From Interest to Service: Introducing AIR’s Nominee Evaluation Guide
Every AIR leader begins somewhere. For some, it starts with a colleague recognizing their potential. For others, it begins with a personal decision to step forward, contribute to the profession, and serve a community that has supported their own growth.
As Chair of AIR’s Nominations & Elections Committee (NEC), I have had the privilege of working alongside a dedicated group of colleagues who believe that leadership is not defined solely by a title or position. It is defined by a willingness to serve, collaborate, and help move our profession forward.
This nomination cycle has reinforced that belief in a powerful way.
A Community That Showed Up
When the NEC established its nomination goal for this year, we knew that reaching it would require sustained outreach, thoughtful communication, and the participation of AIR members across the profession.
Our community responded.
The final nomination count for the 2026–2027 cycle was 189, exceeding our goal of 150 nominations.
To every AIR member who nominated a colleague, encouraged someone to consider service, shared our outreach, or took the time to submit a nomination: thank you. Your participation matters. You helped strengthen the pool of individuals willing to contribute their experiences, perspectives, and leadership to AIR’s future.
I also want to recognize the members of the NEC and our partners in the AIR Executive Office. Their diligence, collaboration, and continued commitment throughout the nomination period made this work possible. The success of this cycle reflects a collective effort—not simply a number on a dashboard.
And while we celebrate this milestone, our work continues.
Turning Transparency into Practical Support
One of the priorities the NEC established this year is Candidate Experience & Process Transparency. Our goal has been to make the leadership nomination process easier to understand, more accessible, and better supported by clear, consistent information.
As part of that work, the committee reviewed recommendations from the prior NEC cycle, examined the nominee questionnaire and evaluation process, and discussed how we could provide members with more meaningful guidance throughout the nomination process.
A central question emerged: How can we better support nominees as they reflect on their experiences, consider their interest in leadership service, and prepare thoughtful, intentional responses to the questionnaire?
The committee recognized an opportunity to create a framework that would help nominees understand the purpose behind each question and connect those themes to AIR’s governance principles and leadership expectations. By providing consistent guidance and direct access to relevant resources, we could help members approach the questionnaire with greater clarity and confidence, regardless of their prior familiarity with AIR governance.
This work reflects our commitment to making the nomination process more accessible, informative, and supportive while encouraging nominees to share their own authentic experiences, perspectives, and motivations for service.
That decision led to the development of a new resource: How Nominee Responses Are Reviewed, AIR’s Nominee Evaluation Guide.
What the Guide Provides
The Nominee Evaluation Guide is designed to help nominees better understand the themes reflected in the questionnaire and their connection to AIR’s governance principles.
Rather than prescribing what a “perfect” response should look like, the guide provides context for each question and directs members to relevant AIR Governance Policies and leadership resources.
For example, nominees can explore how their motivation to serve connects to AIR’s mission and the future of the profession; how their experiences, skills, and perspectives may contribute to collective leadership; and how they would help ensure that different viewpoints are meaningfully considered in governance discussions and decision-making.
The guide also provides additional context for the optional questionnaire response and includes guidance on the disclosure of AI use.
Our intent is straightforward: every nominee should have access to the same foundational information when preparing their responses.
Members who have previously served in AIR leadership or who are familiar with governance processes may already understand some of these expectations. Others may be engaging with AIR leadership for the first time. The guide helps create a more consistent starting point for everyone.
It also encourages nominees to reflect on their own readiness for service. What motivates me to lead? What experiences or perspectives would I bring? How do I collaborate with people whose viewpoints differ from mine? How would I contribute to AIR’s mission?
These are meaningful questions, regardless of whether someone is ultimately selected for the slate.
Transparency with Responsibility
Transparency does not require sharing every internal document or deliberation. It requires being clear about the principles that guide our work, providing members with useful information, and ensuring that our processes are carried out with care.
The NEC’s evaluation process remains a collective exercise of judgment. The guide does not establish a scoring formula, prescribe specific answers, or guarantee selection for the candidate slate. Instead, it provides nominees with a clearer understanding of the responsibilities, qualities, and governance principles associated with AIR leadership service.
This distinction is important to us. We want members to feel informed and supported while preserving the integrity of the committee’s review process.
The guide is also part of a broader body of work undertaken this year, including updates to leadership election FAQs, eligibility guidance, AI-use guidance, nominee service-preference information, and improvements to nominee data quality. Together, these efforts reflect our commitment to moving recommendations from discussion into meaningful action.
A Note on AI Use
In the spirit of transparency, generative AI was used to support the development of the Nominee Evaluation Guide. AI assisted with synthesizing themes from the NEC questionnaire and evaluation framework, identifying connections to AIR Governance Policies and leadership resources, and organizing and drafting the guidance. The NEC reviewed the content and remains responsible for the final language and the decisions reflected in the resource.
We believe this disclosure is important because it models the same principle we encourage nominees to follow: AI may support the work, but the responsibility for the substance, judgment, and final product remains with the people doing the work.
Looking Ahead
The conclusion of the nomination period marks an important milestone, but it is not the end of the NEC’s work. We will continue our review and slate-development responsibilities with diligence, care, and respect for the members who have stepped forward.
I am grateful to serve alongside colleagues who take this responsibility seriously and who remain committed to strengthening the process for those who will follow us.
To our nominees: thank you for your willingness to serve. To those who nominated others: thank you for recognizing leadership potential and encouraging it. And to the broader AIR community: thank you for continuing to invest in the future of our Association and profession.
Leadership begins with a willingness to serve. Our responsibility is to help make that pathway clearer, more accessible, and worthy of the trust our members place in us.
Explore the new resource: How Nominee Responses Are Reviewed—AIR Nominee Evaluation Guide
Learn more about AIR leadership opportunities: AIR Leadership Elections