US-RSE Steering Committee Elections

Election process has begun. Nominations are open! Please see the “Nominations and Candidate Information” section to apply for or nominate someone for the US-RSE Steering Committee

2025 Election Timeline

  • Nominations open: October 12, 2025
  • Nominations Due Date: Monday November 3, 2025 at 23:59 (Hawaii)
  • Deadline to join US-RSE to be eligible to vote: November 14, 2025 at 23:59 (Hawaii)
  • Planned Candidate Announcement Date: November 14, 2025
  • Annual US-RSE General Meeting, including candidate statements: December 4, 2025 at 13:00 (Eastern)
  • Voting Open: December 4, 2025 at 13:00 (Eastern) - December 12, 2025 at 23:59 (Hawaii)
  • Planned Election Results Announcement Date: December 19, 2025
  • Elected Steering Committee members take office: January 1, 2026

If you’re interested in becoming part of the Steering Committee, we suggest you have a look at Guidance for Potential Steering Committee Candidates.

Positions and Eligibility

Five Steering Committee seats are open in this election, each for a 2-year term (January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2028).

Eligibility

Steering Committee (SC) candidates must have a meaningful connection to, history with, and vested interest in the community of Research Software Engineers (RSEs) in the United States (US). To ensure that the SC can effectively advocate for and address the needs of the RSE community in the US, candidates must have a demonstrated history of engagement within US-RSE.

Candidates must both live in the US and be affiliated with or retired from a US entity or self-employed. Exceptions to the residency and affiliation requirement will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

The exception process will be led by the two Election Chairs who will create a subcommittee that includes several other members of the US-RSE community.

Responsibilities

The US-RSE Steering Committee sets its own meeting frequency and timing. Currently, the Steering Committee meets every two weeks on Fridays. The Steering Committee meeting frequency and schedule for 2026 will be determined once new members are elected.

The responsibilities of Steering Committee members are detailed in the US-RSE Membership and Governance document. They include:

  • Setting the overall policy and direction of the US-RSE Association
  • Being responsible for day-to-day activities, operations, and development of the US-RSE Association

Additionally, Steering Committee members are expected to:

  • Attend and participate in Steering Committee meetings
  • Follow and participate in Steering Committee discussions on Slack
  • Contribute to US-RSE operations through activities such as
    • Updating the website
    • Writing newsletters and communications
    • Organizing and leading community events
    • Engaging with community members on Slack
  • Help further the community by
    • Participating on international RSE committees
    • Organizing BOFs, workshops, meetups, and other events at relevant conferences
    • Leading US-RSE working groups
    • Writing blog posts
    • Bringing new ideas to the organization

Nominations and Candidate Information

Nominations will open on October 12, 2025 and close on November 3, 2025 (see above for more details).

Once nominations open, interested members are encouraged to nominate themselves. Alternatively, if you know of a member who you think would make a good candidate, you can submit a nomination for someone else, who will be invited to run. All US-RSE members in good standing are eligible to be nominated as candidates.

Nomination Form

The nomination form can be found HERE. Please complete this form for self-nomination OR if you are nominating someone else. If nominating someone else, please complete the form early so that we can contact the nominated person and obtain their nomination materials before the nominations due date of November 03, 2025.

On the nomination form, expect to provide the following information.

If Nominating Someone Else:

  • Your name and email
  • Nominee’s name and email
  • Physical location of both nominee and their organization (within or outside of U.S.)
  • Short statement about why you think the nominated individual will make a good Steering Committee member

Nominations of others will only be shared with the Election Chairs and the nominated individual. The Election Chairs will contact the nominated individual to let them know they were nominated, and by whom, and to confirm their interest in participating. The information will not be made public.

Self-nomination or Accepted Nomination:

  • Your name and a publicly-shareable email
  • Physical location of both you and your organization (within or outside of U.S.)
  • A link to a resume, CV, LinkedIn profile, or professional website
  • Why do you want to be on the US-RSE Steering Committee? (<=1000 characters)
  • How do you contribute to the US-RSE Association or RSE community more broadly? (<= 1500 characters)

All candidate information will be shared on the US-RSE website. Additionally, candidates will have a chance to share information about themselves at the Annual General Meeting on December 4, 2025.

An #election channel is available on Slack for any discussion with or about candidates.

Voting

If there are more candidates than seats available, an election will be held.

Elections will be run through https://electionbuddy.com. US-RSE members’ email addresses will be shared with this site for the sole purpose of voting. Each US-RSE member as of November 14, 2025 at 23:59 (Hawaii), gets one ballot with the voting rule of single transferable vote (STV). This voting rule asks each voter to rank the candidates, and seats are allocated across candidates using this ranking information.

The results of the election are valid regardless of the turnout rate for the election.

Questions?

Contact Election Chairs on Slack or email:

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