ISU*USA Elections

Please send your votes to loretta.whitesides@gmail.com

ISU*USA Board Elections- clarification

Hello all!

Sorry for confusion! Basically you can vote down the party line and vote for for all five offices on a slate or you can vote for each individual office. (Using the shorthand of "I vote for Slate ____" is acceptable, and will be considered as a vote for each candidate on that slate.) In this election there is only one slate. The other candidates, while they endorse each other are not formally running as a slate. If this clarification makes you want to change your vote you may do so.

Thank you to all who graciously accepted nominations to serve, we completely appreciate your willingness, your commitment, your generosity and your time.

Best
Loretta

Again the candidates are:

Kirk Kittell- Community First- President
Michael Laine- President

Daphne Dador- Community First- Vice President

Gina Pieri- Director of Development
David Treat- Community First- Director of Development

Amanda Stiles- Director of IT/Communications
Ashley Whelan- Community First- Director of IT/Communications

Shandy Asturias- Community First- Treasurer


--
Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides
Yuri's Night | The World Space Party
1445 S St. NW
Washington DC 20009
626 429-6603 c
www.yurisnight.net

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
committed citizens can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
- Margaret Mead

Hello ISU*USA Alumni!!!!

We are very pleased to announce that we have many awesome candidates running for ISU*USA Board this term (2009-2010). Please select who you are voting for and reply back to this address by Sunday Feb 1st midnight (one week from today) with your selections added to the body of this email. Any ISU alumni living in the US or from the US is eligible to vote. All the candidates statements are below.

Indicate your selection by putting an 'X' in front of their name
(i.e.
X Loretta Whitesides- President
Donald Duck- President)

Kirk Kittell- President
Michael Laine- President

Daphne Dador- Vice President

Gina Pieri- Director of Development
David Treat- Director of Development

Amanda Stiles- Director of IT/Communications
Ashley Whelan- Director of IT/Communications

Shandy Asturias- Treasurer

President: Kirk Kittell

I am very appreciative of my summer at ISU and would like to share my time and effort to improve the ISU network. The key experience I offer as ISU*USA President is my experience working in alumni groups: participating in the established University of Illinois organization and founding an alumni group for Boy Scout summer camp staff (isrstaff.org). I've learned strategies that work for alumni groups (e.g., how to add value to the supported organization through institutional knowledge and volunteer hours) and many more that don't (e.g., consistent communication is necessary because "if you build it they will come" does not work). Also, I helped stir ISU alumni activity in DC area while I was at Orbital.

As President, I will keep plans simple for volunteers yet meaningful for members. Alumni have a limited time budget, a constraint that must be managed to complete any ISU-USA project.

* Get 50 US alumni to attend 2009 alumni conference (in support of ARC planning committee)

* Confirm US alumni contact information in ISU database (150 contacts by SSP 2009)

* Request points of contact for areas of high ISU alumni density and make contact information available on isu-usa.org (not to replace local email lists, but to improve reliability of communication for new and traveling alumni)

SSP 2006; MS, BS, Aerospace Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Propulsion Subsystem Engineer, SAIC, Houston.

President: Michael Laine
These are my credentials: http://tr.im/8ubb – I'm a futurist and a visionary. Regardless of what you think of the Elevator to Space, whether you think it's a good idea or agree with Prof Talyrenko when he refers to it as "a flying carpet, the stuff of fiction". Regardless, consider this. I am dedicated. I have consistently worked on this "someday/maybe project" for seven years. What that means to you, is that I have an unshakeable vision of the future and a willingness to work toward a long-term goal. I am methodical and focused. I make mistakes, and then I correct my course. Occasionally I succeed; but these successes are only baby-steps toward the future that I am designing.

So why vote for me? So really, why vote for me? A couple of reasons. First, until Tuesday this week, I had never heard of ISU-USA… And that is a problem. If a student like me, from the most recent class in Barcelona, can fall through the cracks, then anyone can. And they shouldn't.

· So that is Agenda Item 1: connect with past classes – all 600-700 people. People joke that ISU is the 'space mafia' because we are so connected. But the truth is, about 70% of our connections have slipped away. Let's find them, and if possible, reconnect—reengage—rededicate.

