Meet the candidates standing for leadership positions

NIRSA membership votes annually, via electronic elections, to fill positions on the NIRSA Board of Directors and the Member Network as well as on any proposed amendments to NIRSA’s Bylaws. The 2024 NIRSA Elections will launch on January 18 and close on January 30.

The Nominations & Appointments Committee reviewed numerous qualified applications and, with the endorsement of the 2023–2024 NIRSA Board of Directors, presents the following for the 2024 NIRSA Board of Directors elections.

President Elect

Sean Basso, University of Tennessee

Andre Love, The Ohio State University

At-Large Director

Abby Whaley, Purdue University

James Wilkening, University of Central Florida

Professional members will have the opportunity to vote on candidates applying for President Elect and At-Large Director on the 2024–2025 NIRSA Board of Directors, as will all student members for the first time since the expansion of voting privileges.

Additionally, the regional nominations & appointments committees reviewed the various Member Network applications and, with the support of the NIRSA Nominations & Appointments Committee, presents the following slate of candidates for available Member Network positions.

Region II Regional Representative

Marty Dempsey, University of Florida

Antonio Gonzalez, University of South Florida

Region IV Regional Representative

Armando Espinoza, Kansas State University

Region VI Regional Representative

Ryan Kirchner, University of Utah

The NIRSA Member Network expands the regional network of the Association and creates opportunities for member involvement and leadership development. Professional members will have the chance to vote on their respective regional representative in Regions II, IV, and VI.

Last year, after careful consideration, elections for the Student Leadership Team were moved to a spring timeline. The decision to delay the recruitment timeline for student representatives allows the Nominations & Appointments Committee to continue recruiting student members to serve in NIRSA Student Leader and regional student leader roles. Students who are interested in serving on the NIRSA Member Network will have until January 24, 2024 to apply; student leadership elections will happen March 4-7, 2024.

NIRSA members stand for office

As a reminder to all members, candidates for the NIRSA Board of Directors and the Member Network don’t “run for election,” they “stand for office.” All candidates have agreed to serve the Association and it is an honor to have any one of them represent the membership. Therefore, it is not appropriate for members to campaign on behalf of individual candidates.

An electronic voting platform will be in place for the 2024 Elections. Please make sure your member profile is updated with your current email address so you can exercise your opportunity to vote! Only those professional and student members whose NIRSA membership is active as of 8:00am PST on January 17 will be eligible to vote.