Volunteer
Are you interested in getting more involved with VAM? We have lots of volunteer opportunities available. Review the list below, and contact membership@vamusuems.org if you find something that you'd like to try!
Be a Committee Volunteer!
VAM has several committees that are filled by members of our member community. Some meet year-round, others are specific to an event or task. Some of the most active are:
Workshop Committee
This committee meets once a year to plan the upcming season of VAM workshops, and then helps VAM staff with finding speakers and locations for those workshops. Often, members of the committee attend one of the workshops as an assistant for staff. Time commitment: medium.
Conference Local Arrangements Committee
This committee is based in the locality that is hosting our upcoming conference. Those sitting on the committee tend to be locals and those whose sites are hosting an event or program during the conference. There are multiple in-person meetings expected of this committee. Time commitment: high.
Conference Program Committee
This committee works with the VAM staff to review and approve the educational content for the next year's conference. The main commitment is a one-day meeting in August; other work will be expected by email. Time commitment: medium.
Nominating Committee
This committee meets in the winter, to help the VAM board determine the slate for the next elections. Time commitment: small.
NEW! The VAM Board has opened their standing committees to non-board members to help with our equity efforts. If you are interested in any of these committees, please fill out this simple form, and your interest will be forwarded to the appropriate committee for review. Each of these committees meet every other month, mainly virtually.
Planning & Resources Committee
The goal of this committee is to ensure VAM’s financial sustainability by effectively managing the association’s finances through membership recruitment, fundraising, and financial planning.
Member Engagement Committee
The goal of this committee is to focus on how VAM serves our members, and how to build engagement across all sectors of our membership base.
Leadership Development
The goal of this committee is to prepare museum professionals to assume roles of inspired leadership, to garner advocacy from government bodies, and to position VAM to represent fairly the membership and the needs of the profession.
Be a Mentor!
Wherever you are in your career, you have experience and expertise to share. If you are an EMP interested in getting more involved, perhaps you'd like to mentor a student member. If you have 25 years in the field, you might want to mentor someone interested in moving up the management ladder. Mentors can communicate over email, but for a good mentorship to work, ideally the mentor would be committed to some time for relationship building. Time commitment: medium.
Review Resumes!
One of our member benefits is to review resumes of individual members who would like assistance--either specifically preparing a resume for a job posting, or just working on a resume for their own records. Help us by becoming one of our "stable" of reviewers. Time commitment: small.
Interested in Board Service?
Serving on our governing board is one of the most impactful ways to be involved with VAM. Board members are selected from across our membership, and elected to specific open positions each March at our Annual Meeting. Board members work directly with staff on strategic planning, financial sustainability, member service, and much more. Terms are 3 years in length, and can be renewed once for an additional 3 years. Currently, the following positions are open:
- At Large
- Emerging Museum Professional (EMP)
- Mountain & Valley
If you are interested in one of these positions, or would like to be considered for future board service, please fill out this form. Your responses will be forwarded to the Nominating Committee.