A vital facet of the AISES network is its growing number of AISES Professional Chapters. These affiliate organizations offer support and opportunities to members nationwide as they navigate their career paths. The chapters’ ongoing activities and contributions at the local level are the grass-roots foundation of the AISES mission. From serving as role models to helping their communities and organizing professional development events, AISES Professional Chapter members are leading advocates for the advancement of Native students and professionals.
Starting and Growing an AISES Professional Chapter: What You Need to Know
AISES provides straightforward information on how to start a Professional Chapter, including clear guidelines that help each group function effectively. Here’s a breakdown of how to launch a chapter and build membership.
Gather the Core Group
First things first: Who’s going to do this with you? To start an AISES Professional Chapter, you’ll need a minimum of five original members, including three general members who are in good standing with the AISES National Office. Keep in mind that you need more than a list of names — you’re looking for a motivated group of individuals committed to starting a chapter that will continue to expand over time and do good work.
Seek out people with various skills and areas of expertise. Who’s going to be the lead officer? Who’s going to manage the money? In addition to identifying a president, says AISES Membership Manager Monique Tulley-Bahe, “At a minimum you’ll need a treasurer to handle financial reporting.” In addition, she says, it is also highly recommended to have a vice president and a secretary to help with administrative duties for the chapter.
While five members are required for your application, there are plenty of reasons to launch your effort with a slightly larger critical mass. If any of your charter members has a change in circumstances — maybe relocating or taking on new family responsibilities — you’ll want to know that you still have the numbers and enthusiasm needed to keep moving forward.
Apply
The process of starting your chapter begins with a simple one-page application that must be completed and signed by the president. Additional information and documentation of AISES memberships are also required. “Remember to adopt the Code of Conduct, Safe Camp Policy, Affiliation Agreement, and Professional Bylaws,” advises Tulley-Bahe, “and be sure to include this in the meeting minutes you send to us.” The meeting minutes should also note the election of officers.
Recruit
Once your application has been approved by the AISES National Office, what’s next? In the words of MRutheyi Thompson, past president of the AISES Colorado Professional Chapter, “Communicate, communicate, communicate!” This means having a strong consensus inside the organization and getting the attention of potential members outside the group. A good way for a new chapter to gather momentum is engaging a round of recruits early on. Perhaps your chapter agrees to a 100-day goal of a certain number of new members and a strategy for attracting these people to the organization. Whether you decide on a social media strategy, a highly visible face-to-face or virtual event, or a combination of tactics, be sure that roles and responsibilities are clear.
“Reminders of meetings and events need to go out a month before, two weeks before, and two days before,” adds Thompson. “Keep the communications as succinct as possible, but with all the important details.” And remember that you’re simply looking for like-minded people who want to make a difference. “Anyone is welcome to join AISES if they support the mission,” says Tulley-Bahe. “They do not need to be in a STEM field or be Indigenous to join. This will help with recruiting members.”
Engage
An active organization is an engaged organization. Coming up with new and impactful ways to help people succeed will keep your work relevant and get the attention of a diverse audience. If you’re part of the core group seeking to form, expand, or revive a chapter, be prepared to invest time and energy. “You will be cheerleader, planner, strategic visionary, mentor, and more for the chapter,” advises Thompson. “And don’t forget to ask for help and use the resources and talents of everyone in the chapter. It is hard work, but it is worth every effort!”
On Topic
How does an AISES Professional Chapter benefit its members and community?
AISES Professional Chapters provide benefits by directly linking their work to the overall AISES mission. To substantially increase the number of Indigenous people in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), we need to ensure that those in STEM fields have a long and impactful career. This is accomplished by using the professional chapters as a network of support that provides a welcome home for the many Indigenous STEM professionals who are required to relocate for their career. Another key benefit is establishing and sharing best practices for Indigenous employee resource groups across STEM fields. This is critical for smaller companies to broaden opportunities for their Indigenous employees. Professional chapters also impact the AISES mission by providing youth and student mentorship and leadership to Native community organizations. Examples of this include tutoring in urban community centers and providing assistance to AISES student organizers for the regional conferences.
What steps are involved in establishing an AISES Professional Chapter?
The first step is to reach out to AISES. They are a wealth of information and seem to have endless energy to help. They can send an email on your behalf to the professional membership within your region to inquire about interest. Once you have a group of people who are interested, my suggestion is to reach out to area Native organizations to build community relationships if they do not already exist. The formal process is outlined here.
How long does the process of starting an AISES chapter take?
The longest part of the process is typically finding that core leadership group willing to regularly attend meetings and volunteer for events. This can take some time. One way to alleviate the issue is to have a strong virtual presence that allows people to connect across a broader region. Once you have your core group, the formal submission of documents is approximately a monthlong process. Official recognition comes after an AISES board meeting, usually held every few months. Upon becoming an officially recognized chapter, expect significant support from AISES, including the use of their tax-ID, which can help with fundraising and establishing bank accounts.
In what ways can members promote their AISES Professional Chapter?
Some ideas around promotion would be to have a strong social media presence. Having members who are able to regularly post information and images has a large impact on engagement. Coordinating events with other organizations is important, especially when a chapter has too few volunteers. If you are looking to provide tutoring, consider connecting it with other community events to reduce overhead and reach a larger audience. Some of the most successful tutoring programs are in partnership with community center cultural or family engagement events. In addition, leveraging the broader appeal of community organizations by having a booth at local powwows is a great opportunity to connect with more people. Finally, supporting your members in getting funding from their companies to attend AISES events is an important part of enabling greater recognition of your professional chapter.
What are the top three ways to keep a chapter growing?
1. Make sure your members are having fun. Working on the AISES mission is critical, but be sure to have some social events for your members to just relax.
2. Try to have a larger group who can fill your leadership roles from year to year. Burnout is going to happen, so be sure you are training someone to fill your role in the future.
3. Link your work purposefully to the AISES mission. If you do that, in time there will be a larger group of us to grow our professional chapters.
