AGENCY TESTIMONY
VAB leadership involvement and member participation challenges
1:16:01
ยท
59 sec
Elias discusses the lack of leadership involvement in member appointments and highlights issues with inactive board members. She also addresses the topic of term limits for VAB members.
- VAB leadership is not involved in the appointment process of new members.
- There are inactive board members with no process for removal or replacement.
- Elias argues against term limits, citing the value of institutional knowledge from long-serving members.
- She suggests the need for input in the selection process to maintain diverse representation.
Mercedes Elias
1:16:01
Leadership within the VAB is not involved in any process for members being appointed to the VAB.
1:16:07
We're simply notified after the members have been appointed in order to include them on upcoming sessions.
1:16:13
The board's diversity in age, location and industry, among so many other variables, is something which should be considered when appointing new members to the board.
1:16:22
It's logical that we should have input regarding potential candidates to sit on the board to ensure we maintain an accurate representation of the community that we serve.
1:16:31
In addition, there have been members of the board who have been inactive in their involvement and there is no course of action possible to remove and replace these board members.
1:16:40
There are several constituents who are interested and willing to sit on the board who I am certain would participate, engage, and advocate for the veteran community.
1:16:49
Term limits would hinder some of the institutional and historical knowledge of our older members to specifically come to mind who are present at every single meeting, unlike some of our newer members who have not attended meetings in years.