Leadership Development Committee
Purpose
The Leadership Development Committee (LDC) is responsible for identifying, recruiting and nominating a contested slate of candidates for APS President-elect, Treasurer and at-large Board Directors. Final selection of leaders is made through an election by APS membership. LDC accomplishes these tasks by:
- Soliciting candidate recommendations from the APS Advisory Council and APS members and leaders.
- Conducting interviews and clarifying competencies and multirepresentational balance elements with the APS Board of Directors.
- Developing a rubric for the evaluation of candidates for consistent and uniform evaluation.
- Conducting a fair, transparent and consistently applied process for candidate evaluation.
Composition
The immediate past APS president serves as the chair of LDC for one year. The Board Directors who are serving their third year of their term also serve on the committee for one year. Five non-Board members selected by the Advisory Council serve a two-year nonrenewable term. The APS CEO serves as an ex officio member without a vote.
Current Leadership Development Committee
- Robert L. Hester, PhD, FAPS, Chair
- Patricia Halpin, PhD, FAPS, third-year Board member
- My Helms, PhD, third-year Board member
- Beth McCormick, PhD, third-year Board member
- Sandrine V. Pierre, PhD, selected by Advisory Council
- David Poole, DSc, FAPS, selected by Advisory Council
- Kathy Ryan, PhD, FAPS, selected by Advisory Council
- Larissa Shimoda, PhD, selected by Advisory Council
- Loren Wold, PhD, selected by Advisory Council
- Erika Shugart, PhD, FAAAS, APS CEO
August 2026
APS members have 30 days to submit nominations for president-elect and APS Board directors. Members should consider the following eligibility guidelines when making their nominations:
Eligibility for President-elect–Candidates must have prior experience on the APS Council/Board of Directors as an elected councilor/director. Candidates for president-elect must complete their term on the Board of Directors before being eligible for president-elect.
Eligibility for Directors–Candidates should have recent experience serving the Society by participating in APS section or interest group steering committees, APS committees, APS publications as an editor or editorial board member, or an APS task force or other special project.
September 2026
The LDC will contact all eligible candidates to confirm their willingness to serve. Interested candidates will be provided with the required competencies and will have two weeks to complete an online application. The application will ask candidates to describe how they have served the Society and how their skills or experiences demonstrate the required competencies.
October 2026
The members of the LDC will review the candidates' applications and evaluate their alignment with the identified competencies. The LDC will also assess:
- Qualifications, skill set and merit.
- Past participation in APS activities.
- Potential contributions to the Society as a future officer.
After the application review, the LDC will convene to discuss the candidates and determine which individuals will move forward to the next step in the process. Applicants who do not advance in the process will be notified of the outcome at this time.
November 2026
The LDC will conduct 15-minute interviews with the candidates. Following the interviews, the LDC will meet to finalize the slate of candidates with two names for president-elect and six names for Board director.
January 2027
APS will host a virtual town hall event for members to meet the candidates. Candidates will provide a brief description of their intent, and members will be able to ask questions. Shortly after the town hall concludes, the election will open, and members will be emailed a ballot to cast their vote. APS dues-paying members will have 30 days to choose one candidate for president-elect and three for directors.
February 2027
Upon the conclusion of the election, the president will call all of the candidates to inform them of the results. The new president-elect and Board directors will then be announced to the membership.
April 2027
The president-elect and new Board directors will attend the American Physiology Summit and the Board of Directors spring meeting. Their terms will begin at the close of the annual business meeting at the Summit.