Colorado Libraries for Early Literacy is seeking new leadership! This is an exciting opportunity to connect with early literacy leaders statewide, empower fellow professionals, and affect great change. Members of the Steering Committee serve a minimum two-year term and are divided into specific subcommittees: Steering; Communications; Advocacy and Fundraising; Training; Membership; and Conference. All committees need new leaders next year!
Interested candidates should send an email to info@clel.org with the subject line “Steering Committee.” Please include the following information:
- Name
- Email & Phone
- A short bio that includes how your leadership could serve Colorado libraries (no more than 200 words)
- The subcommittee in which you are most interested
- A photo
Submissions must be received by Friday, November 1, 2024
After a membership vote this past summer, the Steering Committee may now include up to 4 members from outside the state of Colorado in addition to Colorado members. Steering Committee members must commit to attend quarterly, virtual meetings that last 2 hours. Any interested CLEL members are encouraged to apply.
Committee Members cannot serve consecutive terms, but you can serve on CLEL more than once, so if you have already participated and are interested in returning to the Steering Committee, please consider submitting an application, as well.
Want to know more? Please email Mary Lanni at mlanni@dclibraries.org and Tina Schmidt at tschmidt@dclibraries.org with any questions. We will respond directly, and we will share questions and answers on a shared document here.
Know someone else who would be perfect for this? Please pass this information along!
Committee Duties and Responsibilities
Advocacy & Fundraising
Supports members by assisting in the development of early literacy advocacy and outreach skills. These skills can include, but are not limited to: giving brief elevator speeches to legislators, networking with funding sources and individuals for the purposes of supporting the CLEL mission, and networking among other early literacy professionals in hopes of widening awareness of the importance of early literacy to the greater community as a whole.
Annual Conference
Plans and facilitates all details of the Annual Conference including, but not limited to, suggesting conference fees, determining presenters and speakers, supervising registration procedure, and gathering feedback for the Steering Committee. In the case of in-person conferences, the committee scouts and secures the venue, coordinates food and drink, and coordinates set-up and tear down. In the case of a virtual conference, the committee scouts and secures an online platform and captioning services, and coordinates setup of virtual platform and registration.
Communications
Maintains CLEL website and blog, including recruiting blog writers, uploading and updating other content; utilizes social media outlets to share information with CLEL members and other early literacy stakeholders; disseminates communication to members, including annual election and surveys (or helps subcommittees vet content, allowing each subcommittee to create content and distribute as they wish); answers member questions; and investigates and suggests new methods for maintaining open communication with the general membership.
Membership
This subcommittee is also responsible for processing new member registrations and editing information on the member contact list. This committee also assists the Steering Committee with the annual election of new committee members and runs the CLEL Awards during the annual conference.
Steering
Provides administrative support through scheduling, planning, and facilitating Steering Committee meetings, and recording and disseminating meeting minutes to the committee. This subcommittee also coordinates member meetups four times a year and distills those conversations into a public blog. Collaborates with Membership Subcommittee to facilitate annual election of new Steering Committee members, conducts annual review of bylaws, and leads Steering Committee in a reevaluation of goals after every membership survey and calling for subcommittees to reevaluate subcommittee goals at the beginning of every calendar year. At the end of the year, the Steering Subcommittee writes an annual report that is sent to membership and potential donors.
This committee also acts as a point of contact for people and organizations that contact CLEL, takes on new projects, and helps other subcommittees with their duties as needed.
Training
Connects members with early literacy-related professional development training. Training may include virtual or in-person training via webinars, website content, and conference presentations. This subcommittee is also responsible for supporting and/or coordinating CLEL-sponsored local and national early literacy conference presentations.
