Nominate Now: Who Do You Think Should Be on the ABA Board of Directors?

Booksellers are invited to nominate a qualified candidate (or themselves) now to stand for election to the American Booksellers Association Board of Directors in 2021. Nominating takes just a few minutes via a webform that asks two questions: 

1. In what capacity have you known and/or worked with this candidate?
2. What talents or experiences do you believe this person would bring to the ABA Board?

Booksellers will need to provide their own contact information and should be prepared to share the candidate’s name, store, address, phone number, and email address. All information will be kept strictly confidential. Nominations are due by October 30. Nominate now. 

As the nominating committee receives nominations, the committee checks the nominations to ensure the nominees meet the minimum requirements, then the committee sends the nominee a form to fill out with more information. Nominees will also be asked to provide two recommendation letters.

A nominee for the Board of Directors must:

• Be the owner or employee of an ABA member independent bookstore with a storefront location* that is operated according to sound business principles (*semi-permanent pop-up shops are included as storefronts)
• Have at least three years of recent experience as the owner or employee of a member company

It is also desirable that nominees have at least two years’ experience as an active volunteer in ABA and/or in a regional association or other constituency organization. Qualifications are outlined in the “ABA Nomination and Election Guidelines” from the ABA Governance Policy Manual.

Learn more about the Board of Directors election process here.

This year’s Nominating Committee is chaired by Jenny Cohen of Waucoma Bookstore in Hood River, Oregon. Joining Cohen on the board are ABA Board member Tegan Tigani of Queen Anne Book Company in Seattle, Washington; Kathy Burnette of Brain Lair Books in South Bend, Indiana; Hannah Oliver Depp of Loyalty Bookstores in Washington, D.C., and Silver Spring, Maryland; and Michael Herrmann of Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord, New Hampshire.

The slate for the 2021 Board of Directors elections will be announced approximately 120 days prior to the next ABA Annual Membership Meeting, which will be held in May 2021.