Immediate Opening for WILPF US Section Representative on the International Board!
Published on May, 15 2014The WILPF US Section urgently needs a replacement representative to the International Board. We regret to start this announcement with the news that Catia Cecilia Confortini, has resigned as our International Board (IB) Representative (Rep).
Catia has served both International and the US Section with intelligence and grace since the last International Congress in 2011, but citing her other duties, she is Assistant Professor of Peace and Justice Studies at Wellesley College and has a young child, she announced her resignation from her position in April.
Ordinarily the IB Rep serves from one International Congress until the next one, but the US Section board must appoint a replacement to finish Catia’s term. This is especially important as International WILPF is making plans for the Centennial celebrations which will accompany the 2015 International Congress, and is considering sweeping changes to our international structure and relationship of sections to International.
The IB Rep is a demanding volunteer position. If you are considering applying, you should be prepared to attend (as an observer) all of the four upcoming International Board conference calls. The schedule is:
May 13/14: 9 pm PDT / midnight EDT
May 20/21: 9 pm PDT / midnight EDT
May 28: 2 am PDT / 5 am EDT
June 4: 2 am PDT / 5 am EDT
Matters which will arise during these calls will be voted on soon after the last call, so it is important that if the US section at least has a voice in the decision, our representative be appointed before then.
- This position will continue until April 22-25, 2015, when a new International Board is seated at the International Congress. (You are not disqualified from applying for that position when the application period is announced.)
- The IB Rep is an ex officio member of the WILPF-US Section Board and must attend all board meetings.
- She also attends all meetings of the International Board (some of which are held in person, so a passport will be necessary). She also must attend the International Congress meetings.
- She also serves on the WILPF-US Section Finance Committee and on the International Standing Finance Committee.
- She must have been, at a minimum, a member of WILPF in good standing for at least the last two years.
- Her position involves reporting on US Section activities to International, and reporting to the WILPF-US Board on International campaigns and other activities and decisions.
If you are considering applying for this job, please contact Ellen Schwartz (ellen@nicetechnology.com 916-835-4330) for information on how to join the upcoming International Board conference calls, which are open to all WILPF US members.
Letters of Recommendation: All applicants for WILPF US Section board members, including the IB Rep, need to have at least two letters of recommendation from other WILPF members in good standing. They need not be fancy but they need to be sent prior to the application cut-off of May 17 (see below by the application form for specific time deadlines). Ideally the letters will come from members of a candidate’s branch or issue committee. They should be sent to the same address as the application of the candidate.
Please direct any questions about this position and your or any other possible candidacies to the Chair of the US board Nominating Committee, Barbara Nielsen (bln.sf.ca@gmail.com 415-430-5873) as soon as possible. Applications must be submitted to the Nominating Committee via email to bln.sf.ca@gmail.com by Saturday, May 17 (see specific time and the application form below). This “term-finishing” Representative and an Alternate will be selected by the WILPF-US Section Board at the scheduled meeting in late May.
