Have you ever wanted to help shape the direction of the EFA? Here is your chance! Nominations are open for positions on the 2026-27 Board of Directors.

Serving on the Board is a rewarding opportunity to:

  • Influence the strategic vision of our organization
  • Strengthen your leadership and governance skills
  • Collaborate with peers who share your passion for freelancing

We encourage EFA members from every race, color, culture, religion or no religion, gender identity, gender expression, age, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, citizenship, education, ability, health, neurotype, body size, marital/parental status, socio-economic background, sexual orientation, and/or military status to run for a Board position. If you care about the future of the EFA, we encourage you to put your name forward—or nominate a colleague who would make a great leader.

Nomination deadline: March 13
Learn more and apply: Nomination Form

There are open positions for Directors, each serving a two-year term.

Directors are encouraged to serve on Committees of Record; assist with ad hoc committees, special projects, and membership surveys; and participate in non-executive Board business.

Current Committees of Record are:

  • Finance and Risk
  • External Relations
  • Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Transformation (EDIT)
  • Planning and Programs
  • Nominations and Elections

This year, once general voting has been completed, Directors-elect will have an opportunity to run for one of the two open Officer roles, Co-chair and Secretary. The Board will vote for these positions at the May Board meeting, and results will be published online. We will then announce all results at the Annual General Meeting in June.

Duties of the Board of Governors
Joining the EFA Board is a commitment of time and energy, but it is not an onerous one. Most Board members spend an average of about one to six hours a month on EFA business, including Board meetings.

  • Board members are expected to attend online meetings held monthly (except July), likely in the second week of each month, and the annual meeting in mid-June.
  • Board members are asked to familiarize themselves with the bylaws and agree to our guiding documents, including confidentiality.
  • Board members may also be asked to attend special online meetings or events a few times a year.
  • In addition to attending meetings, Board members take active roles in online discussions of EFA matters throughout the year as we adopt and manage an annual budget, determine policy, and set EFA goals and benchmarks.
  • Board members also have the opportunity to serve as committee chairs and subcommittee chairs when those roles become available.
  • Outside of its monthly meetings, members remain in touch through Board-only messaging on the Board of Directors Discussion Forums.

For more information, see About the Board.

Board requirements
All meetings are held virtually, and there is no residential requirement to serve on the Board. Membership in good standing is a requirement for all Board members.

At the EFA’s expense, new Board members will be required to successfully complete Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion training as specified by the Board.

Nomination process
To nominate yourself, please use this link to answer several brief candidate questions. Include your full name, email, and the address of your website and/or LinkedIn profile if you have one or both. The answers to these questions will serve as your candidate statement and will be published for members to review.

If you think someone else would make a perfect candidate, please contact the person directly and invite them to nominate themselves.

For questions about the election process, please email the EFA’s Executive Director, Autumn A. Arnett.

Deadline: Nomination statements must be received by 11:59 p.m. PST on Friday, March 13. 

Voting process
Voting is done electronically. Information about the election (including candidate statements and ballots) will be delivered via email. Please add  to your address book to ensure that you receive all election-related messages. Otherwise, they may be identified as spam, filtered by your internet service provider, or end up in a junk folder.

2026 Election Cycle
March 2          Call for Nominees Opens

March 13        Nomination period ends

March 16        Post candidate statements

March 30        Voting begins

April 10           End of voting

April 13           Directors-elect announcement