Section 1: General Powers
A. The board of directors of AMEPPA shall be known as the Executive Board. Members of the Executive Board will be elected by the network’s members without term limits. The Executive Board shall have and shall exercise all the powers of a network, including but not limited to:
- Contract for all necessary things and services in connection with the management of AMEPPA.
- Delegate powers and duties to its officers, and provide for the business and conduct of annual and special meetings.
- To issue and distribute AMEPPA’s journal and other publications.
- Establish, oversee, and disestablish branches and sections.
- Establish, oversee, and disestablish committees and other bodies for various purposes.
- Appoint and remove any officer.
- Recommend to the membership, the adoption, amendment, repeal of bylaws of AMEPPA.
- Create an Advisory Board that can participate in the Executive Board meetings and make recommendations, but without having the authority to vote on measures considered by the Executive Board.
B. Executive Board Meetings: Meetings of the Executive Board shall be held electronically, via telephone, or in person, upon written or printed notice made at least 30 days before the date of the meeting.
Members of the Board may participate in electronic meetings via email and other electronic means and without being available in real time. Meetings shall be at the call of the President or of any four members of the Executive Board. All Executive Committee meetings shall be open to any member of the network except for meetings of the Nominating Committee.
At the personal expense of a member so requesting it, any one or more of the members of the Executive Board may participate in any meeting of the Executive Board by means of a conference telephone call or by any other communications equipment by means of which all persons participating in the meeting can communicate with each another.
Executive Board members participating by means of telecommunications media shall be deemed to have been present in person at such meeting. Any action required or permitted to be taken at any meeting of the Executive Board may be taken electronically and without a meeting if majority consent to such action. Email messages that clearly indicate the identity and intent of Board Members shall be considered signed documents.
The Executive Board can create an Advisory Board that can participate in the Executive Board meetings and make recommendations, but without having the authority to vote on measures considered by the Executive Board.
Section 2: Composition and Term of Office
A. Executive Board members shall serve until their successors are elected and take office, or until their earlier resignation or removal.
B. The Executive Board shall consist of nine to 15 voting members and one non-voting member. The non-voting member is the Immediate Past President. If the Immediate Past President was removed from office, the Immediate Vice-President (or the Executive Director, in case the Immediate Past President is elected as President) will serve as a non-voting member.
C. Executive Board members shall be elected for a three year term, renewable without term limits. Only the office of President, Vice President, Executive Director, and Treasurer has a term limit for only two terms in such capacity. Former Presidents, Vice Presidents, Executive Directors and Treasures can be elected to the Board as Board members without term limits.
D. The Officers and Executive Council of AMEPPA shall consist of the following:
- President
- Vice-President
- Executive Director
- Treasurer
Section 3: Executive Board Nominations and Elections
A. Members will be invited to submit recommendations to the Nominating Committee for consideration as Executive Board members.
B. To be eligible for nomination to the Executive Board, a person shall be a member of AMEPPA.
C. In the event that a person is elected to the Executive Board but declines to take his or her seat, the President shall declare the candidate receiving the next highest number of ballots to be the winner.
Should there be no other candidate for the office, the matter shall be treated in the fashion of a resignation, and the President shall appoint a person to the seat until the next regularly scheduled election.
D. In the event of a contested election, the Executive Board shall have final authority to declare the results of the election.
E. The Chair of the Nomination Committee shall provide all AMEPPA members, not less than ninety calendar days prior to the annual conference of the membership, a ballot including the candidates for President, Vice President, Executive Director, Treasurer, and Executive Board members together with biographical information on each candidate. The members must return ballots to the Nomination Committee no later than the deadline stated on the ballot.
F. The nominee receiving the highest number of votes for each office shall be elected. In the event of a tie vote, a run-off elections will be held.
G. The President shall announce the results of the elections to the membership electronically and via all the means of dissemination available to him.
H. The newly elected Executive Board members and incoming officers shall assume office at the closing of the annual conference of the membership.
Section 4: Duties of Executive Board Members
A. Members shall attend all meetings of the Executive Board and all committee meetings in which they have been assigned either in person or by means of other telecommunications methods.
B. Members shall communicate with their officers and Board on a quarterly basis at a minimum.
Section 5: Removal
A. Executive Board members shall be automatically removed from office at the end of the third meeting from which the member is absent, unless the Executive Board, by majority vote of members entitled to vote, declares that one or more of the member’s absences are excused.
