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ABA Board of Directors Announces Newly Appointed Booksellers
Printer-friendly versionThe American Booksellers Association Board of Directors has selected two booksellers to join the board following a membership vote that approved three changes to the association bylaws.
Bylaws motions passed that bring the number of board members to 13 (from 11) and that require the board to include at least four booksellers who are Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC), at least two of whom are Black. As a result, approving the recommendations of the Nominating Committee, the board will welcome the following two booksellers immediately:
- Jake Cumsky-Whitlock of Solid State Books in Washington, D.C.
- Melanie Knight of Books Inc. in San Francisco, California
These booksellers will serve on the board until the next election, in April 2021, at which time they will be eligible for a three-year term.
The Nominating Committee members, who will also serve on the committee for the 2021 election, are Jenny Cohen of Waucoma Bookstore in Hood River, Oregon (chair); board member Tegan Tigani of Queen Anne Book Company in Seattle, Washington; Kathy Burnette of Brain Lair Books in South Bend, Indiana; Hannah Oliver Depp of Loyalty Bookstores in Washington, D.C., and Silver Spring, Maryland; and Michael Herrmann of Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord, New Hampshire.
Booksellers can nominate themselves or colleagues now to stand for election to the board in 2021.
A nominee for the ABA Board of Directors must:
- Be the owner or employee of an ABA member independent bookstore with a storefront location* that is operated according to sound business principles (*semi-permanent pop-ups are included under storefront locations)
- Have at least three years of recent experience as the owner or employee of a member company
It is also desirable that nominees have at least two years’ experience as an active volunteer in ABA and/or in a regional association or other constituency organization. Qualifications are outlined in the “ABA Nomination and Election Guidelines” from the ABA Governance Policy Manual.