Special Election - Islandora Board seat

[Noah Smith]

Islandora Community,

Nicole Scalessa (Vassar College) is stepping down from the Islandora Foundation Board. She will continue to collaborate with with us in her other various Committee roles, and most importantly she will remain co-Chair of the Islandora Leadership Group and the recently renamed IF User Group (formerly the LAC-GLAM Interest Group).

I would like to take this moment to thank her for nearly two years of outstanding Board service, and extend my additional appreciation for her Committee efforts. Please take a moment to thank her as well, next time you see her.

Our bylaws and Canadian laws state that we must have a minimum of three Directors on our Board, so we will need to hold a special election of our Membership to fill this seat through the next AGM, when Nicole’s term was set to expire. At that time we will hold an open election for all vacant seats (our bylaws allow for a maximum of five directors).

Our bylaws require a minimum of 21 days and a maximum of 35 days notice for such a meeting. This message serves as notice that we will hold such a meeting on March 24, at 1pm Eastern. Aubrey will schedule the meeting and post it to the community calendar. 

For the next fourteen days we will be accepting nominations for the Board. Eligibility is open to all “employees and authorized representatives” of paying member organizations of all levels. If you are interested in learning more or nominating yourself or someone from your organization, please email me or find me in Islandora Slack and I will provide information on the related duties and obligations.

On behalf of the Islandora Board,
~Noah W. Smith, President

[Noah Smith]

Hello again, while we have received some interest, we do not have any confirmed candidates for a special election next week. I am going to bump our special elections back by three weeks to provide time for ongoing conversations to wrap up. This message serves as revised notice that we will now hold our special meeting on April 14, at 1pm Eastern. Aubrey will reschedule the meeting on our community calendar. Thanks for your patience, ~Noah

[Noah Smith]

Hello again,

 
Two updates from me on this topic. First, to address concerns about representation for non-vendors on the Islandora Board, Gerry Lawless has also resigned his seat. My thanks to Gerry for his service as the Islandora Foundation Treasurer. This leaves us with two seats to fill, which brings me to my second update. I am happy to announce that we currently have three candidates for these two available seats:

• Cary Gordon, of and nominated by Cherry Hill
• Natalie Baur, of and nominated by the University of Iowa
• Mark Jordan, of Simon Fraser University, nominated by York University

Our special election will take place as scheduled at 1pm Eastern on April 14, 2026 in an open meeting linked from the Islandora Community Calendar. Each member organization is entitled to vote for two candidates in this election, and the two candidates receiving the greatest number of votes will join the Islandora Board for until the next Annual General Meeting. 

All the best, ~Noah

[comm...@islandora.ca]

Hi everyone,

Reminder that the special election for two board seats is happening Tuesday, April 14th at 1PM ET. 

Islandora members will be able to vote on the two seats, and we currently have three candidates for those seats: 

• Cary Gordon, of and nominated by Cherry Hill
• Natalie Baur, of and nominated by the University of Iowa
• Mark Jordan, of Simon Fraser University, nominated by York University
  

We will hold the election via Zoom (link to join) and have a form for voting. If you are unable to attend, please let me know before Tuesday so you can vote ahead of time. The election results will be final after the Tuesday meeting. 

Thank you & looking forward to seeing you there.

Aubrey Shanahan
Community Manager | Islandora Foundation

[comm...@islandora.ca]

Hi everyone,

We reached quorum at today's special election, which allowed us to proceed with voting. Members that were in attendance have voted, and, in correction of my earlier email, those not in attendance will have until April 19th to vote. Any members who do not vote by the 19th will be counted as an abstention. 

If you are a member that was not able to attend, please look for an email from me with the voting link.

Thank you,

Aubrey Shanahan
Community Manager | Islandora Foundation

[comm...@islandora.ca]

Hi everyone,

Election results are in, and I am pleased to share the two newly elected board members:

• Mark Jordan, of Simon Fraser University, nominated by York University
• Natalie Baur, of and nominated by the University of Iowa
  

Many thanks to everyone who put their names forward, and all the members that participated in voting.

I'd also like to remind everyone that our board can accommodate 5 members, so I'd encourage anyone who's interested to look out for election information on those two additional seats as we get closer to the Annual General Meeting (to be scheduled for July or August). 

All the best, 

Aubrey Shanahan
Community Manager | Islandora Foundation