MESC is a volunteer, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization led by current members who have been elected to represent our dynamic field. Founded over 30 years ago, MESC provides museum educators throughout Southern California with professional development, theoretical discourse, practical training, and networking opportunities.
MESC’s governing body is the Board of Directors, consisting of current MESC members who serve in non-salaried positions. Excluding Past President, the Board includes 11 elected positions: Advancement, Community Engagement, Digital, Diversity + Inclusion + Accessibility, Membership Engagement, MESCsperiments, President, Secretary, Treasurer, Vice President, and Web.
Call for Nominations
Are you committed to the field of museum education? Are you enlivened by working collaboratively with people who have different perspectives, backgrounds, and expertise than you? Do you have the time to commit to serving your community on a non-profit board? Then we want you!
We are excited to announce that MESC’s Election Committee is now accepting nominations for the 2019-2021 board term. We welcome applicants from across Southern California, and strongly encourage nominees at all career levels and from diverse academic, professional, and cultural backgrounds to apply. The Election Committee consists of three current board members, none of whom are running for re-election.
Application Materials
Please review the information below and submit the nomination form by midnight Monday, April 1, 2019. Self-nominations are welcome and candidates can be in touch with questions or to discuss position details by emailing Holly Gillette at hgillette@lacma.org.
To download the call for nomination information, click here.
Detailed Position Descriptions
Each position is elected by current MESC membership. Below are formal position descriptions as well as brief highlights of what the current board member completed during their 2017-19 term.
Advancement
The Advancement board member works with President and MESC board to identify funding priorities, research new grant opportunities, write grant applications, and follow through on grant mid-year and end of year reports. Work with the Treasurer to complete grant reports as needed. The Advancement board member organizes and ensures the smooth functioning of the day-to-day fundraising and advancement operations of MESC.
During the 2017-19 board term, Advancement was also responsible for designing compelling fundraising campaigns to support organizational funding needs and strategic priorities; collaborating with the Communications Committee to create targeted content surrounding fundraising campaigns; and tracking donated funds.
Community Engagement
The Community Engagement (CE) role is responsible for creating and implementing systems to engage community members and build relationships, partnerships, and collaborations. Questions such as, “How can we engage one another to build our community capacity?” or “How could we cross-pollinate with other organizations to share in network building?” will guide their work. This board member works closely with Diversity + Inclusion + Accessibility, Membership Engagement, and MESCsperiments to design an engagement initiative that will identify, initiate, and deepen relationships with various community stakeholders. This member is responsible in researching compelling programming in Southern California and sharing it with the MESC membership through MESCommunity / MESCrecommends, and works with Web and Digital board members to promote such activities.
During the 2017-19 board term, CE was also responsible for serving on the Engagement working group and assisting the Communications Committee; collaborating with MESC members to create member-generated programs; identifying and cultivating relationships with external organizations; and hosting MESC events at local and national conferences.
Digital
The Digital Media board member is responsible for creating, designing, and sharing the MESC story with the digital world while co-developing the MESC production calendar and organizational social media strategy with the Web board member and the MESC board. The Digital Media board member will work closely with MESCsperiments and Membership Engagement to promote MESC programming, and work with the Community Engagement board member to promote MESCommunity / MESCrecommends programming. The DM’s role actively engages within the online social community as MESC through interactive methods of response and / or reroute to the appropriate board member, such as but not limited to; tweets, facebook messages, share job posts, etc., in a timely manner in-line with co-developed production calendar. The DM would share trends with the board on appropriate themes related to MESC’s Mission, Vision, and Values discovered in their digital scope.
During the 2017-19 board term, the Digital board member also created the Digital Style Guide, which is to be reviewed and updated on a regular basis.
Diversity + Inclusion + Accessibility
The Diversity + Inclusion + Accessibility (DIA) board member is MESC’s advocate for digging deeper and diversifying MESC membership, its offerings, and the field at -large. Questions such as, “Who is our membership?”, “Are we reaching out to underrepresented communities?”, “How do we include museum educators from outside the art world”, and “How can we incorporate this as a dialogue in our individual and institutional practice, as well as within the field?” will guide their work. The DIA will research, analyze, and identify strategies to fill membership gaps, and will work closely with the Community Engagement, Membership Engagement, and MESCsperiments board members to develop an engagement strategy that is inclusive and diverse.
During the 2017-19 board term, DIA was also responsible for analyzing how diversity, inclusion and accessibility are practiced within MESC and finding areas of continued growth; suggesting methods for intentionally developing programs for people MESC has traditionally not considered in their programming calendar; acting as a lead or support in program execution; facilitating writing process of cultural equity statement; and leading content creation for the Annual Institute.
Membership Engagement
The Membership Engagement (ME) board member is the catalyst for how MESC will engage with its membership community. Questions such as, “How do we engage our membership?” and “In what ways can we recruit and maintain membership?” will drive their work. The ME will maintain the database of members, reach out to members for renewal, and research opportunities to recruit new membership. This board member will develop ideas for membership programming. ME will work closely with the Community Engagement, Diversity + Inclusion + Accessibility, and MESCsperiments board members to design an engagement initiative that will identify, initiate, and deepen relationships with various community stakeholders.
During the 2017-19 board term, ME was also responsible for establishing and maintaining a membership database; processing membership payments; actively researching opportunities for recruiting new membership; and directing 1-2 programs per year.
MESCsperiments
The MESCsperiments board member is responsible for researching, developing, and implementing new experimental programming with MESC. They will work closely with Diversity + Inclusion + Accessibility to develop strategic and diverse programming while also working alongside Membership Engagement and the MESC board, MESCsperiments to develop an engagement strategy for programming. This board member will also research, create, maintain, and share with the board all evaluative documentation of programs as well as compile learnings for a potential MESC Blog / Social Media / Web / Publication outlets.
