About the Committees

Committee Size and Make-Up

APDT committees shall consist of one Committee Chair, an Advising Director and a minimum of seven, a maximum of ten additional committee members. Alternatively, a committee may consist of two Committee Co-Chairs, an Advising Director and minimum of seven, a maximum of nine additional committee members. Committee Chairs shall make reasonable efforts to maintain at least minimum committee size in order that a maximum number of APDT members are provided with the opportunity to serve the organization. When a vacancy occurs, the Committee Chair and Board Advisor shall reopen the appointment process and actively solicit suitable applicants in order to fill the vacancy as promptly as possibly.

Full members may serve on committees.

Committees that currently consist of more than ten regular committee members (or nine, when there are two-Co-Chairs) will be reduced to the appropriate number through attrition; committee members will not be asked to resign to reduce numbers.

Each Committee Chair, in conjunction with his/her Advising Director, shall develop a list of desired qualifications for their committee members. This list shall be posted and distributed any time a committee vacancy is announced.

Committee Chairs are encouraged to establish subcommittees to accomplish specific committee tasks when needed. Volunteers for subcommittees can be selected by the Committee Chair.

Committee Chair Appointment Process

APDT Committee Chairs shall be appointed by majority vote of the APDT Board of Directors for a term of three years. The Board may select a Committee Chair from the existing committee members or solicit a Chair from the APDT membership-at-large, with input from other committee members. Committee Chairs shall not be Board members, although in the case of a Chair vacancy the committee’s Advising Director shall act as Chair until the vacancy is filled by the Board. Chair vacancies are to be filled within 60 days of the creation of the vacancy.

Committee Chairs must have (or have daily access to) a computer with e-mail/internet capabilities. Committee Chairs shall coordinate with all committee members in order to further the goals and mandates of the committee, communicate regularly with the committee’s Advising Director, and submit reports to the Advising Director prior to each Board meeting. Reports will be requested quarterly to track progress on the long range plan. Committee Chairs (or their designees) will present a committee report at the APDT annual meeting detailing accomplishments of the committee from the past year and goals for the coming year.

Committee Chairs must be willing to support and further the mission and goals of the APDT. They serve as a member of the long range planning team with the Board members.

Committee Appointment Process

The APDT has limited committee opportunities for its more than 2,500 members, and recognizes that in order to promote fairness and avoid the appearance of exclusivity it is necessary to have a standardized process in place to fill committee appointments and other such volunteer opportunities. Therefore, the procedure for filling committee vacancies and other volunteer openings (excluding Board of Director positions) shall be as follows:

1. Interested members shall notify the Chair of their interest in writing prior to the contact deadline (postmarked or e-mail dated prior to deadline). Such notice of interest shall include a brief statement as to the member’s qualifications to serve on the committee and contact information for the member. Any member applying for committee openings may also provide a resume if s/he desires. All applicants for committee openings must be current full members in good standing prior to applying or being considered for a committee opening. Applicants must also have or be willing to obtain regular access to a computer with Internet capabilities.
2. Members may also provide a notice of interest, statement of qualifications and (optional) resume at any time, to be kept on file by the Committee Chair for consideration for future openings.
3. Committee Chair shall keep a list of previously interested members and notify such members when a committee opening becomes available to determine if such members are still interested in serving and still qualified to serve on the committee. Chairs shall take advantage of all available resources for announcing committee openings as timing and deadlines allow, including but not limited to the APDT website, the APDT newsletter, the Member News Bulletin and the APDT e-mail lists. Such postings shall include a contact deadline and contact information for the Committee Chair. Such postings shall also include a list of desired qualifications and skills for prospective members.
4. Appointment to committee openings shall be at the discretion of the Chair and the Advising Director and/or the Chair, Advising Director and current committee members. Such appointment shall be made within 30 days of the application deadline, posted to the APDT web site as soon as possible following the appointment, and announced in the next available APDT newsletter or Member News Bulletin. New committee members shall complete a six-month introductory period during which time they are to receive a thorough orientation of the work of the committee. The introductory period is a time for the new member and existing committee members to determine if they are a good fit.
5. Committee terms shall be for a maximum of three years. The Advising Director and the Committee Chair may make a recommendation to the full Board of Directors for a second consecutive committee term.
6. APDT members can serve on no more than two committees, unless there are no other viable applicants for a particular committee opening, in which case a member may serve on one additional committee.
7. Appeals regarding a particular committee appointment shall be made, in writing, first to the Committee Chair, then to the Advising Director, finally to the full Board of Directors if concerns have not been resolved. Committee Chairs and Advising Directors shall respond to appeals in writing within 14 days, the full Board of Directors shall respond in writing within 30 days.

Committee members must be willing to support and further the mission and goals of the APDT.