B. Failure to comply with the requirements in Section 4 will result in removal.
Section 6: Vacancies
The President shall fill by appointment until the next regularly scheduled election any vacancy in the Executive Board.
Section 7: Quorum
A majority of its voting members shall constitute a quorum for the Executive Board. The act of a majority of the Executive Board members entitled to vote present at a meeting at which a quorum is present shall be the act of the Executive Board except where a greater majority is required by the bylaws.
Section 8: Committees
A. There shall be two types of committees: standing and ad hoc.
- Standing committees shall be established through the bylaws and are deemed to be permanent, subject only to subsequent amendments to the bylaws. There are four standing committees:
- Program and Operation Committee
- Nominating Committee
- Communication Committee
- Finance Committee
- Ad hoc committees may be established by the Executive Board or by the President. Ad hoc committees established by the Executive Board are considered to be ongoing until disestablishment by the Executive Board.Committees established by the President expire with the term of the President.
In establishing committees that will require substantial AMEPPA resources, the Executive Board and the President shall seek the advice of the appropriate body regarding their consistency with and contributions toward the network’s goals and purposes and with the Finance Committee on the availability of staff and other financial resources to support the proposed committees.
B. Appointment of Members: Chairs of AMEEPA’s Communication and Finance committees are elected directly by members. The President shall appoint the members of each committee and the chairs of the Nomination and ad hoc committees to serve during the President’s term of office. Each committee shall have two or more Executive Board members, and a majority of the membership of each committee shall be Executive Board members; provided, however, that the Nominating Committee will be composed entirely of persons who are not Executive Board members. All committee members shall serve at the pleasure of the Executive Board.
C. Disestablishment of Committees: Standing committees may be disestablished only by a vote of the Executive Board according to the procedure for amendments to the bylaws. Ad hoc committees may only be disestablished by the Executive Board except for committees established by the President. The President may disestablish a committee he/she established. All ad hoc committees shall be reviewed periodically as to their performance and may be disestablished under procedures established by the Executive Board when the committees no longer meet their intended purpose or have completed their assignment.
Section 9: Program and Operation Committee
The Program and Operation Committee shall consist of the President, Vice President, the Executive Director, and the Treasurer. It shall be governed by the following rules:
A. The Program and Operation Committee shall have the power to transact all regular business of AMEPPA during the interim between the meetings of the Executive Board. Such action shall not conflict with the policies and expressed wishes of the Executive Board.
B. The Program and Operation Committee actions shall be reported fully to the Executive Board at the Executive Board’s next meeting. The presence of three members of the Program and Operation Committee shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of the committee’s business.
Section 10: Nominating Committee
A. The Nominating Committee shall consist of two members from the network who are not members of the Executive Board.
B. An announcement of the appointment of the Committee shall be made promptly to all members.
C. The Nominating Committee shall be appointed not less than one hundred twenty days prior to each annual conference of the membership.
D. The Nominating Committee shall seek nomination from the network’s members for President, Vice-President, Executive Director, Treasurer and Executive Board, and will supervise the balloting and election process.
Section 11: Communication Committee
A. The Communication Committee shall consist of three to five members serving for three-year term.Members may serve no more than two terms. One member is appointed by the President and other members appointed by the Executive director. Appointments will be made in such a way as to ensure a broad range of relevant expertise and representation of the network’s diverse membership.
B. The network’s Executive Director, elected by AMEPPA members, shall serve as the Chair of the Communication Committee.
C. The Communication Committee shall pursue three primary purposes:
- Provide recommendations to the Executive Board on strategic initiatives for developing the network’s publications and website.
- Implement Executive Board policies and procedures for periodic review of all journals.
- Oversee the network’s official communication as outlined by the Executive Board.
D. The Communication Committee shall also pursue such other relevant strategic purposes as the Executive Board may from time to time deem appropriate.
E. Promoting AMEPPA membership, serving the public, and encouraging citizen participation in the improvement of public service in the Middle East.
F. Promoting collaborative relations among the policy specialists, public administrators, researcher and scholars dedicated to advancing sound governance throughout the Middle East.
Section 12: Finance Committee
A. There shall be a Finance Committee serving for three-years, renewable once, with the Treasurer serving as the Chairperson elected by the network’s members. Members of the Finance Committee cannot serve more than two terms in the committee.
B. The Executive Board shall adopt AMEPPA investment guidelines which will be supervised by the Finance Committee.
C. The Executive Board shall adopt the budget of the network in accordance with guidelines established by the Finance Committee.
D. Any deficit financing plan shall be approved by the Executive Board in advance.
