ISPA will hold three elections in 2021. The President-Elect, Treasurer and Secretary positions will be open, as current office holders complete their terms:

  • Vitor Coelho – President– Portugal (2019-2021; EC term ends 2023)
  • Sissy Hatzichristou – President–elect – Greece (2019-2021; EC term ends 2025)
  • Bonnie Nastasi – Past-President – USA (2019-2021; EC term ends 2021)
  • Odeth Bloemberg- Secretary-Netherlands (2018-2021) (first term)
  • Terry Bowles – Treasurer – Australia (2018-2021) (first term)

The following descriptions of positions and responsibilities are taken from the ISPA (2011) Constitution and Bylaws, and (2012) Operations Handbook. (These can be found on the ISPA website: https://ispaweb.org/).

All officers shall be members of the Association. Except for the President’s office, in the event an officer’s position becomes vacant during the term of office, the remaining Executive Committee shall appoint an acting officer to fill that vacancy until the election of a new officer at the first following formal election.

Officers of the Association may serve a maximum of six consecutive years in one or more elected offices. They may be nominated and stand for office again after not serving as an officer for three or more years.

The elected officers will meet yearly for an Executive Committee meeting at the annual Conference. Their expenses to travel to the conference are covered by ISPA. These meetings are consistently held in the month of July. There will be an expectation of regular e-mail interaction, participation in Zoom calls that are arranged by the President, and other matters that arise. All meetings as well as written and verbal communications are in English.

President-Elect
The position requires a six-year commitment, in this case from July 2021- July 2027: two years each as President-Elect, President, and Past-President (descriptions follow). Expenses incurred for ISPA-related work are covered by the Association.

The President-Elect shall serve a two-year term of office and shall serve as the President of the Association should the President be unable or unwilling to function  and shall assume the office of the President at the end of the President’s term.

The President shall serve a two-year term of office, shall be responsible for and conduct the business of the Association in coordination with the Executive Secretary and the Central Office, shall represent the Association at all formal functions or designate someone to represent the Association, and shall chair the Executive Committee.

The Past President shall serve a two-year term of office and shall serve as the President of the Association should the President and the President-Elect be unable or unwilling to function. The Past President shall chair the Constitution and Bylaws Committee and the Nominations and Elections Committee.

Treasurer
The Treasurer shall serve a three-year term of office on the EC, in this case, 2021-2024. He/she can run for re-election one time. The treasurer is responsible for the receipt and disbursement of funds as authorized by the Executive Committee, preparation of the annual budget, assisting with an ISPA financial audit, assisting with financial matters of ISPA, and maintaining regular communication with the Central Office and EC.

Secretary
The Secretary shall serve a three-year term of office on the EC, in this case, 2021-2024. He/she can run for re-election one time. Secretary will be responsible for recording and distributing the minutes of the Executive Committee and General Assembly meetings, officially announcing all meetings of the Association, and assisting the President in developing an agenda for each meeting;  writing articles of ISPA business for the World Go Round; assisting the Central Office in posting materials on the website and monitoring website updates; keeping a calendar for ISPA business; and for preparing all ISPA’s official correspondences.

Eligibility and Procedure
Any current ISPA member in good standing is eligible for office. A current member may nominate any other current member. (Please check with them before you nominate them.) Self-nominations are also welcome.

Students are not eligible to vote or hold office. (Bylaws, I.3)

Officers of the Association may serve a maximum of six consecutive years in one or more elected offices. They may be nominated and stand for office again after not serving as an officer for three or more years (Bylaws,III.2).

Elections
Elections shall be carried out by an ‘online’ ballot of members with an email address and by postal ballot for those without an email address. The Executive Secretary, under the supervision of the Nominations and Elections Committee, shall be responsible for preparing the ballot, sending it to members, and counting the ballots. The Nominations and Elections Committee shall notify members of the result through World Go Round after first informing the candidates personally of the results.

Nominations
The nominations for these separate offices must be received before November 15, 2020. Candidates will then be asked to complete a brief biography and statement of intent for the specific office. Any current ISPA member is eligible for office and a current member may nominate any other current member. (Please check with the person before you nominate him/her.) Self-nominations are also welcome. Statements of each candidate will be published in the World-Go-Round and posted on the ISPA website. All officers are expected to be current members of ISPA.

Please send your nomination by November 15, 2020 to the ISPA Central Office at the following:
email address: ispacentraloffice@ispaweb.org
Subject line: Nomination for 2021 President-elect/Secretary/Treasurer.

We will then follow-up to obtain a written candidate statement for each of the nominees, as the candidate statements are included in the World-Go-Round. Electronic ballots for the Election will be sent in January 2021, as indicated in the ISPA By-Laws.