This position encouraged the board to try new things and participated in the engagement working group.
President
The President is responsible for the overall direction and control of financial, business, and programmatic activities of MESC. The President will work collaboratively with other board members, overseeing the activities of the board and working groups, ensuring the alignment of the mission, vision, and values. This position employs strategic thinking and forethought, planning the timeline of all meetings, the annual institute, and board retreat. The President will work closely with the VP to ensure accountability and equitable distribution of workload among the board members and working groups, as well as create a strategic plan for both internal and external communication. In the absence or disability of the Treasurer, the President will assume vital responsibilities until a new Treasurer is appointed. Additionally, the President will represent MESC in professional association meetings and assume a strong public position of advocacy for museum education. In-order to run for President, one must have served one full term in a leadership position - either as a board member or as a working group chair.
During the 2017-19 board term, the President was also responsible for onboarding new board members; leading the board in the creation and maintenance of workflows/processes to ensure efficacy; ensuring board activities aligned with MESC’s mission and vision; cultivating and supporting board cohesion, communication, and projects; connecting MESC with larger organizations; and crafting professional development opportunities for the board.
Secretary
The Secretary is responsible for maintaining the organizational records of MESC. This position will communicate details of all board and member meetings, providing a written summary of proceedings and action items. The Secretary will collect year-end summaries from each board member and/or working group and compile them in the annual report, which will be used by the Treasurer and Advancement for future grant proposals.
During the 2017-19 board term, the Secretary served on the Communications Committee to produce all marketing and e-newsletter content, responded and fielded all queries addressed to MESC, created an end-of-term board summary, and served as general operating support for all committees.
Treasurer
The Treasurer is responsible for keeping and maintaining the financial records and accounts of MESC. This position will work in collaboration with Advancement developing financial reporting for grant applications and annual budgets. The Treasurer will work closely with Membership Engagement, Community Engagement, and MESCsperiments in relation to generating revenue through membership dues and programming.
During the 2017-19 board term, the Treasurer was also responsible for ensuring compliance with best accounting practices and creating a new general ledger and project code system.
Vice President
The Vice President (VP) is responsible for collaborating with the engagement, digital/web, and advancement teams/working groups to develop strategic plans for content and programming. The VP will work closely alongside the President on larger initiatives, such designing the annual board retreat, providing capacity building opportunities/workshops for the board of directors and membership, and ensuring accountability and equitable distribution of workload among board members, as well as create a strategic plan for both internal and external communication. In the absence or disability of the President, the VP will assume the role and responsibilities of the President.
During the 2017-19 board term, the VP was also responsible for helping the board envision larger goals, strategies, and practicalities; ensuring board meetings were planned, scheduled, and communicated; and supporting and mediating relationships amongst board members.
Web
The Web board member is responsible in developing and maintaining MESC’s web presence and functionality through its website and online accounts. The Web board member will help co-create and manage an internal production calendar for all MESC web presence while working closely with the Digital board member and the MESC board to create a digital/web strategy for MESC. This board member will need graphics/web design knowledge.
During the 2017-19 board term, Web also redesigned the MESC website and brand identity.
Q&A
When are nominations due?
All nominations must be submitted using the online form by midnight on Monday, April 1, 2019.
What materials do I need to submit a nomination?
In addition to the nominee’s contact information, the nomination form requires the following materials:
The nominee must indicate their preferred board position, as well as their second-choice position (if desired)
Short paragraph describing the nominee’s qualifications and interest in their top-choice board position (max. 150 words)
Nominee’s professional bio (max. 100 words)
PDF file of the nominee’s current résumé or CV
Name and contact information of one professional reference
Does the nominee need to be a current MESC member?
Yes, all nominees must be a current MESC member to be considered for a board position.
What are the dates of service for the 2019-21 board term?
The 2019-21 board commences on July 1, 2019 and concludes June 30, 2021. Nominees should be prepared to serve the full board term, participating in a variety of in-person and digital meetings, special programs, the Annual Institute, and additional committee projects.
What are the baseline commitments for all board positions?
All nominees should be prepared to commit to the following practices during the board term:
Desire to work collaboratively with people who may have different perspectives, backgrounds, and expertise than you
Positive, constructive, and transparent communication practices
Serving at least 5-10 hours per month, and being accountable for all hours served
Serving outside of your role by volunteering on one collaborative committee in addition to your core committee within the board
Participate in MESC programming, including the Annual Institute
Maintain current MESC Membership status during board term
Currently active or desire to become an active participant in the museum education field (you’ll be a MESC ambassador!)
What is the election timeline?
Nominations open on March 19th and close April 1st at midnight. The Election Committee will review all nominations, and contact nominees in April for brief phone interviews. Online voting for MESC members will begin on May 7th and end on May 17th at midnight; MESC members will receive their ballot via email. By May 31st, all candidates will be notified of the election results. MESC members and soon-to-be members will learn election results during the Annual Institute, which is scheduled for Thursday, June 20th or Thursday, June 27th. A follow-up email announcing the new board will be sent to MESC’s entire distribution list following the Annual Institute.
Is the new board required to attend the 2019 Annual Institute?
Yes, all new board members are required to attend the 2019 Annual Institute, which is scheduled for Thursday, June 20th or Thursday, June 27th (please hold both dates in your calendar). Nominees who are already aware of a potential conflict should contact Holly Gillette at hgillette@lacma.org.
Who do I contact if I have a question?
If you have any questions regarding the nomination or election process, please contact Holly Gillette at hgillette@lacma.org.
Respond to the call for board nominations here!
Deadline to respond is midnight on April 1, 2019
Download the Call For Nomination information here.
Questions? Email: hgillette@lacma.org