!

Step #1: Assess Your Capacity
Serving in the UPA Board can be a great way to interact with other professionals, learn, promote yourself, your business, etc., but it is not an easy task. It requires time, commitment and dedication:

• A board term is three years.
• The average time dedicated to the Board is approximately 20 hours per month.
• Directors must participate in meetings, most of them held via conference calls with a couple of in-person meetings per year.
• Directors must be present at the UPA Annual Conference.

Step #2: Contact Us
The current UPA Board wants to hear from members who are interested in running or who would like to nominate someone for a position on the Board. Those interested should contact the Elections Committee at elections2006@usabilityprofessionals.org.

Open Positions
The UPA Board has four positions open this year:

1. Director of Chapters
2. Director of Membership & Sponsors
3. Web Director
4. Director of Publications

Interested candidates will be able to discuss any questions with a member of the Elections Committee before committing to being on the ballot.

The deadline for nominations is September 1, 2006. Once the slate of candidates is approved, the election will be held during October and November, with ballots going out to all UPA members by post. Ballots must be returned by November 20. The new board members take their seats on January 1, 2007.

About the Board
The Board is responsible for the overall management of the organization with the help of Solutions for Associations, our professional management company. The Board determines the organization's mission and purpose, selects the officers, provides proper financial oversight, ensures legal and ethical integrity, maintains accountability, and enhances the organization's public standing. Besides these general responsibilities, individual Board members manage a specific area of UPA activities, such as professional development, membership and sponsors, chapters, international, publications or outreach.

For more information please contact Whitney Quesenbery, Peter Picone or Eva de Lera from the Elections Committee 2006 at elections2006@usabilityprofessionals.org.