Please join me as an OSM US director

Continuing the discussion from Updates from OpenStreetMap US - A Thread:

Hi Folks -

Just wanted to put a note out there encouraging people to run for the OSM US board. I’m halfway through my 2-year term and I’d like to share a bit about what it’s like and what it takes to be on the board.

First off, I want to dispel the myth that serving on the board is a major time commitment. The organization has a full-time executive director and a paid staff that run the organization on a day-to-day basis. As such, the role of the board is advisory: we review reports from the staff on what they’re working on and generally only intervene on the rare occasion when we think a course correction is needed. However, Maggie and the staff are really good at understanding the players and the politics as well as what the board is thinking. So the bare minimum commitment is a 1-hour a month board meeting.

A seat on the board also gives you an inside look at what’s happening in OSM behind the scenes. It also gives you the opportunity to work on and promote projects that are of interest to you with your board hat on, and/or develop partnerships with OSM US’s extensive rolodex of contacts across the ecosystem. What you choose to get out of your board role is up to you.

What the board needs from you is your connection to the OSM community, in whatever role that is - mapper, software developer, GIS professional, etc. Have any experience working with a nonprofit or connections to industry or fundraising? Those are certainly a plus but by no means a requirement.

If you are wondering whether or not you are qualified, the answer is YES.

Three people will join @Adam_Franco and me on next year’s OSM US board. Please consider making one of those people YOU.

To nominate yourself for the board, please see the instructions here:
https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Foundation/Local_Chapters/United_States/Elections/2023

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