

Member Notices
As an AMC member, you have a voice in how we grow and lead.
Member notices include important updates about Board elections, proxy ballots, our Annual Meeting, and other ways you can shape AMC’s direction. By participating, you help ensure our future reflects the values and voices of this community.


Annual Business Meeting
Saturday, January 24, 2026 at 9AM ET
The Appalachian Mountain Club will hold its 150th Annual Business Meeting online on Saturday, January 24, 2026, at 9:00 AM ET. All current members of AMC in good standing in January 2026 will be eligible to vote. The virtual meeting link and proxy ballots to participate in the election will be sent by email in early January.
2026 Slate of Nominees
For Officers and Members of the AMC Board of Directors
AMC’s Nominating and Governance Committee is dedicated to transparency in its work and strives for a diverse pool of candidates for volunteer leadership positions that reflects our membership, mission, and region. Members are invited to send recommendations for Board of Directors candidates to [email protected] for the committee’s consideration.
The following nominees represent many years of commitment to AMC and provide a wealth of volunteer, professional, and leadership experience. Explore the tabs below to learn more.
Chair: Cheryl Duckworth
Cheryl has been an AMC member since 1992 and a member of the President’s Society since 2008. She served on the Investment Committee from 2009-2013 prior to moving to Singapore for five years and rejoined the Committee in 2019 upon her return to the Boston area. Cheryl is a retired partner at Wellington Management, having held several roles across the investment and client teams over the last 30 years. Originally from New Jersey, Cheryl grew up an avid soccer player and skier. However, she credits her husband for getting her hiking and camping. She, her husband, and her two daughters hike, ski, and climb extensively wherever there are mountains, including some very far-flung locations during their time in Singapore, but the mountains they know the best are the White Mountains of New Hampshire.
Vice Chair: Rich Batiuk
An AMC member for many years, Rich has been the Potomac Chapter Treasurer, served on the Potomac Chapter Executive Committee as the chapter’s Paddling Committee chair, and is an AMC-certified paddling and hiking leader. Prior to his retirement, Rich was the Associate Director for Science, Analysis, and Implementation at the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Chesapeake Bay Program Office located in Annapolis, Maryland. There, he led the integration of science into multi-partner policy-making and collaborative decision-making. Rich is a co-founder of CoastWise, providing pro-bono help with the development and implementation of collaborative watershed management strategies to over 80 agencies and organizations all around the world. On the AMC Board, in addition to being the Vice Chair nominee and serving as Regional Director, South, Rich chairs the Conservation Programs Committee and serves on the Finance Committee, the Nominating and Governance Committee, and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. Rich is also an active member of Chesapeake Conservancy’s Board of Directors. Rich received his B.S. in Environmental Science from the University of New Hampshire in 1984 and M.S. in Environmental Toxicology from American University in Washington D.C. in 1985. Rich lives in Annapolis, Maryland with his wife, Susan, and enjoys fly fishing, kayaking, canoeing, hiking, camping, backpacking, bird watching, trail building and maintenance, and traveling.
Vice Chair and Treasurer: Kathy Campbell
Kathy has been a member of AMC since 2001 and served as on AMC’s Board of Advisors from 2019 until she became a member of its Board of Directors in 2022. She has served as Treasurer for the past two years. In addition to chairing the Finance Committee, Kathy also sits on the Investment, Development, DEI, and Conservation committees. Kathy is also a member of the Potomac Chapter and has served as its secretary, Conservation Chair, and DEI chapter rep. After a 37-year International Finance career with an energy firm that took her around the globe, she became an entrepreneur. In 2017 she started KT Coaching Partners, a leadership coaching firm. She utilizes her cross-cultural team building skills and transition management skills to assist clients in expanding their thinking about what is possible. Kathy loves hiking, kayaking, biking, and skiing. She holds a business degree from Northeastern University and an MBA from Loyola University of Chicago.
Secretary: Per AMC Bylaws, the secretary is appointed by the Board of Directors, rather than elected by the AMC membership.
(* =candidate for re-election)
(**= candidate for election to a one-year extension)
Robert W. Ackerman*
Bob has been a member of the AMC for many years, enjoying the huts and trails in all seasons, participating in educational programs, and occasionally joining climbing excursions. Following a few years on the Harvard Business School faculty, Bob was drawn into industry, first in paper manufacturing and later in metals. More recently, as a Senior Partner at Watermill Group, he has been leading investments in privately held corporations. Bob is interested in conservation and the responsible and productive use of natural resources, in particular, sustainable forestry and innovative approaches to land use for recreation and wildlife habitat for the long-term benefit of all people and our environment.
