Becoming a Board Member

The International Biogeography Society’s governing board (=board members) are a group of very dedicated volunteers, familiar with the society, that help guide day-to-day and long-term decisions.  Selection of future board members is a combination of a search by the Elections Committee for interested and appropriate individuals, followed by an election by society members in September of even-numbered years.  Check out the job descriptions below to find out more about each position.

A list of past Board Members can be found here.

  • Objective: Oversee all aspects of TIBS activities while maintaining a positive public image of the organization among members and the general public
  • List of Duties: 1) Interact with the leaders of other learned societies, government officials, and the general public on behalf of TIBS; 2) Supervise, hire, and terminate any employees of TIBS with approval of the Board; 3) Appoint ad hoc (called “special” in the bylaws) committee chairs and members, for example, for awards; 4) Attend and Chair all meetings of the Board; 5) Develop, with the assistance of the Secretary, agendas for all meetings of the Board; 6) Develop Annual Tactical Plans with the assistance of other Board Members
  • Key Functional and Relational Responsibilities: 1) Maintain good working relations with and among Board Members; 2) Create an effective Board; 3) Maintain good relations with TIBS employees; 4) Be the “face” of TIBS

  • Objective: Assists the President in managing the Board by identifying and addressing emerging issues that the success of TIBS
  • List of Duties: 1) Develop, with the assistance of the President and others, annual revisions to the Strategic Plan; 2) Serve as a Vice-Chair of all meetings of the Board, stepping in for the President when the President is temporarily unable to serve; 3) Attend all meetings of the TIBS Board
  • Key Functional and Relational Responsibilities: 1) Serve as the chief problem-solver for the President; 2) Serve on multiple committees and subcommittees of the Board

  • Objective: Support the President by serving as a consultant on issues as requested by the President
  • List of Duties: 1) By September 1 of odd digit years, develops a Slate of Officers (Board members) who will stand for election by the full TIBS membership; 2) Serves on various committees and subcommittees as requested by the President.
  • Key Functional and Relational Responsibilities: 1) Provide assistance to Chairs of various committees, especially those executing on plans developed and fine-tuned under previous Presidents (including their own presidency)

  • Objective: Oversees all aspects of the planning and execution of TIBS conferences, in close collaboration with the local host.
  • List of Duties: 1) Recommends, for Board approval, the content and activities of upcoming TIBS Conferences; 2) Together with the Treasurer and local host, develop and recommend for Board approval a written budget for upcoming TIBS Conferences; 3) Develops the conference program and time table together with the local host, accommodating the symposia and workshops selected by relevant ad hoc committees.
  • Key Functional and Relational Responsibilities: 1) Ensure profitability and excellence in TIBS produced conferences; 2) Work closely with the local host and the VP of Public Relations and Communication to promote TIBS conferences; 3) Works closely with the TIBS Treasurer to ensure the conference is financially independent and does not require subsidy from TIBS.

  • Objective: Manages all aspects of outreach and communications while maintaining the standing and positive regard for TIBS among members and the general public
  • List of Duties: 1) Supervises and helps up-date the content of the TIBS website and other web-based communication tools (Bluesky, Facebook, etc.); 2) Organizes and oversees the Funk Biogeography Lecture Series; 3) Promotes the content of the society’s journal Frontiers of Biogeography via the web-based communication tools
  • Key Functional and Relational Responsibilities: 1) Maintain positive image of TIBS; 2) Maintain high quality outreach and communications; 3) Work closely with the VP of Development and Awards to create and advertise grant proposals and award nominations

  • Objective: Manages all aspects of membership, fundraising, and granting of scholarships, awards, and other TIBS honors
  • List of Duties: 1) Nominates Chairs to the Awards Committees and approves the appointees nominated by the respective Chairs; 2) Participates as a non-voting member in the Awards Committee meetings; 3) Presents the recommendations of each Award Committee to the TIBS board for approval; 4) Identifies and solicits conference sponsors; 5) Conducts and interprets any Membership Surveys.
  • Key Functional and Relational Responsibilities: 1) Develop and execute fundraising tactics to increase revenues for TIBS; 2) Develop and execute membership recruitment and retention efforts to increase revenues for TIBS; 3) Work with Board to create long-range business plan for TIBS

  • Objective: Maintains the archives of TIBS (https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/xxx) to provide a written record of decisions made and financial transactions conducted on behalf of TIBS members by the Board
  • List of Duties: 1) Receives and accepts a Slate of Officers from the Past President; 2) Manages the online Election of the Board in October of each odd digit year; 3) Maintains records of the proceedings of TIBS including actions taken by the Board or its representatives, Board approved policies, and TIBS procedures; 4) Prepares the agenda for all meetings of the TIBS Board; 5) Serve as an advisor to the Board and members on issues related to TIBS bylaws and constitution.
  • Key Functional and Relational Responsibilities: 1) Ensure the timely and accurate flow of information to members of the Board and the Executive; 2) Create an accurate archive of all activities of TIBS.

  • Objective: Maintains financial records, reports financial activities to the Board and TIBS Members quarterly, and imposes fiscal controls to protect TIBS
  • List Of Duties: 1) Works with Christy Classi, TIBS Certified Association Executive (CAE), to develop and present the Annual Budget for approval of the Board by June of each year; 2) Works with the TIBS CAE to double-check financial transactions throughout the year; 3) Approves financial transactions of TIBS through our Financial Institution (UMB Bank).
  • Key Functional and Relational Responsibilities: 1) Develop and execute internal fiscal controls to maintain the trust of members; 2) Work closely with TIBS CAE to create timely and accurate reports on financial activities.

  • Objective: Represent the membership in decision-making by the TIBS Board
  • List of Duties: 1) Attend online or face-to-face meetings of the Board; 2) Maintain awareness of issues of concern to members
  • Key Functional and Relational Responsibilities: 1) Advocate on behalf of the membership; 2) Gather information on members with the assistance of the VP of Development and Awards; 3) Encourage and support regional coordinators to further the globalization of TIBS

  • Objective: Oversees the execution of all activities associated with the TIBS conference they have agreed to host; participates in online Board Meetings during the year preceding the biannual meeting they are hosting.
  • List of Duties: 1) Develops the conference program and time table together with the VP for Conferences, accommodating the symposia and workshops selected by relevant ad hoc committees; 2) Oversee the activities of, and nominate appointments to, any local committees related to conference activities; 3) Organize local volunteers and paid helpers;
  • Key Functional and Relational Responsibilities: 1) Keep the Board informed about the progress in conference organization; 2) Adhere to the written and approved budget for the local conference; 3) Create a profitable conference with high levels of member satisfaction (in close collaboration with the Treasurer and the VP for Conferences and other Board members)

  • Objective: Represents the Student members of TIBS in decision-making by the TIBS Board
  • List of Duties: 1) Chairs an Student Travel Award ad hoc Committees under the supervision of the VP for Development and Awards; 2) Chairs any Early Career Biogeographers Committees under the supervision of the VP for Conferences and in that role organizes the poster competition and Student Discussion Groups
  • Key Functional and Relational Responsibilities: 1) Represents Graduate Student Members in all decision-making; 2) Works closely with the VP of Development and Awards to increase Graduate Student Membership in TIBS; 3) Works closely with the VP of Public Affairs and Communication to promote TIBS activities

Interested in being considered by the Elections Committee?  Send us an expression of interest at any time using the contact form.