If You Wanna Be Elected, First You Gotta Run...

By Annie Gonzalez Milliken

YA@GA_leadership_election

YA@GA_leadership_election

For YA@GA co-facilitator!

Are you a Unitarian Universalist young adult with experience building community with your peers and a love for national gatherings? Are you interested in shaping programming for Young Adults at General Assembly (YA@GA) in 2016 and 2017? Wanna serve our faith and get a free trip to Columbus, OH and New Orleans, LA for two no cost GAs?

Well then you've gotta run for YA@GA co-facilitator in our brand new and improved virtual election process! Every year at YA@GA (formerly Young Adult Caucus) we hold elections to choose our next co-facilitator (formerly co-moderator). And while these elections have yielded some stellar results (I got to work with Hannah Roberts last year! This year we have Ayla Halberstadt!), we noticed that the turn-out was way low and it wasn't a very inclusive process.

And you know us Unitarian Universalists (UU) We love being inclusive when we use the democratic process (in our congregations and in society at large).

SO - this year it's different. This year any UU young adult, whether or not they will attend this particular General Assmebly in Portland, Oregon can vote. This year any qualified* UU young adult, whether or not they will attend this particular GA in Portland, can run. This year we're voting online on April 7th. Instructions will come out about that in the coming weeks, but mark your calendars.

For now, we need candidates! Qualified candidates. *When I say qualified I mean folks with some experience in UU young adult community and with General Assembly. I mean folks who will be at least 18 and no older than 35 during the next two General Assemblies. I mean people with some basic leadership skills, who can commit to this two-year term which involves regular video conferences throughout the year, some networking and workshop planning, and a whole lot of on-the-ground leadership at GA itself. In return, co-facilitators have all their GA expenses (housing, travel, food, and registration) covered by the UUA.

So what are you waiting for? Fill out this form by Friday March 20th and get your name on the ballot! Don't stress over the questions; it's not an application. We just want to make sure that we cover the basics. Then, once you fill it out, the current YA@GA staff and your friendly Unitarian Universalist Association young adult support person will be in touch.

Candidates will be expected to provide a brief video of themselves answering some questions as part of the election process.

Got questions? Concerns? Hit up Annie Gonzalez Milliken at agonzalez@uua.org and they will be addressed by YA@GA staff.