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Nomination and Election Process for UUSJ Board Trustees for FY2022-23

UUSJ is searching for up to five candidates to join the Board as of July 1, 2022.  Members of the UUSJ Board of Trustees may serve up to two terms of three years each, before leaving the Board for two years. The terms of the new eleven-member Board elected in June 2021 were staggered with 3-4 Trustees elected in each of three “classes” to allow for eventual continuity. At the annual meeting in June 2022, five Trustees will all be elected for three-year terms to replace the four Trustees whose terms expire this June, plus one vacancy.  Candidates may include some incumbents willing to run again after completing their one-year term. Each year, the UUSJ Board will elect officers for one-year terms at a special Board of Trustees meeting convening shortly after the annual meeting of the prior Board.

The UUSJ Nominating Committee is beginning to solicit applications for nomination and election to the Board of Trustees from any current or prospective individual member of UUSJ. Nominees need not be current members of UUSJ but are expected to join if elected (dues are modest).  The Nominating Committee and Board are interested in persons reflecting the diversity of the UU justice-making experience.

The Board has a strong interest in candidates with experience in organizational change, a passion for social justice advocacy, engagement, education and/or witnessing, knowledge of the justice-making environment, particularly in a faith-based context, and who would reflect the racial, gender, age, and geographic diversity of UU justice-making and/or are representative of impacted communities.

Not every candidate will or must meet all these criteria, but the Nominating Committee hopes to present a slate of candidates who meet many of these criteria. Anyone with interest in serving on the new Board should contact Chloe Emily Ockey, Nominating Committee Chair, info@uusj.org as soon as possible for application details. Because the Nominating Committee must submit its recommended slate of nominees to the Board by June 6, applications received by the Committee prior to April 1 will have the best opportunity for consideration by the Committee. The Committee does not expect to be able to consider any applications for nomination received by the Committee after May 1.

Alternatively, persons interested in being nominated as Trustees may do so by presenting a petition to UUSJ signed by 10 percent of the individual members of UUSJ as shown on the membership rolls as of January 1, 2022. Nominating petitions are due no later than May 1, 2022. Names of individual UUSJ members as of Jan. 1, 2022, their contact information, and the details of requirements for petitions (e.g., form of signatures) may be obtained from the Executive Director, Pablo DeJesus, pdejesus@uusj.org.

The essential requirements of applications made to the Nominating Committee or made by petition do not differ: both types of applicants will be asked to provide a brief biography, a brief statement of interest, including any interest in being elected an officer by the new Board, and (optionally) a photo.

The Nominating Committee and the Board will ensure that all nominees to the Board, whether nominated by the Committee or by petition, are presented to the Board for consideration and potential election in a fair and equitable manner. The Nominating Committee anticipates that the biographies, statements of interest, and any photos provided by all candidates (whether nominated by the Committee or by petition) will be made available to the Board ten days prior to the annual meeting.