91´«Ã½

How to Nominate I Tips & Testimonials I Further Resources I Past Election Results

YALSA holds annual elections in conjunction with the 91´«Ã½ Elections. Each year, YALSA elects a division President-Elect, Board members and, depending on the year, a Division Councilor, Fiscal Officer and Secretary. starts building a slate of candidates 14 months prior to the election. If you are interested in running, please contact the Board Development Committee or the YALSA for more information. For information on governance, visit the YALSA Handbook and read the.

2024 Election Slate

YALSA President-Elect

Amber Creger - Schaumburg Township District Library, Schaumburg, IL

Directors-at-Large

Heather Love Beverley - Cook Memorial Public Library, Lake Villa, IL

Alicia Blowers - St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School, Alexandria, VA

Allie Stevens Gosselink - Calhoun County Library, Hampton, AR

Ziba Pérez- Los Angeles Public Library, Los Angeles, CA

Division Councilor

Isaiah West - Prince George's County Memorial Library System, Upper Marlboro, MD

Secretary

Kate Denier - Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library, Cincinnati, OH

For the Board Directors at Large there are two positions open for election, all other positions are only one position opening. The one year election for the Secretary position is due to a vacancy from a resignation.

Thank you to the 2024 YALSA Development Committee; Chair Todd Krueger, Kate Denier, Robin Fogle Kurz, Karen Lemmons and Colleen Seisser, YALSA President

2023 Election Slate

YALSA President-Elect

Yvette Garcia

Directors-at-Large

Kim Dare

Rachel Bobo-Milburn

Katrina Ortega

Fiscal Officer

Meaghan Darling

Learn more about each candidate via on YALSA's blog, the YALSAblog.

2022 Election Slate

Ballot emailing for the 2021 91´«Ã½ election will begin on March 14, 2022. The election will close April 6, 2022. more.

YALSA President-Elect

Yvette Garcia

Colleen Seisser

Board Member

Joel Shoemaker

Directors-At-Large

Josie Andrews

Matthew Layne

Melissa Malanuk

Carrie Sanders

Melanie Wachsmann

Learn more about each candidate via on YALSA's blog, the YALSAblog.

2020 Election Results

President-Elect (3-year term)

Kelly Czarnecki

Fiscal Officer (3-year term)

Kate Denier

Directors at Large (3-year term)

Susannah Goldstein

Dawn McMillan

Past Election Results

2020 Election Results

Nominating Someone to be a Candidate

Nominate other YALSA members or submit your own name for any of the positions appearing on the YALSA election ballot. YALSA’s Board Development Committee begins their work January 1st each year and they must finalize the slate by August of each year.

YALSA asks those interested in running for office to fill out the Governance Candidacy Form

To nominate yourself or others to be a candidate for one of these elected positions you must submit a form.

Individuals who wish to run in the election, but who do not receive a nomination by either of the committees, may do so as a petition candidate. Petition forms are due each October (date varies, depending on the actual election date).

Tips

Let the Board Development Committee know you are interested in running for office.

• Submit the to let the committee know that you are interested in running for office.
• Don’t be afraid to nominate yourself! As the membership gets bigger the Board Development Committee’s job gets harder. Make their job easier by not making them find you!