· Agenda Item 2: Build an infrastructure for going forward. Build a bridge to current students and prospective students, so that when they return, they KNOW that there is a community waiting for them.

· Agenda Item 3: Create a plan and Develop goals – for ISU-USA. Short/mid/long-term objectives and then create a plan that will get us there.

When I asked Diamandis & Richards & Peeters & Simpson what the plan for the school was, I got vague, watery, non-responses. The closest thing I got was from Diamandis, when he talked about having a campus on a space station and on the Moon… So, IF that is the ISU goal, then what is the plan? How do we get from where we are, to where we want to be? Now, I'm under no illusions that what we do in ISU-USA will create a plan that the whole school will agree on. But I do think that ISU-USA should have a set of goals, and plans and concrete actions that lead us to a particular future. And what we do here, will have impacts in France.

I'm the kinda guy that can take a vision – an imagined future – and build it. What future do you want?

Take care,
Michael Laine SSP 08, Barcelona

P.S. I've written three times before Christmas about ISU for Discovery Channel blogs - http://blogs.discovery.com/next_generation/ I restart my series next week, writing about classes, and instructors.

Vice President: Daphne Dador

As Vice President, I will work to locate as many ISU*USA alumni as possible and invite them to join ISU*USA. I know that one of the strengths of ISU is our vast network, so my main goal will be to make that network stronger in the U.S. by expanding our community and making it easy for alumni to connect.

Developing relationships has been a core practice in my profession as an aerospace policy professional and as an active community organizer and volunteer with organizations including: AIAA, National Space Society, Space Generation Congress, Yuri's Night, SEDS, GW Space Society, Women in Aerospace, various political campaigns, and community service activities. Specifically, I am experienced in providing services to membership organizations, e.g., professional development programs for professional societies and students; retention activities, e.g., conferences and social events.

Additionally, I bring a nationwide network of government, corporate, and academic contacts throughout the aerospace industry that will benefit our Board's membership and fundraising drives. I also have a personal desire for this year's alumni conference to be a smashing success since it will be held in my hometown at NASA Ames.

SSP 2005; MA, George Washington University, Intl. Science and Technology Policy (focus: Space Policy), 2006; BA, Catholic U., Politics, 2004; Manager, Aerospace Industries Association.

Director for Development: Gina Pieri
Hello, ISU*USA alumni! My name is Gina Pieri, and I am a graduate of the 2008 Masters class. I am running for the position of Director for Development for the ISU*USA Board of Directors. One of the first questions I asked when I graduated from ISU was: how do I connect to the other alumni in the United States and more specifically, the greater Los Angeles area? What I discovered is that no good answer exists! The alumni database is incomplete, and the mechanism for integrating graduates into the alumni community is virtually nonexistent and poorly advertised. I look forward to working with alumni across the country, as well as the new members of the ISU*USA Board of Directors to establish a well-connected ISU network within the United States. There is a successful model already in place in Canada, which I believe can be used as a basis for creating an infrastructure to:

• recruit prospective students into the ISU programs,
• assimilate graduates into the alumni network,
• cultivate relationships within the alumni network, and
• build a scholarship fund for the benefit future classes.

As a recipient of a partial scholarship from ISU, I recognize the importance of providing monetary support to potentially successful students as an investment for the ISU community. Since graduating this past September, I have worked with Michael Potter to establish a Facebook group for ISU alumni in the Southern California area and joined the Organizing Committee for the ISU SSP 2009 Alumni conference at NASA Ames. I am excited to take on the challenge and hope you will support me in this role as Director of Development. Thank you!

Director for Development: David Treat

* 11 years engineering and managerial experience with Lockheed Martin supporting EVA and advanced life support projects at NASA JSC. 3 years as a consultant with Booz Allen Hamilton in Washington DC, specializing in space policy, technology, and industrial base issues. Broad perspective on the space community from the strategic level down to day-to-day tactical implementation.

* Extensive networks in the space community in Houston and in Washington

* Active in the local space community, including volunteer work for National Space Society International Space Development Conference (ISDC), Yuri's Night, and the George Washington University Space Society.

