Nomination Deadline: October 15
September 3, 2025
Dear SSWR member,
Strong and committed leadership is essential to SSWR’s ongoing success. Please consider nominating yourself or a colleague for inclusion on the next election ballot for the SSWR Board of Directors. The nomination deadline is October 15, 2025.
Nominations are open for the following positions for the governance year commencing February 1, 2026:
- one Vice President-elect
- one Secretary
- three Directors-at-Large
- one Doctoral Student Director-at-Large
The 2025 election ballot (early December) shall include two nominees for vice president-elect, two nominees for secretary, six nominees for the three director-at-large positions, and two nominees for the one doctoral student director-at-large position.
The Nominations and Elections Committee is committed to include nominees on the election ballot who represent diversity including but not limited to race, ethnicity, nation, institutional representation, gender identity and sexual orientation, social work research topic areas, and career levels.
Prospective nominees should be prepared to carry out the duties described below as well as additional tasks required for SSWR’s governance.
Descriptions of Open Board Positions
Vice President-Elect (Three-year term in total: February 1, 2026 – January 31, 2029)
The Vice President-Elect shall serve a one-year term as Vice President-Elect. The Vice President-Elect will assist the Vice President in the Vice President’s role as chair of the Conference Committee. Immediately following the Vice President-Elect’s term, the Vice President-Elect shall ascend to the office of Vice President.
The Vice President-Elect serves as a member of the program committee, plans and coordinates the pre-conference methodology workshops and provides direct support to the Vice President in planning the annual conference. The Vice President-Elect serves on the executive committee. The Vice President-Elect becomes the Vice President in the second year of their term. The Vice President serves a one-year term and chairs the conference program planning committee, which plans and coordinates the annual conference program. During periods when there is no President-elect, the Vice-President shall serve as President in the event of the President’s resignation, lengthy absence, or incapacity, until the office of President is filled according to the procedures applicable to filling vacancies among the officers. The Vice President serves on the executive committee. Immediately following a Vice President’s term as Vice President, such person shall serve a one-year term as Past Vice President. The Past Vice President shall assist the Vice President in their duties and shall fulfill such other duties as directed by the Board. The Past Vice President serves on the executive committee.
Secretary (Three-year term: February 1, 2026– January 31, 2029)
The Secretary will serve a three-year term. The Secretary (with support from the Society’s professional staff) shall be responsible to record, maintain and distribute minutes of all membership meetings and meetings of the Board of Directors; maintain the Society’s corporate records; and fulfill the other responsibilities that pertain to the office of secretary.
Director-at-Large (Three-year term: February 1, 2026 – January 31, 2029)
A Director-at-Large may be asked to serve in the following capacities, i.e., chair or co-chair of the following committees: nomination and election committee; awards committee; committee on publications; communications committee, fund development committee, membership committee, social policy committee; research capacity development committee; volunteer coordinator for the annual conference; and members of ad hoc committees and task forces which support the work of the Society’s Strategic Plan. Nominees should be prepared to take on one or more of these roles if asked by the President.
Doctoral Student Director-at-Large (Two-year term: February 1, 2026 – January 31, 2028)
In addition to the Director-at-Large responsibilities the Doctoral Student Director-at-Large shall serve as chair of the Doctoral Student Committee and shall serve as a member of the Research Capacity Development Committee and represents student interests on the Board of Directors. The Doctoral Student Director-at-Large serves on the Conference Committee and plans the student panel and luncheon at the annual conference. Note that this position is reserved for a doctoral student. Nominees should have a minimum of two years remaining in their doctoral studies.
SSWR Strategic Plan 2024-2028
The 2024-2028 SSWR Strategic Directions Framework, Building Capacity to Advancing Social Work Science that Informs Solutions to Complex Societal Challenges is, to date, the organization’s most audacious goals. We have four main goals. As part of these goals, we would like to grow the SSWR business model and financial health of the organization. Continue to modernize the annual conference. Increase SSWR’s global presence. Support the professional development of social work researchers throughout career levels. Strengthen institutional research infrastructure to promote social work research and impact. Finally, ensure that JSSWR is the premier scholarly publication for social work research nationally and internationally and transform the website into a more interactive and member platform. We cannot accomplish these goals without the support of our members. We need people who care about the future of this organization. Please consider nominating yourself or a colleague for one of the Officers (Vice President-elect, Secretary) or Director-at-Large or Doctoral Student Director-at-Large positions.
Qualifications sought in Board nominees include:
- Leadership
- Support for and commitment to SSWR and its mission, vision, and values
- Experience and stature as a researcher
- Communication skills
- Availability and ability to fulfill commitments as a Board member
Nomination Procedures
Please submit a letter of nomination (self-nominations are encouraged), two letters of endorsement, and the nominee’s Curriculum Vitae electronically to Joan Blakey, chair of the Nominations and Elections Committee, at blak0014@umn.edu with a copy to Jennifer Lewis, lewis@sswr.org. Please send the required documents as an attachment(s) in one email. Please name the file(s) SSWR_elections_nomination [last name]_[position title, e.g., vp-elect]_[nomination, letter of support, CV]. You may send all required documents compiled into one pdf. Nominators may submit only one letter of nomination or letter of endorsement for each open position. Prior to nomination, the nominator must ensure that their nominee will accept the nomination if it is offered.