Committee Chair Removal Process

Committee Chairs are subject to removal by majority vote of the Board of Directors for one or more of the following reasons:

• Consistent failure to fulfill Committee Chair commitments and/or assignments.
• Demonstration of a pattern of disruptive behavior that impedes the ability of the committee to function.
• Demonstration of a pattern of disruptive behavior that impedes the ability of the organization to function.
• Failure to support the mission and goals of the committee and/or of the APDT.

When a Committee Chair is believed to be engaging in one or more of the above behaviors, the Advising Director for that committee shall consult with the President of the Board and the Executive Director and then notify the Committee Chair in writing that s/he is being placed on probationary status for a period of 60 days, and why. If the Chair’s behavior does not change substantially during the probationary period the Advising Director shall, again after consulting with the President and Executive Director, notify the Chair that s/he has been removed from the committee. If the Chair’s behavior does change sufficiently such that s/he becomes an effective Chair of the committee, the Advising Director shall, after consulting with the President and Executive Director, notify the Chair that s/he has been removed from probationary status.

Appeals regarding a Committee Chair probationary status and/or removal shall be made, in writing, first to the Advising Director, then to the full Board of Directors if concerns have not been resolved. Advising Directors shall respond to appeals in writing within 14 days, the full Board of Directors shall respond in writing within 30 days.

Committee Member Removal Process

Committee members are subject to removal from a committee by the Committee Chair and Advising Director for one or more of the following reasons:

1. Consistent failure to participate in committee discussions and communications.
2. Consistent failure to fulfill committee commitments and/or assignments.
3. Demonstration of a pattern of disruptive behavior that impedes the ability of the committee to function.
4. Failure to support the mission and goals of the committee and/or of the APDT

If the committee member engages in any of the above activities during his/her six-month introductory period, the Committee Chair, after consulting with and obtaining approval from the Advising Director for that committee, will notify the member in writing that he/she is being placed on a probationary status for a period of 30-90 days, to be determined by the Chair and Board Advisor. If the member has completed his/her introductory period, the probationary period shall be 30-60 days, to be determined by the Chair and Board Advisor. If the member’s behavior is disruptive to the point of hindering committee function, the probationary period may be reduced to 14 days at the Chair and Board Advisor’s discretion. If the offending behavior continues to occur during that period, the Chair shall, again after consulting with the Advising Director, notify the member that s/he has been removed from the committee. If the member’s behavior does change sufficiently such that s/he becomes a productive member of the committee, the Chair shall, after consulting with the Advising Director, notify the member that s/he has been removed from probationary status.

In the case of a member who is being placed on probation for being non-responsive, the probation is retroactive to the first contact to the member concerning his/her lack of response. The member may be removed from the committee at the end of said probationary period. Contact should be attempted via e-mail, telephone, and the US Postal Service before the member is placed on probationary status. If the issue of non-responsiveness is not resolved by the end of the probation period, the member shall be notified via mail that they have been removed from the committee.

Appeals regarding a committee member probationary status and/or removal shall be made, in writing, first to the Committee Chair, then to the Advising Director, finally to the full Board of Directors if concerns have not been resolved. The committee member in question shall be suspended from committee participation during the appeals process. Committee Chairs and Advising Directors shall respond to appeals in writing within 14 days, the full Board of Directors shall respond in writing within 30 days.

Addendum to Committee Policy: Committee Liaisons

The position of committee liaison will be considered a “discretionary position”. An active committee member may be selected to act as a liaison for his/her committee, if deemed necessary by the Committee Chair and Board Advisor according to the needs of the committee. The position of committee liaison will be considered temporary in term to fulfill a project, interact with another specific committee as needed, or be a contact point within the committee for the membership body.

The committee liaison will be selected from current committee members and may be so designated by the Committee Chair or selected by requesting a vote from all members of the committee.

A committee may designate a member as committee liaison for a specific project or to interact with another committee. For example, if a member has a joint project with another committee, a committee member may be selected to oversee aspects of that project for their committee. Completion of the project will terminate the need for the liaison.

Additionally, a committee member who serves on two committees may be asked to act as a liaison with the other committee, thereby enhancing the communication between the two committees. Should that member leave either committee, the liaison position will be dissolved for that purpose.

Finally, a committee may also designate a “liaison at large”, thereby giving the other committees a *contact* person on that committee. The need for a “liaison at large” will first be determined by the Committee Chair and Board Advisor. The Committee Chair may select a liaison at large from the committee members or ask for interested parties from current members of the committee. Of those interested members, the chair may then select a member for the liaison at large or ask for a vote from the committee membership. The term of the liaison at large will be predetermined by the Committee Chair and Board Advisor and will not be longer than the length of time the committee member will serve on the committee.

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