* Possess strong desire and motivation to foster a stronger sense of community and help the ISU USA alumni become more cohesive and communicative so that members can benefit from each other's experiences, share information, and outreach further into their local communities.

SSP 2007; MA, George Washington University, International Science and Technology Policy (concentration in Space Policy), 2007; BS, University of Kansas, Aerospace Engineering, 1994

Director for Information Technologies and Communications: Amanda Stiles
My name is Amanda Stiles (MSM '08), and I am running for the position of Director for Information Technologies and Communications.

I want to start off by noting that the ISU alumni are a truly unique group of people: ambitious, passionate about space, and acutely aware of the power of networking and working together on a global scale. My goal, as Director for IT/Communications of ISU-USA, would be to build, maintain, connect, and strengthen ISU alumni networks within the U.S. by creating a simple and effective online infrastructure. This would consist of the following:

• Creation of a central ISU-USA website, to be updated by the alumni community with news, updates, and announcements (with RSS feeds).
• Dynamic links to a number of networking tools (via the website) that ISU alumni already regularly use, such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
• Knowledge and idea sharing via blogs, wikis, and/or forums. This would allow alumni to connect with each other, and would connect prospective/current ISU-USA students to the alumni network.
• Creation of a monthly or bi-monthly newsletter to keep alumni updated.

I have past experience in website design, management, and support which would enable me to implement these goals for the ISU-USA website. Several projects that I have been involved in include SpaceAlumni.com, Yuri's Night Houston, the California STEM Inventory, and the Conrad Foundation, among others. If elected, I would feel privileged to combine my skills and strengths with those of the rest of the board to create a strong U.S. alumni organization.

Director for Information Technologies and Communications: Ashley Whelan

With SSP09 coming to the US, we have a great opportunity to engage future alumni and re-engage past alumni. ISU has enriched my personal and professional networks and I want to help grow the ISU-USA community so all alumni reap the full benefits of the ISU network. As Director of Communications/IT, I will work with the other Board members to ensure ISU-USA provides useful and relevant services to alumni, increasing our communication with alumni and elevating our online presence. I have experience working with membership organizations, coordinating events, and communicating with a large and diverse constituency – through my volunteer work for Women in Aerospace, as well as my day job as Manager of Government Affairs for the Space Foundation. I also have a broad network of contacts throughout the space community, in all sectors.

SSP 2006; MA, International Science and Technology Policy, George Washington University, 2007; BA, Astrophysics, University of Colorado, 2005.

Treasurer: Shandy Asturias

As Treasurer, I would ensure that all monetary transactions of the new ISU*USA board will be quick and on schedule. I serve as the current Treasurer, ensuring a smooth financial transition from one board to another. It is an exciting year to serve on the board because of what we can help to facilitate: having more alumni being involved! The US hosting this summer's SSP not gives us the opportunity to help ISU have a great summer session but it gives us a chance to get the community more active.

Community development is something I have always been a part of, as exemplified by my activities in college and afterwards. Since ISU is one of the organizations that I am the proudest of, I will work with all the other officers to ensure that all of our goals are met. I have been an active volunteer in the following organizations: Society of Physics Students, AIAA, Yuri's Night, Space Generation Congress, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.

SSP 2005; MS, George Washington University, Systems Engineering (2010); BS Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Engineering Physics, 2003; Integration & Test Engineer, Orbital Sciences, 2007-present; Aerospace Engineer, AST, FAA, 2003-2007.

--
Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides
Yuri's Night | The World Space Party
1445 S St. NW
Washington DC 20009
626 429-6603 c
www.yurisnight.net

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
committed citizens can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
- Margaret Mead

[pluto]

Accepting nominations for the next ISU*USA Board though Jan 16th, 2009

Dear ISU family,

The current ISU*USA Board's term has come to an end (two years already?). We are sending out this email to invite nominations for a new set of officers. We have a President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary and IT/Communications Director. You can pull together a slate or run for a single office. The term is 2 years and you will preside over the first ISU SSP in the United States in over ten years! The Board's job is to work with ISU to meet the needs of the Alumni, organize social events, support ISU, get the word about ISU out to more students, see them off, welcome them back from their programs, support the Alumni Conference and any other projects you see fit.