Nominations are due October 15, 2025. All nominees must be current members of the Society and shall have been members of SSWR for at least one year prior to their nomination for office. Nominators and those endorsing the nomination must also be current members of the Society. (Please email Kristen Reamy, kristen@sswr.org, to verify membership status.)
Sincerely,
Joan Blakey, PhD
Chair, Nominations and Elections Committee
Addendum A: Board members whose terms carry over into February 2026
- Kirk Foster, President (February 1, 2026 – January 31, 2028)
- Ramona Denby-Brinson, Past President (February 1, 2026 – January 31, 2027)
- Rocio Calvo, Vice President and 2027 Conference Chair (February 1, 2026 – January 31, 2027)
- Hyeouk “Chris” Hahm, Past Vice President (February 1, 2026 – January 31, 2027)
- Virginia “Ginny” Ramseyer Winter, Treasurer (February 1, 2025 – January 31, 2028)
- Adrienne Baldwin-White, Director-at-Large (February 1, 2025 – January 31, 2028)
- Joan Blakey, Director-at-Large (February 1, 2024 – January 31, 2027)
- Karen Bullock, Director-at-Large (February 1, 2024 – January 31, 2027)
- Youseung Kim, Director-at-Large (February 1, 2025 – January 31, 2028)
- Joyce Lee, Director-at-Large (February 1, 2025 – January 31, 2028)
- Abha Rai, Director-at-Large (February 1, 2025 – January 31, 2028)
- Samantha Teixeira, Director-at-Large (February 1, 2025 – January 31, 2028)
- Justin Harty, Early Career Director-at-Large (February 1, 2024– January 31, 2027)
Addendum B: SSWR Bylaws – Excerpts of Relevant Bylaws
Article III. OFFICERS, DUTIES, AND TERMS OF OFFICE
- Elections and Terms of Officers. The President-Elect, Vice President-Elect, Treasurer and Secretary shall be elected by the members by plurality vote during the established election period prior to the expiration of a term of any of these officers, by a vote held in accordance with Article 14 of the Certificate of Incorporation. Each officer shall hold office for a term length as described above, with the year running from February 1 to January 31, and until such officer’s successor has been elected and qualified. In any election for President-Elect, Vice President-Elect, Treasurer or Secretary, if two or more candidates for the same position tie for the number of votes required to be elected, another election to fill the office shall be held to resolve the tie. If a re-vote does not resolve the tie, the winner may be decided by a method of random selection determined by the Board. If an office becomes vacant for any reason, the Board may fill such vacancy. Any officer so elected shall serve only until such time as the unexpired term of such officer’s predecessor shall have expired unless re-elected by the members. Any officer may be removed by the members with or without cause. Such removal without cause shall be without prejudice to such person’s contract rights, if any, but the election of any person as an officer, agent or employee of the Society shall not of itself create contract rights.
ARTICLE V: COMMITTEES
- The Nomination and Election Committee. The Nomination and Election Committee shall be a committee of the corporation and consist of at least five people and a chair. The chair shall be selected by the President and approved by the Board of Directors, from among the directors-at-large of the Board. The members of the Committee shall be selected by the chair and approved by the Board and should include members appointed from the Society’s general membership.
The Nomination and Election Committee shall secure nominations from the members of the Society who are in good standing and shall ascertain whether the nominees are qualified and willing to serve if elected. From those nominees who meet these criteria, the Nomination and Election Committee will designate a double slate of one or more candidates who will run for open positions on the Board, or decline to nominate any candidates for a particular office. The membership will be given the opportunity to write in a candidate for each office who the Nominations and Elections Committee has not designated as part of the official slate of candidates.
In accordance with Article 14 of the Certificate of Incorporation. Each officer shall hold office for a term length as described above, with the year running from February 1 to January 31, and until such officer’s successor has been elected and qualified. In any election for President-Elect, Vice President-Elect, Treasurer or Secretary, if two or more candidates for the same position tie for the number of votes required to be elected, another election to fill the office shall be held to resolve the tie. If a re-vote does not resolve the tie, the winner may be decided by a method of random selection determined by the Board. If an office becomes vacant for any reason, the Board may fill such vacancy. Any officer so elected shall serve only until such time as the unexpired term of such officer’s predecessor shall have expired unless re-elected by the members. Any officer may be removed by the members with or without cause. Such removal without cause shall be without prejudice to such person’s contract rights, if any, but the election of any person as an officer, agent or employee of the Society shall not of itself create contract rights.