In exactly one week the 2011 NYRA Board Election will begin! We’ve got an impressive slate of candidates this year. Six incumbents are running for reelection and nine challengers are vying for a spot on the board. This is one of the more diverse and impressive fields we have
seen. Current board members seeking reelection are: Jeffrey Nadel, Jackie Ferro, Katrina Moncure, Nigel Jones, Usiel Phoenix and Keith Mandell. Also running for the board are Kathleen O’Neal, Chris Hardy, Eric Goldstein, Samantha Godwin, Max Harmony, Jaylen Bledsoe,
Gibson Katz, Daniel Karpantschof and Connell Wise. All dues paying NYRA members will receive their ballots on June 30.

This election also has several bylaw amendments for the membership to approve. One of which bars staff members from serving on the board of directors, meaning that this is the first time since 1999 that Executive Director Alex Koroknay-Palicz will not be running for the board. With his absence, the election will be wide open, so it is more important than ever to become a member and vote!

The election will conclude on July 30 at our Annual Meeting. A tentative schedule will be released soon, but we can tell you this will be the first Annual Meeting with breakout sessions, effectively doubling the amount of workshops and activities at this year’s conference. Together with our first ever keynote speaker, Dr. Robert Epstein, the widely recognized author of Teen 2.0 (formerly The Case Against Adolescence), this will be the biggest most involved and most participatory annual meeting in NYRA history. There is still time to register for the conference, please do so here.