AHA Council

Being a Council member is a volunteer position requiring time, energy, and good judgment. Elected Council members have made a commitment to participate in the leadership of the Association. This work includes institutional governance and oversight of the Association’s finances. Council members are expected to attend Council meetings, maintain an active membership in the Association, and support the Association’s annual fundraising efforts. The daily work of the Association is carried out by the Executive Director,  who oversees the Association’s professional staff.

AHA Council members:

• help set AHA priorities in consultation with the Executive Director
• offer ideas and suggestions consistent with the AHA’s mission and current goals
• work with others to implement key projects and initiatives
• help the AHA balance competing priorities and respond to member concerns
• help ensure the AHA can continue and expand its work and contributions to the discipline

Council members are fiduciaries of the AHA, which means they are legally required to act for the benefit of the Association, putting the AHA’s interests above their own. All members of the AHA Council are subject to the requirements and expectations of a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, including the standard legal duties of nonprofit board members.  In District of Columbia law, under which the AHA is incorporated, all non-profit board members have three distinct duties:

• Duty of care: Council members are expected to exercise care and judgment when making decisions, using all information reasonably available. Council members actively participate in the Council’s work: preparing for and attending Council meetings, asking questions, proposing plans, and exercising independent judgment.
• Duty of loyalty: Council members must ensure that any opportunity to help the Association is presented to the AHA. Council members avoid conflicts of interest and promptly report any that may occur, recusing themselves from decision-making if there is a conflict.
• Duty of obedience: Council members are expected to uphold the mission of the AHA and must not allow the Association to do anything that would endanger its nonprofit status or conflict with its mission.

The agenda of the Council draws on communications from members and other historians, initiatives from Council members, and the work of AHA staff. Council members conduct their work throughout the year. Council meetings are held in person each January during the AHA annual meeting and the first weekend in June. Teleconference meetings are held each spring and fall.  Additional ad hoc teleconference meetings may be held as needed.