• Nominations accepted from Jan 5 - Jan 16, 2009. Any alum living in or a citizen of the USA may nominate any other alum who meets the same criteria- Just send me an email with their name and the office you are nominating them for. Self-nominations are acceptable. If nomination is accepted, candidate must submit a one paragraph statement.
• We will send out emails on Monday, Jan 19 announcing the candidates.
  
• Voting from Jan 19 - 28 (details set out in voting email)
• Announce winners Jan 31, 2009

Please feel free to email me or the rest of the Board: William Pomerantz (MSS 2004 and X PRIZE), Michelle Murray (SSP 06 and FAA), Melissa Preble (SSP 06 and Hamilton Sunstrand), Shandy Asturias (SSP 04 and Orbital). william.pomerantz at gmail, shellymurray1 at yahoo, melissapreble at gmail , shandy4 at gmail if you have any questions!

Respectfully,
Loretta
loretta at spacegen.org

--
Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides
Yuri's Night | The World Space Party

ISU *USA BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ COMPOSITION AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The Association’s Board of Directors shall at a minimum consist of five elected officers.

a) PRESIDENT -- The President shall serve as the Association’s primary liaison to ISU Headquarters and shall represent the Association in all manners and shall be responsible for establishing and preserving contacts between ISU*USA, ISU, other regional alumni organizations, and other groups. He/she shall preside at all meetings of both the Members of the Association and the Board of Directors. If he/she cannot attend any said meeting, he/she shall designate the Vice President or an alternate presiding officer from among the other elected officers of the Board of Directors. He/she shall have the general and active management of the affairs of the Association. He/she shall see that all orders and resolutions of the Board of Directors are carried into effect. He/she shall be authorized to sign checks issued by the Association. He/she shall also perform such other duties as may be directed from time to time by the Board of Directors.

b) VICE PRESIDENT-- The Vice President shall be responsible for the giving and service of all notices of the Association, keeping the minutes of all meetings of Members and of the Board of Directors, updating the membership list, distributing copies to the Board of Directors and general Members as requested and overseeing all elections. He/she shall be in charge of the records of the Association including books containing contact information of the Members and the directors of the Association, together with copies of all reports made by the Association, and such other books and papers as the Board of Directors may direct. He/she shall be responsible for the keeping and filing of all books, reports, and other documents required by law to be kept and filed by the Association and not required to be kept by some other officer or agent of the Association. He/she shall be authorized to sign checks issued by the Association. He/she shall also perform such other duties as may be directed from time to time by the President or Board of Directors.

c) TREASURER -- The Treasurer shall have the custody of the funds of the Association and shall keep a full and accurate account of all assets, liabilities, receipts and disbursements of the Association in the books belonging to the Association, and shall deposit all monies, securities, and other valuable effects in the name and to the credit of the Association, in such chartered bank or trust company or, in the case of securities, in such registered dealer in securities as may be designated by the Board of Directors from time to time. He/she shall disburse the funds of the Association as may be directed by proper authority taking proper vouchers for such disbursements, and shall render to the President and directors at the regular meeting of the Board of Directors, or whenever they may require it, an accounting of all the transactions and a statement of the financial position of the Association. He/she shall be authorized to sign checks issued by the Association. He/she shall also perform such other duties as may be directed from time to time by the President or Board of Directors.

d) DIRECTOR FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES AND COMMUNICATIONS -- The Director for Information Technologies and Communications shall be responsible for the development and maintenance of the Association’s web site, a main instrument in the communication among Members and publicity of the Association and communication to Members of the Association’s activities. He/she shall also perform such other duties as may be directed from time to time by the President or Board of Directors.

e) DIRECTOR FOR DEVELOPMENT -- The Director for Development shall be responsible for developing and directing the fundraising plans of the Association. He/she shall serve as the primary liaison of the Association to the U.S. Foundation for ISU and coordinate fundraising and scholarship activities of the two organizations. The Director for Development shall also serve as a chief organizer of recruitment efforts of Members. He/she shall also perform such other duties as may be directed from time to time by the President or Board of Directors.