Become a Member

Board Service

About the Board

Per the Society’s Bylaws as ratified in September 2024, the Board will grow to include a total of 16 members over the next few years.  When fully subscribed, the Board will include 5 Officers (President, President-Elect, Past President, Secretary and Treasurer) and 11 Directors at Large.

To ensure the Board continually represents the broad disciplinary interests of the Society, the 11 Directors-at-Large will have the following disciplinary responsibilities and representations:

  • Director of Social Sciences
  • Director of Humanities
  • Director of Clinical Sciences
  • Director of Basic & Neuro Sciences
  • Director of Education
  • Director of Interdisciplinarity
  • Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA)
  • Student/Trainee Director
  • Director-at-Large x 3

All Directors-at-Large, including those without a specific portfolio may also be responsible for chairing, or serving as the Board representative on Society Committees.

The President-Elect position will rotate among Disciplines so that no one Discipline holds successive Presidencies.

All Directors will be elected to the board by a majority vote of the membership.   The Society’s President-Elect, Secretary and Treasurer, will be elected from among the current Directors by a majority vote of the Directors.  The President and Past President will serve as a natural transition from the President Elect role.

Other than the President and Past-President, Officers may hold more than one Officer position.

The President Elect will serve for a two-year term, then continue as President for a two-year term, and Past President for a two-year term.

The Secretary and Treasurer will serve a two-year term, which can be renewed, for one additional two-year term, if they do not continue through as President Elect.

Directors-at-Large may serve a maximum of two terms.  Each term lasts two years.

After serving for a minimum of one year on the Board, a current Director is eligible to serve in an Officer position.

The nominations and election process will generally take place annually in October & November, with a new board term commencing on January 1st.

Elections Calendar

Oct 15th: Nominations Open

Nov 4th: Nominations Close

Nov 11th: Elections Open

Dec 12th: Elections Close

Jan 1: Board Commences

Nomination

Click to send your nomination for the Board elections.

General Expectations

In serving on the Board, directors are expected to:

  • Maintain their Society membership in good standing throughout their Board service term(s)
  • Serve and represent the best interests of the Society for the duration of their term(s)
  • Participate in on-going society affairs via email or other communications as required
  • Chair, or serve as the Board representative to, Society Committees
  • Attend Board meetings as scheduled. Except for face-to-face meetings at the International Conference, all meetings will be held online. Officer meetings are expected to be monthly with the full board convening with the Officers every other month. One full board meeting will be held in conjunction with the Society’s International Conference.
  • Attend the Society’s International Conference, generally held every 18 months, rotating to different global destinations with each iteration
  • As needed, serve on the Program Review Committee to review submitted conference content
  • Actively participate in and/or attend other Society events (i.e. webinars) as scheduled
  • Serve as session monitors, moderators or timekeepers at Society conferences and events
  • Actively participate in and/or promote the content of Society conferences and events

Depending on Society finances, travel and registration costs related to attending Society conferences and events may be provided in full or in part.  As this support is not a certainty all Directors should recognize the potential need to cover these costs individually.

Nomination & Election Process

All members in good standing have the right to be nominated for Board service.  Members can self-nominate or be nominated by other members in good standing.  In the case of being nominated by others, the nominee must agree to being nominated.

All nominees must ensure a personal head and shoulders photo, and a statement of interest are included with their nomination and must submit their completed nomination prior to the end of the nomination period.

The statement of interest (maximum one letter (8.5”x11”) or A4 size page, in Calibri font size 12) must include:

  • The discipline that best describes their interests or work in Contemplative research,
  • A short summary of their history or impact in Contemplative research,
  • A statement outlining what they would bring to the Board and why they wish to serve, and
  • Personal information, including name, email, phone number and current place of work.

The Society’s Nomination Committee will review all nominations and will prepare a slate of candidates to put forward to the membership for election.  Submitting a nomination does not guarantee the nominee will be selected for election.

During the election period, members will be able to review the candidate’s statement of interest on the Society’s website.  At the close of the election period, the Nomination Committee will review election results and communicate to all candidates the results of the election prior to public announcement of the results to the full membership.  Successful candidates will be provided with a Board orientation package and will begin their service at the first Board meeting scheduled after January 1st.