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How to support and engage with SAA Council

  • 1.  How to support and engage with SAA Council

    Posted Feb 12, 2025 04:58 PM
    Hi everyone,
    In response to my earlier request for SAA section support for the community sponsored council petition (in Feb 11/12 SAA Council agenda referred to as: Ethical Action in Sponsorship and Investment) asking for better and more ethical financial principles and processes, I have gotten a few questions on how specifically sections can support.
    I apologize if my initial request sounded too vague. I actually had not specified the type of support needed from sections as I had recalled from my past SAA leadership experience that each section has a different way of engaging with SAA administration and elected council members.
    But in an effort to bring clarity to the process of engaging with SAA council whether as an individual or as part of a section, I am sharing some ways others can support this effort or initiate their own. I was fortunate enough to have some amazing council section elected council member liaisons (shout out to Steven Booth!) who both guided and supported me through this often ambiguous or confusing process. 
    Easy Entry
    - voting (obviously) for council members and on SAA organization ballot issues (nice reminder post shared on this month's SAA Outlook: https://mydigitalpublication.com/publication/?i=839682&p=20&view=issueViewer)
    - attend online council meetings to show support for agenda items. There is a meeting THIS WEEK Feb 11 (Tuesday) & 12 (Wednesday) from 11 to 3 m central time with RSVP now available
    - Connect with SAA staff. Ask questions, reach out when things are unclear, or just get to know their names. While staff changes do occur, SAA admin hires tend to stay for a while and are usually SUPER helpful and friendly. But like all machines parts, staff does sometimes need member help & feedback on how to improve processes. Let's support them so they can support us. For example this leadership resource page is crucial
    Moderate Lift
    - Open Letters and petitions can be drafted by sections without formal support or approval from council. This may be more useful when sections  have particular goals or areas that they would like their membership to get more involved with or updated on. Here are some examples:
    - Reach out to SAA council members directly with individual or group letters of support. While I don't believe that council members get SAA affiliated emails, many do have their emails posted online for public outreach. Having existing relationships with council members does go a long way, but in my experience most are very friendly and open to hearing from SAA membership.
    Heavy Commitment
    - Submitting formal statements and resolutions. Sections can submit formal statements for SAA council to approve and act upon like the Ethical Sponsorship and Investment petition written by the Archivists for a Ceasefire group. See details on how here: https://www2.archivists.org/statements
    While I am not in a formal leadership position right now, I am always happy to chat with others on how members can be more invested and involved in organizations like SAA. This is likely going to be crucial as we continue on this path towards some pretty scary changes in the United States.
    Let's chat more!
    Itza


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    Itza Carbajal
    PhD Student
    University of Washington
    Seattle WA
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