Governance
Governance
BOARD RECRUITMENT 2026–2027
Help shape the future of Canada’s mountain community
The Alpine Club of Canada is inviting nominations for three Board Director vacancies, for three-year terms beginning in 2027. For more than a century the ACC has brought people together through mountain adventure, culture, community and stewardship. Serving on the Board is a chance to help guide what comes next.
Nominations close November 15, 2026
3 Director vacancies
are to be filled this cycle
3 years
is the length of term, beginning January 1st, 2027
10-20 hours/month
are the average hours required per month on average, heavier in May/June and Sept/Oct
Term-limited
The fixed three-year term has a cap of two, conflict-of-interest rules, and regular Board and Director reviews
The role of the Board
The ACC is governed by a nine-member volunteer Board: a President, Secretary, Treasurer and six Directors-at-Large. Directors provide strategic leadership, establish policy, oversee organizational performance and risk, safeguard the club’s financial health, and hold the organization accountable to its mission and values. Paid staff manage day-to-day operations.
Directors-at-Large do not represent a single portfolio, region, activity or constituency. They work collaboratively and share responsibility for the ACC as a whole, contributing through Board deliberations, committees and strategic initiatives.
Most of our strongest directors arrived by way of a section executive or a national committee. That path is open to you too — see the pathway to the Board below.
A governance role, not a portfolio role
Directors need to be comfortable with strategy, budgets, risk, policy, oversight and long-term stewardship. This is not a seat for advancing one issue or activity and Directors should be comfortable with strategy, budgets, risk, policy, oversight, and long-term stewardship.
Perspectives and experience we're seeking
Every nomination is considered on its full merits. For this cycle, the Nominations Committee is especially interested in candidates who could strengthen one or more of the following.
Member and Section engagement
Experience increasing participation, improving communication and building belonging — people who have moved the needle in a workplace, community, association or ACC section.
Mountain culture and community
A meaningful connection to climbing, skiing, hiking, mountain safety, ACC history and traditions, or networks beyond the ACC that inform the club’s future relevance.
Environment and stewardship
Public lands, conservation, stewardship or climate adaptation as they relate to mountain communities and the ACC’s future.
Youth and sport
Youth engagement, competitive climbing, sport governance, or other pathways to the next generation of mountain participants.
French-language governance
Governance and engagement in French, including connections with Francophone members and communities.
Geographic and section diversity
Perspectives not well represented on the Board today, especially from outside Alberta: Quebec, Atlantic Canada, the territories, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, northern and rural communities, and smaller sections.
No candidate is expected to bring all of these
We are building a complementary Board, not searching for one person who can fill every need. Relevant experience may come from professional, community, governance, volunteer or lived experience, inside or outside the club.
Who should consider putting their name forward?
You may be a long-standing ACC volunteer, or you may bring governance, professional, community or lived experience developed outside the club. What matters is your ability to think strategically, exercise sound judgment, work collaboratively, respect the distinction between governance and operations, and act in the best interests of the ACC.
We welcome nominations from across Canada and encourage interest from Indigenous, Francophone, Black and other racialized, younger, 2SLGBTQIA+, disabled, geographically diverse, and other people whose perspectives have historically been underrepresented in national outdoor and mountain organizations. We value many ways of knowing and contributing. Accommodation is available throughout the process.
Candidates must be ACC members and meet the minimum Board eligibility criteria.
The commitment
Directors need to be comfortable with strategy, budgets, risk, policy, oversight and long-term stewardship. This is not a seat for advancing one issue or activity. Meaningful results often take time and Board Members are expected to contribute consistently over their full term.
6 meetings
a year: two in person over a weekend, four online at or near the end of a workday
10–20 hrs
per month on average, depending on committee and special assignments
Before you decide, please review:
Minimum requirements every candidate must meet
What the job is and how much of it there is
Bylaws and Board Code of Conduct policy
The rules directors are bound by
Where the club is trying to go
How the process works
Directors are chosen through a competency-based process run by the Nominations Committee, which reviews every candidate independently. This is the shape of the 2026–2027 cycle.
LATE SEP 2026
Nominations open
The club publishes the perspectives it’s seeking, the eligibility criteria and the nomination form. Sections and members are asked to personally encourage strong prospects.
15 NOV 2026
Nominations close
Candidates complete the application form: résumé, a few written questions, and confirmation that they understand the term and commitment.
NOV-FEB
Independent review
Application review, phone screen, virtual panel interview, reference checks, and background or credential verification. Incumbents’ Board performance forms part of their interview.
FEB 2027
Slate recommended
The committee considers each candidate on their own and the slate as a whole, and recommends qualified candidates to the Board with its reasoning documented.
EARLY 2027
The Board appoints
The Board reviews the recommended slate and makes the appointments. The slate is shared with members in March 2027. Every applicant, selected or not, hears the outcome from the Nominations Committee.
SPRING AGM
New directors take their seats
New directors take their seats at the Annual General Meeting and all members are told who has joined the Board.
The pathway to the Board
Most directors didn’t start at the Board table. They led trips, sat on a section executive, then took on a national committee. If you’re not ready for the Board this year, a committee seat is the most direct way to get there — and it’s where the Nominations Committee looks first. Expressions of interest are welcome at any time of year.
7 of 9 current directors served on a committee or a section executive first.
1. Section
Trip leader, executive, section chair
2. Committee
National portfolio work
3. Board
Competency-based appointmentQuestions or accommodation
Questions about eligibility, the process or accommodation can go to the Nominations Committee Chair, Eleanor Culver, at [email protected]. Voluntary diversity information, if collected, is handled in accordance with Alberta privacy legislation.
For questions about the governance change itself, see the FAQ or write to [email protected].
Bring your judgment, experience and perspective.
Help the ACC inspire adventure, deepen belonging, advance mountain culture, and steward the wild places that connect us.
