AIGA DC is looking for members of the creative community who want to help guide our chapter by serving on the board!  

You can nominate yourself, or someone else until 8 PM on Friday, April 27, 2018.

AIGA DC is run by an all-volunteer board of local members. We are working designers and creative professionals who want give back to our community and have a great time.

To date, all DC board members have been solicited by nominations, often recruited after volunteering for an event or serving on a committee.

Who are we looking for?

We are soliciting nominations for up to 14 new board members. While we ask for a desired role through the application process, it’s not required to choose at this time. Please also note that ultimately the nominating committee will assign roles according to the best fit among the new members of the board. Roles we are looking to fill include:

• Executive Leadership Team
  • Operations Director & Treasurer
  • Education Director
• Membership & Community Team
  • Development Chair
• Education Team
  • Professional Development Chair
  • Mentoring Chair
• Programming Team
  • Programming Coordinator (2)
  • DC Design Week Chair
  • DotGovDesign Chair
• Strategic Initiatives Team
  • Design for Good Chair
  • Design Continuum Fund Chair
• Communications Team
  • Editor & Blog Chair
  • Communications Coordinator
  • Social Media Chair & Secretary

Board members do not need to be designers, but should have an interest in supporting the creative community. Past board members have been writers, engineers, content strategists, development or fundraising specialists, project managers and business owners.

New AIGA DC board members are trained for their roles at our mandatory local board retreat in the summer, and receive guidance throughout the year from more senior board members. Because of this, our search focuses on candidates with valuable soft skills — teamwork, communication, flexibility, patience, time management and motivation.

It’s important to our chapter that the AIGA DC board be diverse and represent the DC design community. We aim to have a board with diversity in industry, age, gender, professional experience, race, background, education, income, physical ability and more. However, nominees are not required to offer this information.

What are the commitments?

• Nominees must be (or become) AIGA DC members in good standing at the Supporting level or above. Visit AIGA.org to find out more about membership options.
• New board members commit to serve two years, and may serve more.
• Second-year responsibilities may vary, depending on the individual or open positions on the board.
• Board members are required to attend monthly board meetings.
• Board members must be ambassadors of AIGA to members and non-members.

How do you nominate yourself or someone else?

Please complete this application to nominate yourself or someone else for the board. All self-nominees are required to include a writing sample in their application. If you have any questions, please email AIGA DC’s president, Rica Rosario.

What happens after you submit your nomination?

A mandatory group interview will be held for all nominees on Tuesday, May 8th. After this interview, a nominating committee will review nominees and recommend new board members. Per our chapter bylaws, the committee will take into account the professional diversity of the membership and the need to represent the interests of the entire chapter membership. The nominating committee will comprise the current president, two or three members of the current board, one advisory board member and one member-at-large.

What are important dates in the process?

• Nomination period closes: Friday, April 27, 2018, at 8 PM
• RSVP to mandatory nominee interview: by Monday, May 7, 2018
• Mandatory group interview: Tuesday, May 8, 2018, from 6:30 – 8:30 PM
• Mandatory new board member information session: late June 2018, at 6:30 PM
• Mandatory local board retreat: mid-July 2017 (during the day only, details forthcoming)

Why should someone join the AIGA DC Board of Directors?

There are a number of benefits of becoming a board member. Here are a few to think about:

• Opportunities for leadership in producing events
• Learning new skills like event planning and public speaking
• Managing teams outside of work
• Complimentary registration to AIGA DC events
• Making connections in the larger creative community in DC
• Access to the local, regional and national design network
• Shaping the current state and future of design
• Giving back to the design profession
• Paying it forward to emerging and future creative practitioners
• Enjoying the camaraderie among the board members