Karen Brace (Regional Director, North Region)*
Karen is a native Mainer who’s actively involved in AMC's Maine Woods Initiative, co-chairing the chapter-level MWI Committee and coordinating volunteer projects that support the property and trails. In recent years, Karen has helped run events at the Maine lodges to introduce groups to AMC's conservation and research projects, and to the overall MWI experience. Karen has spent her career working with nonprofits and schools in communications, membership, and development. Currently she spends most of her professional time with a Maine organization that partners with the Department of Enivronmental Protection to mitigate the effects of climate change on lakes and ponds. She lives in the Camden area of midcoast Maine, where she maintains gardens and a blueberry field. In the winter you’ll find her cross-country skiing at MWI or in Rangeley, or alpine touring in the mountains. She’s an active volunteer, having chaired the Maine Women’s Network and the Dartmouth Club of Maine. She looks forward to hiking with her new granddaughter in the years to come.
George Cagle (Regional Director, Mid-Atlantic Region)
George is a resident of West Point, PA and has served as vice chair and chair of the Delaware Valley chapter. George was also a member of the AMC Outdoors Connector super user team. Now retired, George's professional career was spent in the Silicon Valley working through the decades of technology change from back room computers the size of large refrigerators to software applications on powerful mobile devices in everyone's pocket. His favorite outdoors enjoyment is the view of a rolling landscape of mountain peaks after a long tough climb.
Kathy Campbell (Vice Chair & Treasurer)*
Kathy has been a member of AMC since 2001 and served as on AMC’s Board of Advisors from 2019 until she became a member of its Board of Directors in 2022. She has served as Treasurer for the past two years. In addition to chairing the Finance Committee, Kathy also sits on the Investment, Development, DEI, and Conservation committees. Kathy is also a member of the Potomac Chapter and has served as its secretary, Conservation Chair, and DEI chapter rep. After a 37-year International Finance career with an energy firm that took her around the globe, she became an entrepreneur. In 2017 she started KT Coaching Partners, a leadership coaching firm. She utilizes her cross-cultural team building skills and transition management skills to assist clients in expanding their thinking about what is possible. Kathy loves hiking, kayaking, biking, and skiing. She holds a business degree from Northeastern University and an MBA from Loyola University of Chicago.
Kate Cosgrove
Kate Cosgrove is an investment advisor at Goldman Sachs to ultra high net worth families and foundations. Prior to her current role, she was an adventure travel writer at Let’s Go travel guides and National Geographic Adventure magazine and the lead singer of a cover band in China. Kate earned her undergraduate degree in English and a Masters in Sustainability and Environmental Management at Harvard University, where she was a first-year outdoor orientation program leader leading hiking and canoeing trips in New England’s White and Green Mountains, and her MBA at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. She is Canadian-American and grew up between Boston and Montreal skiing and hiking on the AT and beyond. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children.
Cindy Crosby (Regional Director, Eastern Region)*
Cindy is a native Bostonian who, in 2016, decided it was time to slow down, retire, and come home after many years of international work as an executive in the healthcare industry. Today she is a management consultant and coach who is passionate about helping leaders grow, change, and transition in their careers. Cindy is the past chapter chair of the AMC Boston Chapter, leads hikes, and is a volunteer naturalist at the huts. She is Board Chair at Tailored For Success, assisting job seekers gain economic self-sufficiency, and serves as a coach at American Corporate Partners helping veterans transition from military to civilian careers. Cindy holds a B.S. from Suffolk University and is a graduate of Executive and Organizational Leadership Programs. When not working, Cindy can be found hiking and backpacking in New England, in a Pilates studio, or outdoors learning to sketch en plein air.
Birgitta C. Dickerson**
Birgitta has spent the majority of her professional career as a corporate in-house counsel for multinational corporations including Salesforce, The Boston Consulting Group, and currently Cabot Corporation, where she is Chief Counsel. Birgitta previously served on AMC’s Board of Directors (2006–2012), including as Secretary and a member of the President’s Search Committee. Birgitta currently serves on the Nominating and Governance Committee and the DEI Committee. Birgitta also is a Director for the Victim Rights Law Center, an Honorary Director for Massachusetts Audubon Society, and former Director for the Massachusetts Black Women Attorneys. She received her JD from the University of Pennsylvania and BA from Emory University. In Birgitta’s spare time, she enjoys pilates, running, hiking, horseback riding, and spending time with her husband and three teenaged children.
