It's time to hold elections for the AIAA Tucson Section.
There are four required Section Officers that are elected by the local membership, including:
- Chair
- Vice Chair
- Secretary
- Treasurer
The Section also created the following Council member positions, to target specific outreach to the Section and the Tucson community:
- Membership
- Communications
- Pre-College Outreach
- Young Professionals
- Technical Programs
- Honors and Awards
- Public Policy
- Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) Representative
These are great leadership development opportunities. Descriptions of the responsibilities for each position are described at the bottom of this email announcement. Section Officers elected in this term serve from June 1, 2026 through May 30, 2027.
Note: If you are considering upgrading your membership in the future to Associate Fellow, service to AIAA is 30% of the evaluation criteria and there are several low-workload positions that can help you increase your ranking.
Nominees must be AIAA members as well as members of the Tucson Section, and nominees may only be nominated for one position. Self-nominations are not permitted. If you would like to nominate someone for a position, please email the AIAA Tucson Section inbox (tucsonaiaa@gmail.com) no later than 11:59pm Arizona Mountain Daylight Time on April 13, 2026. In the nomination, please include the following:
· Nominee’s name
· Position to which nominee is being nominated
· Nominee’s email address (if known)
· Nominee’s phone number (if known)
Thank you,
Teresa Clement
Vice Chair, AIAA Tucson Section
Position Descriptions
Chair - The Chair shall be the chief executive officer of the Section. The Chair shall be a voting member of all committees, except for those noted in the bylaws. The Chair shall preside at all meetings and functions with outside agencies. The Chair shall make an annual report through the annual report process as defined by READ, submitted to the appropriate Regional Director of AIAA and the AIAA Staff Liaison on or before the due date specified in the READ policies and procedures.
Vice Chair - The Vice Chair shall act in the place of the Chair in any case of the Chair’s inability to act. The Vice Chair shall transact, at the direction of the Chair, any business that could be within the power of the Chair to transact.
Secretary - The Secretary shall maintain the minutes of the meetings of the Section and shall be the custodian of all Section records not specially assigned to others. The Secretary shall keep a full and correct list of the membership and addresses of the members. The Secretary shall submit a copy of the minutes of all meetings of the Section to the Regional Director and the applicable Staff Liaison.
Treasurer - The Treasurer shall keep an accurate record of all funds received and disbursed. The Treasurer shall make all required financial reports and such expenditures as may be authorized by the Section Council or by the bylaws of AIAA.
Membership - The Membership Council member is responsible for tracking and reporting monthly membership trends, integrating membership development and retention programs into all scheduled Section activities, and reaching out to incoming members and individuals who have had a lapse in membership.
Pre-College Outreach - The Pre-College Outreach Council member is responsible for coordination of all Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) activities within the Section, including activities to support students and educators.
Young Professional - The Young Professional Council member is responsible for integrating young professionals (defined as professionally employed members under the age of 35) into the Section by developing and implementing programs and activities to attract and involve young professionals.
Technical Programs - The Technical Programs Council member is responsible for bringing technical activities to the Section membership (e.g. facility tours, guest speakers, etc.).
Public Policy - The Public Policy Council member acts as both an organizer for local public policy activities as well as a liaison for regional and national public policy initiatives such as: roundtables with locally elected officials and policy speakers for Section events.
RAC Representative - The Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) Representative Council member is responsible for sharing best practices with the Sections within the Region, is the primary section interface for the Institute, is the primary mechanism for the Institute activities to flow to Section leadership, organizes student paper conferences in each Region, recognizes high-performing Sections and Section leadership, and informs the Regional Director of issues from each of the Sections.
Communications - The Communications Council member is responsible for communicating activities to the Section membership through AIAA Engage, the US Post Office, and other Internet methods (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, etc.).
Honors and Awards - The Honors and Awards Council member is responsible for promoting and recognizing excellence within the Section