UPDATE: online elections running from Aug 10- Sep 15 through the secure online platform ElectionRunner. All IRVA members should have received an email with a personalized ballot with unique Voter ID and Voter Key (please check your Spam/Unwanted mail box!).
Dear Colleagues,
Due to the rescheduling of the XXth International HTLV Conference in Melbourne from 2021 to 2022, IRVA elections will be held by online voting, for the first time. We hope this will result in a more democratic and transparent process, allowing all IRVA members to self-nominate/nominate and vote, independent of their physical presence at the International conference, as was the case previously.
Therefore, we would like to call on all of you to self-nominate or nominate for the following open positions: IRVA President, Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Secretary, Regional Representatives (North America, South America, Caribbean, Africa, Europe, Asia, Austromelanesia), as well as Junior Representative. A short description of the position responsibilities is provided below (summarized from IRVA bylaws).
The nomination window is open from today June 7, 2021 and remains open to June 30, 2021. The online voting window is from July 1 to July 30, 2021, during which candidates are allowed to contact IRVA members by email to share their vision for the specific position. Results will be publicly available in the first week of August 2021.
What do you need for a nomination?
1. If you nominate someone else, you must confirm his/her willingness to serve, self-nominations are very welcome.
2. Nominations should include a brief bio and a vision statement (less than 1000 words) “What do you propose to realize during the next four years for IRVA and the broad HTLV community?”
3. Nominations for Treasurer must reside in the US (required to facilitate filing of annual tax forms and maintain IRVA 501c status).
4. Send nominations to admin@htlv.net
Brief responsibilities of the President:
1. Organize and Chair regular meetings of the IRVA Board.
2. Listen to suggestions and concerns from both IRVA Board members, members of the Association, and patients and professionals concerned with HTLV-1 and related infections, and propose new initiatives to the Board either from these suggestions or on the President’s own initiative.
3. Promote publicity and awareness of HTLV-1 and related infections and the associated diseases among the public and professionals.
4. Advocate research into the infection and diseases and their treatment, and funding support for this research.
Brief responsibilities of the Secretary:
1. Direct and coordinate the administrative operations of IRVA.
2. Write the minutes of IRVA meetings.
3. Assist in the organization and planning of the biennial meeting of Members and the programs for the meeting.
4. Oversee IRVA publications, website, and social media, including notices of the activities of its members.
5. Oversee all aspects of the elections.
Brief responsibilities of the Treasurer:
1. Conduct and oversee all aspects of the Association’s finances.
2. Submit annual tax reports and payments, and other filings and correspondence with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and the State of Maryland (location of Association incorporation).
3. Prepare an annual financial statement and review with the Association board.
4. Work with the president, secretary, and biennial conference organizer to generate a financial MOU and assist with setting the conference registration rates.
Brief responsibilities of the Membership Secretary:
1. Maintain a master list of the names of the current association members, updated from time to time as necessary and made available for IRVA internal needs (Newsletter, elections…)
2. Develop and implement plans to increase membership and expand the benefits of membership.
Brief responsibilities of the Regional Representatives:
1. Highlight specific needs of the broad HTLV community in your region (researchers, clinicians, patients, local stakeholders).
2. Propose specific actions to raise HTLV awareness in your region.
3. Interact with current local IRVA members and work to engage new IRVA members from underrepresented countries/regions.
Brief responsibilities of the Junior Representative:
1. Report specific needs of the younger/early career HTLV researchers, students, clinicians worldwide.
2. Propose specific actions to support young researchers, students, clinicians to enter (or to stay) in the HTLV field.
