AACP recognized that its current nomination processes were at odds with cultivating a diverse board of directors that is reflective of the diversity of our membership and society.

Our 2018-19 President appointed a Leadership Development task force comprised of the 4 nominations committee chairs and 4 additional members selected because of their diverse profiles. AACP has a Board of Directors with elected officers and leaders from our 3 Councils. Historically, each chair’s nomination process was independent of the other 3. The result was that the 2019-2020 Board was the least diverse in many years.

In 2020, the task force presented recommendations for AACP Bylaws revision, creating a single Nominations Committee responsible for creating the slate of candidates for positions on the AACP Board of Directors. These changes were approved by the AACP House of Delegates in July 2020. In addition, through the coordination of the work of the task force in developing significantly more diverse slates of candidates for the election of new Board members joining the Board in July 2021, the December 2020 election results reflected the greatest diversity by far than any prior election cycle.

By addressing a structural impediment to achieving diversity in the top elected leadership of AACP, we achieved a slate of candidates for the November 2020 election that has greater diversity than any in many years’ past. Now the Council Leadership Development Committees’ primary responsibility is cultivation of diverse pipelines of future leaders.

Lucinda Maine, CEO
Cindy Ziegler, Associate Director of Governance and Executive Office Operations