by Ann Myatt James - US Servas Election Committee, elections@usservas.org)
US Servas is a 501c3 organization dedicated to fostering global understanding, promoting peace, and creating meaningful experiences through authentic travel and cultural exchange. As a part of our organization’s mission, our board of directors regularly solicits and recruits members who are committed to ensuring the continuing success of US Servas through their active engagement in governance activities to fully realize our organization’s potential for good. Specifically, our board members serve as active advocates and ambassadors for the organization and are fully engaged in the stewardship of our financial resources and partnerships necessary for US Servas to advance its mission. Please review our Run for the Board website for additional information, key dates, video introductions, and application materials.
Position
Volunteer Board of Director Member (Multiple Areas of Specialization)
Position Description
US Servas seeks 3 volunteer board members with experience in one or more areas of professional expertise and/or lived experience detailed below and who maintain a personal commitment to fully and responsibly enabling US Servas to realize its mission and potential for good. In addition to these basic requirements, our application process also requires interested candidates be
- Members of US Servas for at least 12 months prior to their application;
- At least 18 years old;
- A resident of the United States for the entire duration of their appointment on the board of directors (or directorship appointment);
- Willing to commit to 3-5 hours per week of volunteer service in support of traditional organizational governance functions and day-to-day operations
The US Servas board is a volunteer working board. Members serving on our organization’s board of directors are not paid and dedicate their time, experience, and knowledge to responsibly guiding US Servas, its mission, and collective purpose. As a part of their appointment, each board member is expected to oversee both traditional organizational governance functions, such as legal and financial oversight while actively managing its day-to-day operations through their leadership, regular attendance, and participation on at least one of six Branches of Servas to develop and operationalize the organization’s expressed commitments and interests in the areas of governance, finance, technology, member services, community, and peace activities. Our website's application and materials page provide additional details about each of these Six Branches of Servas.
Position Expectations
In addition to the above requirements, we expect each board member to:
- Become knowledgeable of the organization’s mission, policies, activities, and needs;
- Faithfully read and understand the organization’s financial statements and board materials in advance of meetings;
- Serve as a liaison to one of our 6 branches, regularly attend their meetings, and support their efforts to successfully accomplish their responsibilities;
- Serve as active advocates and ambassadors for US Servas and leverage connections, networks, and resources to strengthen the organization’s efforts to achieve our mission;
- Prepare for, attend, and participate in board meetings;
- Respect the experiences of all who bring their voices, knowledge, and lived experiences on to the board and into the boardroom and the organization;
- Fulfill the responsibilities and obligations of the role of a board member as detailed in our organization’s bylaws and formal documents;
- Honor our values and code of ethics
We are looking to receive and review applications from candidates representing the breadth of the locations and unique identities of our membership. We are especially interested in those who are comfortable engaging in virtual teamwork, virtual communications, and have emotional intelligence (or soft skills) which are often considered attributes related to self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills. We also fully appreciate and value applications from members with lived experience, knowledge, and/or professional expertise in one or more of the following areas of specialization:
- environment;
- technology;
- training and development of volunteer talent;
- legal services and/or public policy;
- nonprofit leadership and/or community-based organizations
Our Commitment to Peace and Cultural Understanding
We know that to achieve our goals, fulfill our mission, and realize our vision, our board members should represent the breadth of our membership with perspectives drawn from a wide range of cultural and ethnic backgrounds, racial identities, sexual orientations, biological ages, socio-economic classes, (dis)abilities, educational attainment, household composition, living arrangements, areas of expertise, and lived experiences. We especially welcome applications from candidates representing the breadth of our members’ geographic locations (rural, suburban, and urban locales) as well as our members’ gender identities and expressions.
We welcome your questions and application to serve on the Servas US board of directors until 30 September 2026. Please visit our Run for the Board website to access the most up-to-date information about the process, key dates of importance, video introductions, and application materials. Please contact the Servas US Elections Committee elections@usservas.org if you have questions or require assistance in the completion of this application form on the basis of a disability.
