Serve as a State Chair

Volunteer to serve as a NACA State Chair!

NACA established state chairs in order to increase the communication between members and build community and engagement within NACA. These individuals are responsible for recruiting, vetting, and welcoming new NACA members. Please see below for more details and consider whether you might like to serve as a state chair.

The following states currently have openings for state chair: Alaska, Delaware, Iowa, Maine, Mississippi, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. (There are opportunities to combine two neighboring states under one chair, when appropriate.)

You may apply to be a state chair even if your state currently has someone filling that role: we will keep your application for consideration once that chair steps down.

The Role and Responsibilities of a NACA State Chair

Position: State Chair

Term: Two-year term, renewable for up to two additional years.

Committee Overview

The role of the state chairs is to build community and engagement at the local level, balancing managing NACA’s standards with fostering a welcoming community.

For states with a larger membership, NACA staff is also soliciting social outreach liaisons to assist with community building.

Major Functions and Responsibilities

Recruiting New Members

State chairs assist staff in identifying and recruiting attorneys who share the commitment to consumer law, so that the NACA community can grow and thrive. Chairs also keep an eye out for members in their states who are interested in getting more involved with NACA’s work, to help build the next generation of leaders.

Vetting and Welcoming of Members

State chairs vet new member applications as part of NACA’s peer review process, providing recommendations to staff to admit, deny, or conduct further review. It is essential that state chairs work to balance the need for adherence to NACA’s standards of not performing anti-consumer work with the need to foster a welcoming, inclusive environment, particularly for attorneys new to consumer law.

Building Community and Keeping Members Engaged

Each state will have different needs and degrees of engagement, but typically, scheduling meetings or get togethers/happy hours, creating state-specific trainings, and running an active listserv are ways to help build a strong community of lawyers. Chairs in states with high member numbers can build a team to assist with this work and can also partner with a neighboring state chair when appropriate.

State chairs also occasionally partner with NACA staff and/or the membership committee on special tasks or projects, such as reaching out to lapsed members periodically and helping to promote NACA’s annual Spring Training. Conversely, chairs should also reach out to NACA staff and the membership committee about developing needs, critical issues and trends, and concerns of the state’s members.

Assisting with Legislative Advocacy

State chairs occasionally assist the legislative team with local efforts (such as encouraging members to call their Congresspeople, sign a letter, etc.). With permission, state chairs can speak and/or lobby on behalf of NACA on these state issues. Chairs also update NACA on current legislation moving in their state that NACA should educate the members about or get involved with directly.

Volunteer Commitment

State chairs will be expected to participate in two conference calls a year. Additional time commitments will largely depend on the activities and the number of members in your state. We estimate no more than three to four hours a month.

Interested?

If you would like to get involved with our work as a state chair, fill out this brief form to let us know.