National Council

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The National Council is the volunteer policy-making body for program operations and volunteer governance. The members of the National Council will be elected at the National Volunteer Assembly. There will be nine volunteer members on the National Council, each serving a 3-year term. There will also be non-voting staff representation on the National Council. Volunteers can be elected for two consecutive terms.

1 Membership criteria
2 Responsibilities of the National Council
3 Meetings
4 Decision-making and Consultation
5 Current Members
6 National Council Standing Committees

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Membership criteria

Registered volunteer
Completion of application to join the National Council
2 letters of endorsement from AFS Volunteers
Age 18 or over

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Responsibilities of the National Council

Planning and running the National Volunteer Assembly.
Determining the allocation of the at-large delegate invitations for each meeting
Attending the National Volunteer Assembly as non-voting participants.
Determining the annual hosting and sending commitment numbers for the organization
Monitoring the results of the national volunteer training plan
Implementing a national volunteer recognition plan
Grant Chapter Charters and Area Team Charters
Developing program operational guidelines and policies in compliance with AFS International, the Council on Standards for Educational Travel (CSIET), and the US Department of State standards and regulations
Developing volunteer and governance guidelines and policies
Assisting in the development and implementation of the operational plan for the organization
In conjunction with the AFS-USA Board of Directors, evaluating the value, the impact, and the relevance of the programs in the larger society

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Meetings

The National Council will have 4 in-person meetings per year, one of which will occur at the same place as and immediately prior to or following the National Volunteer Assembly, and at least 2 conference calls.

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Decision-making and Consultation

The National Council (NC) makes decisions in the following areas:

Financial

Anything which would have a direct or indirect financial impact on the ability of area teams to provide key program services (sending, hosting, support, and orientations).
Co-payment amounts should be approved annually by National Council 6 - 12 months in advance of any change. The National Council’s Volunteer Finance workgroup or a specific ad hoc work group of the National Council would make the recommendation to the National Council and the NC should decide.
Any new activities AFS-USA will require its volunteers to carry out that would have costs attached, such as increasing orientation lengths, volunteer registration, etc. In the event that a new activity is imposed by an external regulatory body the National Council would not decide whether to do it but how best it might be done.
Any performance-related incentives payable to area teams and/or individual volunteers to ensure financially viable growth with quality after consultation with staff.
The Volunteer Finances workgroup of the National Council could review and make recommendations as needed on the maximum or minimum balances able to be held in "volunteer" bank accounts and reporting practices related to volunteer finances.

Hosting and Sending

The National Council will determine the planning process to pre-determine the national hosting and sending volumes 2 -3 years in advance, and then its annual and cyclical (SH/NH) role should be to work on how the national goals will be fulfilled or distributed amongst the regions, area teams and chapters of AFS-USA, including ensuring plans exist for capacity growth and contingency plans for capacity challenges.

Volunteer Structure

Changes such as the requirements to be a chapter, changes to Area Team requirements, modifications to Regional Council guidelines or territories.
The National Council should lead the formation of recommendations about substantial changes to volunteer structures such as a comprehensive review of the regional or area team structures and function.

The National Council (NC) is consulted in the following areas:

Financial

Consult with appropriate staff after seeking volunteer input through the regional councils any possible improvements on travel arrangements at least a year in advance of program operations: expected costs, possible efficiencies or savings relating to domestic participant travel and orientations.
National Council should ensure a role for volunteers to provide recommendations on local fund-raising.
National Council should be consulted when the role volunteers can play in allocating scholarship dollars is re-examined.

Hosting and Sending

Major changes to hosting (such as sponsored program growth and catalyst programs), sending (such as the France Reciprocal Program) and scholarship programs should be brought to the National Council so that clear prior input is sought before a decision is made by the senior management.

Strategic Planning

The National Council should be formally involved in the creation of the organization’s long-term strategic plans. Further, there should be an engagement model built into the strategic planning processes that naturally but officially solicits feedback and input from volunteers at all levels.

Volunteer Training & Development

Consultation with the National Council will occur for topics which affect volunteers, such as how much funding is available for volunteer training, chapter development, etc.
The regional or national volunteer training calendar(s) would ideally be collaboratively developed and get determined well in advance with input from the Regional Councils and National Council.

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Current Members

As of December,2007 the National Council consisted of:

Volunteer members:

Judy Weyand, Chair
Barb Kelly, Great Lakes
Deb Dahlberg, Upper Midwest
Damian Pisanelli, Northwest
Anne Herendeen, Southwest
Gerry Bair, Southeast
Elizabeth Leatham, Northeast
Mary Porterfield, So Central
Susan Rowley, Liaison to Board of Directors

Staff members:

Jorge Castro, Chief Administrative Officer
Kristen Bates, Chief Program Officer, Hosting
Jonathan Shakes, Chief Program Officer, Sending
Kerry McCollum, VP Organizational Development
Helen Lowman, VP Intercultural Education and Quality
Michele Maw, Chief Development Officer
Keri Dooley, VP Sponsored Programs
Margaret Crotty, President, Ex-Officio Member
Nancy Frazier, Manager, Volunteer Development, Secretary to National Council

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