Division Bylaws
2025 Proposed Amendments to Division Bylaws
The Division has initiated the process of amending our governing bylaws. On April 18, 2025, the Executive Committee of APA's Women & Planning Division approved a schedule for reviewing, receiving comment on, and considering amending the Division's Bylaws. We are currently in the fourth phase of this process: APA reviews and approves proposed Bylaws.
Members will have an opportunity to vote on the final proposed Bylaws amendments in August 2025.
Current Phase of Bylaws Amendment Process
2025 Amendments: Purpose & Need
Amendments are proposed to help WPD meet the following requirements and objectives:
- Comply with APA model bylaws and review requirements.
- Right-size Division’s leadership structure and approach in response to significant membership growth over the last 10 years.
- Position Executive Committee members as “team leads,” rather than individual agents responsible for all duties and responsibilities.
- Provide the Executive Committee with the support, capacity, and people-power required to fulfill the Division’s Mission and successfully carry out the Annual Work Plan.
- Resolve critical capacity, resource, and service gaps experienced by the Division’s elected leaders, volunteers, and members.
- Formalize and implement a succession strategy strengthening the Division’s leadership pipeline.
- Mitigate the difficulty of recruiting and retaining volunteer leaders by expanding leadership roles and mixing elected and appointed positions.
- Lower volunteers barriers to entry by providing more opportunities with less formal commitment.
| Required Revisions | Discretionary Revisions |
|---|---|
| Standardize language, offices, and rulemaking. | Establish a standing FAICP Nomination Committee led by the Vice-Chair. |
| Differentiate required “Officers” (Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Immediate Past Chair) from the Division’s discretionary elected and appointed leadership positions. | Establish a standing Sponsorship Committee led by the Vice-Chair. |
| Update titles of two required officers (Secretary and Treasurer in lieu of Director of Administration and Director of Finance) | Establish a standing Communications Committee. |
| Restructure requirements related to the Division’s non-officer leadership positions. | Establish a standing Resources & Programs Committee. |
| Formalize the Division’s standing committees. (Note that the Division can still establish ad hoc committees, as needed.) | Establish a standing “Girls Who Plan” Career Exploration & Youth Engagement Subcommittee of the Resources & Programs Committee. |
| Establish a standing Nomination Committee to oversee Division elections. | Establish a standing Members & Partners Committee. |
| Establish a standing Students & Emerging Professionals Subcommittee of the Members & Partners Committee. | |
| Allow the Annual Business Meeting to be conducted virtually. |