Information on the 2025 election cycle will be available in the coming months. 

Essential Competencies

• Knowledge of effective governance, including education or training on organizational governance issues, prior experiences (especially leadership experience) with high functioning committees or boards whose function is organizational governance, and/or understanding of the methods and processes required for effective leadership.
• Strategic orientation, including willingness and ability to think and act proactively; understand the forces that will affect ASBH over the next 5 to 10 years; establish a vision and strategy to address these forces and their impacts; and help the organization align its work and resources with current ASBH strategic initiatives.

ASBH Leadership Expectations

• Commitment, including willingness and ability to devote the time necessary for board work; to prepare prior to board meetings; to appropriately participate during meetings; and to reliably keep commitments.
• Effective decision making, including willingness and ability to establish clear guidelines and processes for decision-making; to gather information systematically rather than relying on anecdotal, informal information-sharing; to encourage adoption of best practices from other settings; to exercise sound judgment on difficult and complex matters; and to take responsibility for decision-making.
• Integrity, including willingness and ability to serve as a role model for civility, honesty, and professional behavior; to subjugate self-interests or career interests for the good of ASBH; and to avoid conflicts of interest that might compromise your role on the ASBH Board.
• Interpersonal skills, including willingness and ability to listen and understand points of view of other board members and stakeholders; to build and maintain relationships with ASBH members and others in the bioethics and health humanities community; to show respect for others regardless of personal likes or dislikes; and to effectively deal with conflict.

General Board Member Responsibilities

Board members are expected to:

• Serve their entire term unless elected to a new position;
• Participate in bi-monthly 1-2 hour conference calls and 1-2 day in-person meetings of the Board of Directors in the Spring and Fall;
• Be responsive to requests from the President for additional leadership responsibilities;
• Contribute to a high-functioning Board by listening to peers, working cooperatively, treating peers with respect, and building consensus whenever possible.

General Nominating Committee Responsibilities

Nominating Committee members are expected to:

• Spend several hours reviewing nomination forms and nominee statements
• Actively communicate with other Committee members via email
• Be responsive to requests from the Committee chair
• Actively participate in four or five 1-2 hour conference calls in the Spring as needed
• Contact nominees and/or candidates as directed by the Committee chair 

Nominating Committee Operating Guidelines

The Nominating Committee has the responsibility to put forward to the membership a slate of best-qualified candidates with the experience, skills, and competencies needed on the Board of Directors as well as the Nominating Committee to achieve a balanced, diverse, and high-functioning Board.

Criteria

The Nominating Committee will consider the following criteria when creating the slate of candidates:

1. Candidates should have a minimum of five years’ experience as active members of ASBH.
2. Candidates should be able to fulfill ASBH Board Member Competencies, Expectations and Responsibilities as set by the Board of Directors.
3. Consideration should be given to those members who have a previous history of service to ASBH, including but not limited to membership on, or leadership of, ASBH committees, task forces, affinity groups, or prior experience on the Board of Directors. Leadership or active membership in other organizations may also be considered.
4. In general, an individual should not serve contiguous terms of office. An exception can be made when another qualified candidate cannot be found.
5. The slate should include up to 2 of the best-qualified candidates for each open position; contested elections are not required.
6. Trainee or Student Directors must maintain trainee/student status for a minimum of 6 months after their Board term begins. For the purposes of this designation:
   1. A trainee is an individual who is participating in a post-baccalaureate, post-graduate, or post-doctoral program such as a fellowship, internship, residency, or other similar training program.
   2. A student is an individual who is participating in a degree-conferring or certificate-conferring program.
7. At the time of application, the Trainee or Student Director
   1. Must be an ASBH member and have been a member for a two-year minimum
   2. Must have attended at least two annual conferences
   3. Must maintain student or trainee status for a minimum of 6 months after Board term begins

Every candidate should be well qualified to serve the Society if elected. The Committee will take care to be well-informed of all nominees' qualifications and backgrounds. The Committee will ensure that all nominees are judged equally.

Process and Timeline

During the month of April, the call for nominations opens and members may nominate themselves or others as candidates for the Board of Directors and Nominating Committee. When the call closes in May, the Committee reviews all nominations and may request candidate interviews throughout May and June. The committee then builds a ballot putting forward the best- qualified candidates. The election takes place in July and the candidates and membership are informed of the results in August.

Nominating Committee

Kayhan Parsi, JD PhD HEC-C, Chair
Virginia Bartlett, PhD MA
Gretchen Case, PhD
Sabrina Derrington, MD MA
Erica Salter, PhD HEC-C