Announcing the 2020 National Advisory Council Elections
Sign up to run for a seat on the National Advisory Council by January 26! Know someone who would be great for it? Let us know at brigade-info@codeforamerica.org
It’s once again time for the Code for America Brigade community to vote for leaders of the National Advisory Council! The National Advisory Council works with Code for America on how to best support the Brigade Network, shares their expertise, builds relationships, cultivates a diverse body of local leadership, ensures a safe community, and ultimately champions the interests of the brigade network at-large. Now in its fourth year, the role of a NAC member has evolved over time and continues to do so.
The 2018-2019 National Advisory Council meeting at Brigade Congress in Charlotte, NC.
Who are we looking for?
We’re looking for leaders who are passionate about building a movement that brings together people to use their skills to help their communities, who recognize that America-sized problems need an America-sized response, and who believe that we’re going to need to bring all kinds of different people to the table to make this work. We’re especially asking those who are underrepresented in technology to consider running for the National Advisory Council. We can’t possibly hope to grow this movement to meet the scale of today’s problems unless we ensure that everyone is invited to the table.
Feel that you aren’t qualified to run because you haven’t been doing this since the Brigade program started or aren’t a Brigade Captain? You are! If you’ve been working to bring change in your community and have ideas of how the Brigade Network could be more effective, you are exactly who the NAC needs.
If elected, NAC members should be prepared to travel a day early to Summit on March 11th for orientation and an in-person handoff from the current NAC to the new. Code for America will cover your airfare and lodging.
What’s on the ballot for 2020
This year, we’re electing the four regional seats. These seats are setup to ensure we have representation from the network from all over the country. The regions are:
At-large seats are expected to select one focus area, possible topics could include:
- Region 1: Northeast
- Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, DC, Connecticut, and Maryland.
- Region 2: Central
- Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Texas.
- Region 3: Southeast
- Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.
- Region 4: West
- Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam.
How to run and vote
- Your Brigade must be an official Brigade with a signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). If you’re not sure about this, check with your Brigade Captain or email brigade-info@codeforamerica.org.
- To run, you must submit a candidate form.
Timeline:
- January 26 at 11:59 pm PST: Candidate submissions close
- January 28: Voting Begins
- February 5th at 11:59 pm PST: Voting Ends
- February 6th: Candidates are notified of the outcome
- February 9th at 11:59 PM PST: Deadline for winners to formally accept
- February 10th: Winners announced and transition planning begins
- By February 17th: Travel for NAC members arranged
- March 11th: In-person meeting in DC with incoming and outgoing NAC to hand-off
You can read the whole NAC election framework here. If you have any questions about running, feel free to reach out to brigade-info@codeforamerica.org
FAQ for Candidates
Q: Can two candidates from the same city be elected?
A: Yes, the at-large seats have no geographical restrictions
Q: Do I have to be a Brigade Captain to run?
A: No. Any member of a Brigade is welcome to run.
Q: Do I have to be formally “recommended” in order to run?
A: No. Any member of a Brigade is welcome to run.
Q: What’s the time commitment?
A: Each NAC member will commit to remotely attending the monthly meeting which is an hour and a half long and requires approximately 30 minutes of prep. At the time new members are announced, Network Team staff will work with new NAC members to find the best time/dates for meetings. Each member will commit to three in-person meetings — normally around Summit (late spring), the Brigade Congress (early fall), and an onboarding meeting at the beginning of your term. Travel will be paid for by Code for America. NAC members should expect to spend a minimum of four hours a month working with Brigades and the Network Team at Code for America over email, Slack, and phone.