Regular readers of the WILPF US alerts will already be aware that the Nominating Committee successfully completed its administrative work for the 2025 WILPF US elections, including publicizing the election outcomes. (Thanks to everyone who voted; the outcomes are repeated further below, for reference.)
However, despite the pleasure of talking and connecting with many of WILPF US’s most active members, our committee’s membership is small. We encourage interested WILPF members to consider joining the Nominating Committee or to learn more about WILPF at the national level. Contact nominatingcommittee@wilpfus.org for further information.
In October 2025, our committee chair, Julie Kabukanyi, resigned. At the same time, two of the committee members were running for office and were thus barred from participating in the committee’s election work. Despite those obstacles, the committee (only Ellen and Darien at that point) successfully shepherded the elections to their conclusion. The members who became candidates (Jan Corderman, elected Treasurer, and Tina Shelton, to one of the Program Chair positions) may find themselves quite busy once they take up their responsibilities. The committee is still chairless.
Only slightly daunted, we are proposing a significant change to the timing of WILPF elections. This change is intended to help address a number of avoidable difficulties with the current autumn timing of the annual balloting: competition with federal/state/local general elections, as well as WILPF’s end-of-year appeal; holiday scheduling challenges, both for voters and ballot counters; and end-of-year staff workloads at the national office.
For “timing by the season,” the committee considered scheduling elections in the spring or winter, since summer is difficult, with many branches in “summer recess” and some members on vacation. We propose holding the election in late spring and having the new board take office at the early summer board meeting. However, the transition to this new schedule would require extending the terms of the affected board members by several months. Those board members affected include anyone on the board after the Jan. 29, 2026, board meeting and before the June or July 2027 meeting, regardless of whether they are elected or appointed. After the first summer 2027 board meeting, the term extensions end, and regular complete terms will revert to the standard three years.
Regardless of whether this proposal is approved by the national board, the Nominating Committee will continue to reach out to potential board candidates. If you or someone you know is interested in joining the board or would like more information about other national opportunities, please contact the committee at nominatingcommittee@wilpfus.org.
The results of the 2025 WILPF ballot are as follows:
- Treasurer and Finance Committee Chair: Jan Corderman (three-year term)
- Program Committee Chair: Tina Shelton (second chair position) (one year remaining to complete that Program Chair term)
- Membership Committee Chair: Eileen Kurkoski (three-year term)
- The Member Referendum passed to increase dues from $35 per year to $40 per year.
- The Bylaws Amendment passed to add, as an alternative to the board candidacy requirement of being an active member of a national-level WILPF US committee for at least twelve months, being an active member of a branch for at least twelve months.
