Mid-America LGBT Chamber Announces Board of Director Nominations Now Open

The Mid-America LGBT Chamber of Commerce has notified its members that nominations and applications for the Board of Directors are now open through May 31, 2022.

Kansas City, Missouri | Monday, May 2, 2022– The Mid-America LGBT Chamber of Commerce (the “Chamber”) announced to its membership today that nominations and applications for the Board of Directors (the “Board”) are now open through May 31^st, 2022. Any member in good standing may apply to the board during this time and will be considered by the Nominations Committee. Interested members can apply to the Board by visiting https://www.midamericalgbt.org/application/.

Michael Hopkins, Nominations Committee Chair and Vice President of the Chamber Board, says that there are specific skill sets and areas of expertise that the committee will prioritize. “The committee will be prioritizing applications with financial, legal, and human resources experience which align with our current strategic initiatives as well as offsets some of the expertise we’re losing with board members that are rolling off the board.”

Additionally, Hopkins says that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion remain a high priority and consideration for the committee and the Chamber as a whole. “Last year we evaluated the most diverse applicant pool in the Chamber’s history and we do not intend that to be an anomaly, we will continue the important equity work started last year by recruiting applicants from diverse racial, gender, and generational backgrounds, and emphasizing diversity during our evaluations.”

At the end of this Board term, the Chamber will be left with four open seats. As per the bylaws, the Nominations Committee reviews all applications and then votes to advance a slate of candidates to the Board and to the membership. The membership will then vote to approve or reject the slate as a whole in July. If approved, the new Board members will begin their terms in August. The Nominations Committee may choose to advance candidates for all four open Board seats or may choose to advance only a few.

“Even with the loss of four Board members this year, the Board still has 12 sitting members. That means the Nominations Committee is not under a lot of pressure to fill every seat, we will only advance the candidates that we believe will make a positive and supportive impact on the organization as a whole,” says Hopkins.

The Nominations Committee also includes Board Members Joel Barrett, Kate Nielsen, Brandy Williams, and Paige Perlik, as well as volunteer members Jay Pryor, Daniel Silva, and Peter Cajina. The Mid-America LGBT Chamber of Commerce exists to create, identify, and enhance business opportunities for LGBTQ+ and allied organizations through advocacy, promotion, and facilitation of the success of the LGBTQ+ business community and our allies to foster a more inclusive and vibrant economy in Kansas City and across the Mid-America region.