Board of Directors

Responsibilities and Functions

Responsibilities and Functions of the GTA Board of Directors and Volunteers

7 members of the Board of Directors are elected by the GTA membership and each serve 3 year terms. The Board shall have general supervision, control, and direction of the affairs of the GTA and ensure adequate membership with cross-functional representation in the Excellence in Science Award Committee. Each Board member must be a member of the GTA.

Chair

Responsible for organizing and leading routine board meetings.
The Chair shall exercise general supervision over the affairs of the Association which includes establishing timelines and clear accountabilities for all activities needed to support the planning and execution of the annual meeting. Planning is subject to the direction and approval of the Board of Directors (BOD).
Assures qualified individuals are selected to serve as annual meeting program chair(s), and as GTA Officers.
Distributes information to external parties regarding upcoming meetings/events through; society contacts; asking for advertisement on their web page; ask for blast emails to be sent to their members, etc.
Provides formal invitations and notes of appreciation for the annual meeting speakers, as appropriate.
Acts as the liaison to the Excellence in Science Award (ESA) Committee.

Chair Elect

Assists Chair and fulfills the duties of Chair if he/she is unable to do so.
The Chair Elect is responsible for managing funding requests associated with the annual meeting. This includes submitting applications and other information required by the funding agency (e.g., post-meeting summary reports).
Organize the election for new members of the BOD. This includes soliciting nominees, collecting biosketches, and generating a ballot.

At Large

Assist with general supervision, control, and direction on the affairs of the GTA, as needed. This includes assisting the Chair or Chair Elect when requested.

Officers

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Additional Officer positions created by the Board of Directors shall perform such duties and have such responsibilities as the Board of Directors may from time to time prescribe. Each Officer must be a member of the GTA, though not necessarily of the BOD.

Secretary

Responsible for recording the minutes of each Board of Directors meeting, sending correspondence (other than that sent by the session chairs), maintaining other Association records, and other responsibilities as the Board of Directors may from time to time prescribe.

Treasurer

The Treasurer shall have general supervision of the Association’s funds and financial records and shall perform such other duties and have such other responsibilities as the Board of Directors may from time to time prescribe.
Point of contact for coordinating meeting logistics, venue, food, and other services required by the GTA at the annual meeting.
Manages travel requests for speakers and recipients of travel awards, as appropriate.
Manages the receipt of funding from corporate sponsors, meeting sponsors, and exhibitors.
Maintains and updates contact information for current and potential corporate sponsors, meeting sponsors and exhibitors.

Assistant Treasurer

Assists Treasurer and fulfills the duties of Treasurer if he/she is unable to do so.

Committee Chairs

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The Board of Directors may establish, or delegate authority to a volunteer to act as Committee Chair to establish, such committees, and their reporting relationships, to serve for such periods of time as the Board of Directors or the Chair deems expedient and proper.

Qualifications: must be a member of the GTA, though not necessarily of the Board of Directors.

Communications Chair

Facilitates formal mass communication for the GTA to members and to the external environment as directed by the BOD.
Distributes newsletter (either file or link to GTA website on-line version).
Distributes reminders of pivotal deadlines related to the annual meeting and membership registration. This includes but is not limited to early bird registration, annual membership dues renewal, and travel award deadlines.
Serves as member of all committees that require communication.
Facilitates the maintenance of the GTA email distribution list.
Aids in the generation and/or distribute of ad hoc letters, as directed by the board.

Outreach Chair(s)

1. Assists with the process of obtaining funding for the annual meeting through official invitation letters to previous meeting contributors and potential new vendors and sponsors.
Maintains and updates contact information of schools and universities that have potential relevance to GTA. Manages the travel award process and notifies award recipient(s) of selection.
Is part of the committee organizing student and/or new investigator outreach events at the annual GTA meeting.
Responsible for vendor and general meeting survey development and will present the survey results to the BOD.

Excellence in Science Award Committee (ESA) Chair

Responsible for maintaining the independent Charter of the ESA Committee.
Facilitates the Award nomination and voting process.
Notifies awardee and is responsible for the overall conduct of the award ceremony. This includes identifying someone to present the award, and getting all the materials to present to the awardee.

Scientific Program Committee Chair(s)

Creates a scientific meeting proposal for discussion with the BOD.
Recruits session chairs and collaborates with them to develop a program which incorporates the scientific theme of the meeting.
Communicates with the scientific program committee (which, consists of all the session Chairs) on a regular basis and works with them to design a program that meets members’ needs.

Scientific Program Committee Members (session chairs)

This committee essentially consists of the session chairs and other volunteers to assist with scientific program of the Annual Meeting of the GTA.
Sends invitation letters to potential speakers and confirms participation of speakers/expert panel members.
Confirms speaker titles, affiliations, and request for travel accommodations.
If not obtained during the invitation process, obtains speaker consent for posting slides online after the meeting.

Other

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The BOD may grant, or delegate authority to the Chair to grant, authority to volunteers for logistical and administrative positions, to serve for such periods of time as the Board of Directors or the Chair deems expedient and proper.

Qualifications: must be a member of the GTA, though not necessarily of the Board of Directors.

Web liaison

Responsible for the content of the GTA website, incorporating input and suggestions from the BOD, Officers, and Committee Chairs.
Maintains a working relationship with the GTA Webmaster.
Posts current membership list on members-only section of website.
Provides slides to the Webmaster for uploading to the members-only section of the website.
Provides information to the Webmaster regarding deadlines and when content refresh is required.
May beta-test non-production site to verify functionality and accuracy before new pages/tools go active.

Account Administrator

This position may be combined with another role, as appropriate.
Maintains Google user accounts for the BOD, Officers, Committee Chairs, and volunteers, as appropriate.
On-boards new board members to shared Google applications and troubleshoots issues as they arise.
Maintains hierarchy of shared files and ensures accessibility to the appropriate individuals.

Newsletter & Program Editor(s)

The primary point(s) of contact for material to be included in the annual newsletter and scientific program.
Sets deadlines for submissions, reviews all submitted content, and assures BOD approval prior to publishing the newsletter and scientific program.
Distributes the final newsletter to the Web Liaison and Communication Chair for dissemination.
Manages printing of the final program in time for the Annual Meeting of the GTA.

Financial Auditor

Responsible for annual review of the income and expenditures of the GTA.
May assist the Treasurer with other tasks, as needed.

Photographer

Document activities at the Annual Meeting of the GTA by taking photographs.
Ensure photographs are available for use in the Newsletter and Scientific Program.

Historian

Responsible for sorting through historic GTA files and identifying documents of interest that can be maintained electronically.