Dear WPATH Members:

In response to concerns expressed by some members regarding the WPATH nominations process for election of officers and directors-at-large, the WPATH Board charged a task force to review the process again.

The Elections Task Force (ETF) met via conference calls and reviewed the bylaws, nominations, and elections procedures of numerous health organizations, including some international groups. Input was then requested from the Executive Committees/Boards of AusPATH, CPATH, EPATH, and USPATH. The groups were presented with 5 nomination/election models and the ETF requested their feedback. The request for feedback included considering the following expressed concerns: transparency, accessibility & inclusiveness for members to become involved in WPATH leadership, and diversity of leadership (e.g., based on geography, profession, expressed gender identity).

Based on review of their feedback and the ETF's subsequent discussions, the majority of the ETF recommended that WPATH continue with its current approach to the nominations and elections process. This approach is a Hybrid model of slate/open ballot. The slate is for Executive Committee positions only and the open ballot is for Director-at-Large positions. All potential board members presented to the membership must meet the minimum criteria set out for those positions.

The Executive Committee nominees will be further vetted by the Nominating Committee as outlined in the open application process. If more than one qualified candidate applies for any of the Executive Committee (Officer) positions, the Nominating Committee will propose the one most fitting the diverse needs of WPATH at that time. All qualified nominees for the at-large positions will be placed on the ballot for a run-off election by members.

In order to further assess the membership response to our election process, the Board, after hearing from the ETF and its recommendation above, decided that the membership should vote on the best process for WPATH.

You will receive a separate email with a link to submit your vote through SurveyMonkey this afternoon (after 2:00pm Eastern Time). Please note this email will be sent to the email address associated with your WPATH account, you may need to check your junk/spam folders if you do not see it in your inbox.

If you have not received the link by tomorrow afternoon, please contact Jamie Hicks at jamie@PROTECTED.

We appreciate your considering these models and what is best for WPATH as a global, multidisciplinary organization, please ensure your voice is heard by voting today. Deadline for voting is October 16, 2019 at 5:00pm Eastern Time.