Overview of changes
The current structure for the AWRA-WI Board of Directors typically relies on multi-year commitments from board members who serve in several different positions throughout that time period. While this structure has benefited the organization with retaining institutional knowledge, it can be burdensome on fewer volunteers and may limit who volunteers for the Board. We are proposing moving to a “flatter” Board structure, with more general board directors that have unique themes that can be updated as the organization evolves. We hope the shorter time commitments and the ability to volunteer for focused roles make it easier for AWRA members to volunteer and serve. And bringing more voices to the Board means we’ll hear more perspectives on how to better serve Wisconsin’s water resource professionals. To implement this change, we need a vote from the entire membership to update the By-Laws.
Why we're changing
The AWRA Board of Directors has traditionally been a ladder. There has been a typical path where volunteers often join the Board as a Director-at-Large for two years, and then proceed to run for Vice-President, President-Elect, President, and then Past-President. And each of these roles has a different duty, so Board members have to learn new responsibilities each year. This six-year cycle provides a lot of continuity, and by the time a Board member reaches the role of President, they have a good understanding of each of these roles.
The downside to this ladder approach is that a six-year commitment is a steep ask for volunteers who already have other day jobs, plus they’re having to learn new roles and responsibilities each year. For instance, one year a volunteer is coordinating student judging, and the next year they’re arranging session moderators, and then the next they are recruiting plenary speakers. While this gives everyone some experience at all the different responsibilities needed to run AWRA-WI, there is little opportunity to use the lessons learned from your current position because you’ll be doing a new job next year.
The expected six-year time commitment is a long one, and learning new roles each year is time-consuming. These are barriers to entry and they may limit who chooses to volunteer and serve on the Board, which in turn limits the number and variety of voices on the Board.
The downside to this ladder approach is that a six-year commitment is a steep ask for volunteers who already have other day jobs, plus they’re having to learn new roles and responsibilities each year. For instance, one year a volunteer is coordinating student judging, and the next year they’re arranging session moderators, and then the next they are recruiting plenary speakers. While this gives everyone some experience at all the different responsibilities needed to run AWRA-WI, there is little opportunity to use the lessons learned from your current position because you’ll be doing a new job next year.
The expected six-year time commitment is a long one, and learning new roles each year is time-consuming. These are barriers to entry and they may limit who chooses to volunteer and serve on the Board, which in turn limits the number and variety of voices on the Board.
What we’re changing to
We propose a “flat” board structure, where there will be four General Board Directors serving two-year terms that are staggered in odd and even years. Each of these General Board Directors positions will have a specific theme – the exact role and responsibilities will be defined by the sitting President and Vice-President, but we expect the roles will repeat once we’ve experimented a few times. So one General Board Director could be responsible for student involvement, including such tasks as coordinating with student chapters, recruiting judges for student presentations, and working with students at the icebreaker event and student luncheon. Another General Board Director could be responsible for local arrangements – working with venues to sort out contract details and costs, setting up hotel blocks, etc.
The exact roles and responsibilities for each General Board Director will be announced prior to the conference, and AWRA members can choose to run for a specific themed General Board Director position that they are interested in.
The Secretary and Treasurer positions will remain the same with two-year terms that are staggered. The President and Vice-President role will both be one-year terms, and the Vice-President will assume the role of President at the end of the VP’s term (so a two-year progression from VP to President). This eliminates the President-Elect position, and the Past President position becomes a non-voting President Emeritus position. This allows the board to maintain the same total Board size (eight total voting members) and gives the benefit of access to the Past President’s knowledge.
We also want to update the position prerequisites and term-limits for positions. Running for Vice-President requires serving at least one term elsewhere on the Board, so that the VP and President would have some experience with the Board before leading the organization. All other positions would require not prior experience and be open to any first-time volunteer. To encourage turnover, we want to introduce term-limits: volunteers can serve 2 consecutive terms. Both the term-limits and the prerequisites can be waived by a majority vote of the Board to encourage continuity or fresh voices on the Board, depending on what is needed at the time.
The exact roles and responsibilities for each General Board Director will be announced prior to the conference, and AWRA members can choose to run for a specific themed General Board Director position that they are interested in.
The Secretary and Treasurer positions will remain the same with two-year terms that are staggered. The President and Vice-President role will both be one-year terms, and the Vice-President will assume the role of President at the end of the VP’s term (so a two-year progression from VP to President). This eliminates the President-Elect position, and the Past President position becomes a non-voting President Emeritus position. This allows the board to maintain the same total Board size (eight total voting members) and gives the benefit of access to the Past President’s knowledge.
We also want to update the position prerequisites and term-limits for positions. Running for Vice-President requires serving at least one term elsewhere on the Board, so that the VP and President would have some experience with the Board before leading the organization. All other positions would require not prior experience and be open to any first-time volunteer. To encourage turnover, we want to introduce term-limits: volunteers can serve 2 consecutive terms. Both the term-limits and the prerequisites can be waived by a majority vote of the Board to encourage continuity or fresh voices on the Board, depending on what is needed at the time.
The details of how this change is implemented
Because the current Board structure is established in By-Laws, the By-Laws have to be rewritten, and then the new By-Laws have to be voted on by the entire membership.
The newly revised and proposed By-Laws are available here. As a comparison, a “changes tracked” version is available here if you’d like to see how specific wording has changed.
While we are changing the By-Laws, we also want to make other minor modifications to the text to better align with our current organization mission and operations. These include things like adding “welcoming and inclusive” when describing the organization and updating voting method to not require mail-in ballots. You can see all the changes proposed in the “changes tracked” document.
At the Conference on April 25th, we will vote on all the proposed By-Law changes. Note that this vote will be on all proposed changes in a single vote, not a vote on each individual wording change.
The newly revised and proposed By-Laws are available here. As a comparison, a “changes tracked” version is available here if you’d like to see how specific wording has changed.
While we are changing the By-Laws, we also want to make other minor modifications to the text to better align with our current organization mission and operations. These include things like adding “welcoming and inclusive” when describing the organization and updating voting method to not require mail-in ballots. You can see all the changes proposed in the “changes tracked” document.
At the Conference on April 25th, we will vote on all the proposed By-Law changes. Note that this vote will be on all proposed changes in a single vote, not a vote on each individual wording change.
How this change would go into effect
If the vote passes at the 2024 conference, the changes to the Board structure will go into effect at the 2025 conference. Because the new structure has staggered two-year positions, the first year will be a transition.
Positions that are not on the ballot in 2025 include the 2024 President (who will become President Emeritus), President Elect (who will become President), Secretary (who will continue into the second year of that term), and one of the Directors-at-Large (who will continue into the second term as a General Board Director.
Two of the General Board Director positions will start with a regular two-year term. The final General Board Director position will have an initial one-year term, and which will then switch to a regular two-year term starting in 2026.
Positions that are not on the ballot in 2025 include the 2024 President (who will become President Emeritus), President Elect (who will become President), Secretary (who will continue into the second year of that term), and one of the Directors-at-Large (who will continue into the second term as a General Board Director.
Two of the General Board Director positions will start with a regular two-year term. The final General Board Director position will have an initial one-year term, and which will then switch to a regular two-year term starting in 2026.