Board and Officer Nominations 2025
The NBA Nominating Committee will be preparing a slate of officers and directors to stand for election at the Fall 2025 NBA Professional Development Conference. If you, or someone you know, is interested in the opportunity to serve on the NBA Board of Directors, please complete the form below.
Available Positions
The following positions are available to be filled:
President Elect—To be eligible for this position, a candidate must be a current director in good standing for at least two years. This position is a six-year commitment. A candidate must be willing to serve for two years as President Elect, two years as President, and two years as Immediate Past President.
Treasurer—To be eligible for this position, a candidate must be a current director in good standing for at least two years. This position is a two-year commitment.
[Except for the current President (Patrick Janson) and President Elect (Cindi Laurent), any candidate who meets the qualifications for an officer position are eligible for nomination even if the term of the position they currently have is not set to expire in the fall of 2025.]
Director—To be eligible for this position, a candidate must be a member in good standing with the Association for at least one year prior to election or appointment. This position is a three-year commitment. (There may be more than one Director position available, so please feel free to nominate more than one person if you know multiple people who are both qualified and willing.)
Expiring Terms and Eligibility
It is customary for the NBA to identify the current board members whose term is expiring in the upcoming year. Included with that information are the positions that the board members are eligible to hold after their term expires.
Please see below for a list of current board members whose term expires in 2025:
John Romeo—John’s term as Treasurer ends in the fall of 2025. He is eligible for another term as Treasurer, another officer position, or a director position.
Anna Werner—Anna’s term as a Director ends in the fall of 2025. She is eligible for another term as a director or an officer position.
Jana Hertz—Jana’s term as Immediate Past President ends in the fall of 2025. She is eligible for another officer position or a director position.
Current Board Members Eligible for Officer Positions
As noted above, to be eligible for an officer position someone must be a current director in good standing for at least two years. Below is a list of current directors who meet this eligibility requirement:
Kathleen Cantrell
Kyle DeJute
Jana Hertz
Cindy Olmstead
John Romeo
Anna Werner
Nominate
Please use the form below to nominate someone for a position on the NBA Board of Directors. Nominations must be submitted by December 31, 2024. It is acceptable to submit a nomination for yourself.
CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE FORM AND NOMINATE SOMEONE
If you prefer, you may submit a nomination in the form of a letter. Please be sure to include background information and pertinent experience pertaining to the nominee. Letters can be mailed to:
National Braille Association, Inc.
c/o Nominating Committee
21 Goodway Drive #142
Rochester, New York 14623
All letters postmarked before January 1, 2025, will be considered.
Nominations by Petition
Using the process described above, the NBA Nominating Committee reviews the submitted nominations and selects who they want to include on the slate of officers and directors. Although rarely used, there is another process that can be followed that leads to someone being considered for a board position. That process is called ‘Nominations by Petition’.
To nominate someone by petition an individual must obtain the signature of no less than twenty-five members in good standing. No more than five of these members shall be from any one state. A petition must be accompanied by the written consent of the nominee to serve if elected. The petition must be filed with the Secretary (Kathleen Cantrell) by July 30th of 2025. If someone is nominated by petition, the NBA will send an announcement to its membership. This announcement will include a list of those individuals who were ‘Nominated by the Nominating Committee’ and who were ‘Nominated by Petition’. NBA members will then have an opportunity to assess the candidates and vote on which nominee they want to serve. The process used for voting would be described in the announcement. Voting would conclude in advance of the Fall 2025 Professional Development Conference so that new board members can be introduced at that event.