Testimonials

• "Serving on the YALSA Board and as Fiscal Officer was a good fit for me, because I like to know what is going on and to help behind the scenes. I gained lots of experience with management skills and working with lots of different personalities. I got to work on many things I enjoy such as mentoring, marketing, training, developing new ideas and planning events. It taught me a great deal about the workings of 91´«Ã½ and YALSA’s place in that organization and outside of the library industry. My work at the Schaumburg Township Library grew to a focus as many of those skills translated to new community partnerships, new teen groups with different management styles, new services following the trends of those in other libraries across the country that I may never have learned about without this experience. Now I have taken that experience and begun working with other genre organizations and conferences, though I still enjoy volunteering on committees for YALSA." —Amy Alessio
• "I’ve been lucky enough to have served YALSA in a variety of capacities ranging from committee work to chairing the Printz committee to serving as President in 1996-97. Each of these service opportunities has been among the most personally and professionally rewarding of my career – personally since they gave me an opportunity to meet wonderful people who have become some of my closest friends and professionally because each of them gave me an opportunity to make a difference both in the profession and also in the lives of young adults and the wonderful literature that can make such a difference in their lives. Do yourself a favor and become a YALSA candidate. It’ll make a difference in your life, too!" —Michael Cart
• "At times in our library careers, we’re offered 'growth opportunities,' and serving as YALSA President is one of those opportunities. Yes, the three-year term involves a lot of work and yes, 91´«Ã½ can find you for those quotes or responses to reporters no matter where you are, but you’ll never have a more exciting or worthwhile opportunity than to serve YALSA in this capacity. If you love libraries, young people, and YALSA—serving as its President is a given. You, the Board with whom you work, and the policies enacted to move YALSA forward contribute to the betterment of library service to teens for a long time. And best of all, you remain a Past President forever." —Pam Spencer Holley
• "I was the 2004 – 2005 YALSA President. During my tenure as vice president, president, and past president, I made great strides in the following skill areas: communicating effectively, exhibiting positive leadership traits, producing results, excelling in a 'team' environment, and successfully managing/guiding others. Thanks to YALSA, I’ve learned how to effectively advocate for teen services in public and school libraries in the United States and internationally."—David Mowery
• "My years of service with YALSA always bring to mind the Beatles’ quote, 'The love you take is equal to the love you make' because there was a balance, an equitable give and take, between my opportunities to simultaneously learn and teach. I was able to share my experiences and viewpoints with others as I absorbed their knowledge and benefited from their experiences. YALSA grew me, professionally; I hope my contributions moved others forward as well." —Joel Shoemaker

Find Out More

• Talk to someone who has held the position recently. To view a current list of Board members, which includes the President-Elect and the Division Councilor, go to the Board page on YALSA's web site.
• Contact the Board Development Committee to ask any questions that you may have.
• There are lots of issues for you to consider before you throw your hat in the ring.
  • A good article on this topic is available on the website.
  • Check out this from BoardSource.
  • Read about the .
• If you're not sure you're ready to commit to a three year board term, consider YALSA's program instead.
• Submitting a Nomination Form does not guarantee that you will be a candidate for an elected position.
• Before determining the final slate of candidates, the Board Development Committee evaluates each nominee to determine who will be the best candidates for that year. Some factors the committee considers are: are you over-committed in YALSA, 91´«Ã½ or your state associations; do you have a good track record in your past YALSA volunteer work; do you need to gather more experience before running for an office?
• If you are not selected as a candidate by the Board Development Committee, but still want to run, you can submit a petition to add your name to the ballot. The petition is available from the Handbook section of the YALSA web site. You may also be encouraged to submit a Committee Volunteer Form for now with encouragement to submit a Nomination Form again next year.

Questions? Find Answers

Read the . Also, here's who to contact to find out answers about running for office:

• The Board Development Chair, Sarah Hill
• The - any one of these three individuals knows the process (because they’ve been through it) and can direct you to whom you need to contact. If you want information about a specific office, try contacting someone holding it presently. They’ll be glad to tell you what they know!
• The YALSA Office will also direct you to whom you need to speak. Call 1.800.545.2433 x4390 or yalsa@ala.org

  2013 Election Results I 2014 Slate Information I How to Nominate I Tips & Testimonials I Further Resources

  YALSA holds elections in conjunction with the 91´«Ã½ Elections each year. Each year YALSA elects a division President-Elect, Board members, certain award committee members and, depending on the year, a Division Councilor, Fiscal Officer and Secretary. YALSA's Board Development Committee starts building a slate of candidates 14 months prior to the election. If you are interested in running, please contact the Board Development Committee or the YALSA Office for more information. For information on governance, visit the YALSA Handbook.