Results of the 2011 NAFSA National Election

Dear Colleagues,

The 2011 NAFSA national elections took place September 1-30, 2011. Before announcing the election results that emerged from this year's impressive and qualified slate of candidates, we would like to share some information about the process.

When the association's bylaws were modified in September 2008, the responsibility to cultivate and select national leaders became shared between the Governance Committee and the Leadership Development Committee (LDC). The selection processes for both committees are complementary to one another and strive for a flexible, focused, and engaged leadership group with the ability to guide a dynamic association toward its greater strategic goals and to strengthen both the association and its members.

The NAFSA bylaws charge the Governance Committee with selecting candidates to serve on the board, and charge the Leadership Development Committee with vetting candidates to serve in all other national membership-elected positions. While the process is guided by two committees tasked with identifying and selecting candidates based upon different criteria, the process for both is objective, thorough, strategic, and collaborative.

NAFSA’s Governance Committee uses a matrix of skills, expertise, and demographic information to help inform the committee about the qualities, skills, and experiences needed to support the board’s strategic work and ensure diversity of board composition. The Governance Committee then engages in a series of interviews with current board members and prospective candidates and arrives at a slate of individuals that can effectively support and lead NAFSA’s future strategic directions. This year, the Governance Committee also had to identify a candidate for vice-president, education and professional development, to serve a three-year term beginning in 2012.

NAFSA's Leadership Development Committee actively engaged leaders across all NAFSA's national committees and knowledge communities to solicit their input into the leader nomination and selection process. The process involved constant communication between regions, knowledge communities, member-leaders, and staff. After interviewing the candidates at the 2011 annual conference, the LDC is proud of the slate of member-leader candidates participating in this year's election process.

To ensure the credibility and neutrality of the election process, NAFSA uses the services of a third-party vendor to execute the election and tabulate the results.

We thank you for all your support in this process!

Bonnie Bissonette, Secretary and Chair, Governance Committee
Bob Ericksen, Chair, Leadership Development Committee

National Leaders elected for the term beginning January 1, 2012.

Vice President for Education and Professional Development:

• Deborah L. Pierce, PhD , Associate Provost, International Programs, Northern Illinois University

Board of Directors member-at-large:

• Fanta Aw, PhD , Assistant Vice President of Campus Life and Director of International Student and Scholar Services, American University
• Cynthia Banks , Executive Director, GlobaLinks Learning Abroad
• Jolene Koester, PhD , President, California State University-Northridge
• Mary H. Reeves, PhD , Senior Accreditation Consultant for the Commission on English Language Program Accreditation
• Yenbo Wu, PhD , Associate Vice President, San Francisco State University

Chair-elect, Leadership Development Committee:

• Heidi Gregori–Gahan , Director, International Programs & Services, University of Southern Indiana

Chair-elect, Education Abroad Knowledge Community:

• Brad Sekulich , Director of Education Abroad, University of North Carolina-Charlotte

Chair-elect, International Education Leadership Knowledge Community:

• Jim Hammerschmidt , Director, Office of International Services, University of Illinois-Chicago

Chair-elect, Knowledge Community for International Student and Scholar Services:

• James Dorsett , Director, International Students and Scholars Office, Iowa State University

Chair-elect, Recruitment, Admissions, and Preparation Knowledge Community:

• Andy Nicol , Business Development Director-Asia Pacific, Hobsons Inc

Chair-elect, Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship Knowledge Community:

• Louis Berends, PhD , University Relations Manager, SIT Study Abroad, a program of World Learning