Cynthia Dow*
An avid outdoor enthusiast, Cynthia first enjoyed AMC huts and trails in 2015; she enjoys hiking, skiing, adventure travel, and competitive sailing. She leads the Boston office and New England region for Russell Reynolds Associates and also serves on the firm’s Executive Committee. She focuses on executive search, succession planning, and leadership development projects for a wide range of organizations from non-profit and social impact organizations to public and private companies. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Before joining Russell Reynolds Associates, Cynthia was an assistant general counsel with Cadbury Schweppes, general counsel to a technology company, and an attorney with Baker Botts LLP in Dallas. Cynthia received her BA with distinction in government from Cornell University and her JD from the Columbia School of Law, where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and an editor of the Journal of Law and Social Problems.
Nate Fick
Nate Fick is a long-time AMC member, technology executive, diplomat, Marine, and writer. He served as the inaugural U.S. Ambassador for Cyberspace & Digital Policy at the Department of State, leading American diplomacy on technology issues around the world. Prior to government service, he was CEO of the cybersecurity software company Endgame and an operating partner at Bessemer Venture Partners. Nate started his career as a Marine Corps infantry officer. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College (and a life member of the Dartmouth Outing Club) and received his MBA from Harvard Business School. Nate is an avid outdoorsman and a Registered Maine Guide, and lives on the Maine coast with his family. Together, they climbed all 48 New Hampshire 4000-footers and enjoy exploring the Maine Woods.
Jason Griswold
Jason is the Co-Founder and CEO of REIN Technologies, a company transforming insurance products into digital offerings for the modern economy. A successful serial entrepreneur and investor with over 20 years of experience spanning advertising technology, aviation, and insurance, Jason is driven by curiosity and a passion for solving meaningful challenges. Previously, Jason founded and sold Brown Aviation Lease, the largest training aircraft leasing company in the U.S. He has served as a venture partner with NextGen Venture Partners, an investor and advisory board member with Bluewater World Wide, and has held leadership roles at Sentient Flight Group and Unicast Communications. Beyond his professional pursuits, Jason’s commitment to the outdoors shapes his daily life. Whether skiing with his family, hiking New England trails, or exploring backcountry wilderness in a Husky aircraft, he champions initiatives that protect critical open spaces while welcoming broader communities into the outdoors. Jason holds a B.A. from Colgate University and an M.B.A. from Babson College. He is active in mentoring and nonprofit board service, including with the Gilman StartUp Experience, Colgate’s Thought Into Action Institute, the Atlantic Salmon Federation, and the Concord Museum. He lives in Concord, Massachusetts, with his wife and four children, where they spend as much time as possible exploring the mountains, trails, and waters that fuel their family’s love for the outdoors.
Ben Howard*
Ben is a passionate outdoor enthusiast and environmental advocate. After spending the better part of the last decade living and working in Asia, Ben reconnected with the AMC on a memorable hut-to-hut adventure. Ben is currently the VP of Sustainability at Bemis, where he is broadly responsible for developing and executing the company’s strategy for improving People and Planet impacts globally. Ben resides in north central MA, where in addition to spending lots of time outdoors with his family, he also serves as Board Chair for North County Land Trust. Ben is deeply committed to developing, supporting, and scaling solutions to address the environmental challenges of our time.
Steve Kafka
Steve Kafka is a long-time AMC member and all-season, all-activities outdoor enthusiast who lives year-round in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. Active in several local conservation organizations, he is committed to preserving the region’s natural beauty. Steve is a General Partner at S32, a venture capital firm investing at the frontiers of technology. He has spent his career building young life sciences companies with a shared mission to improve patient outcomes: he served as founding CEO and later Executive Chairman of Thrive Earlier Detection, Executive Chairman of ArcherDX, and President and COO of Foundation Medicine. He holds a PhD in political economy and government from Harvard University and a BA in economics and political science from Stanford University.
Paul Wilson (Secretary)*
Paul joined the AMC when he moved to Boston in the early 1980s, and soon found himself leading whitewater trips and occasionally teaching outdoor leadership skills for the Boston Chapter’s Paddling Committee. Before being elected to the AMC Board of Directors, he was a long-serving member of AMC’s Board of Advisors, and he has enjoyed expeditioning with the President’s Society to Alaska, the Canadian Rockies, and AMC’s Medawisla Lodge for cross-country skiing. Paul was recently recalled from retirement to serve again as a judge of the Massachusetts Superior Court. Paul is a long-time adjunct professor at Boston College Law School, and this year he taught at Harvard Law School. Paul’s second-favorite not-for-profit organization is the American Bar Association, where he serves as the secretary of the National Conference of State Trial Judges and the chair of the Commission on the American Jury.
The following board members are continuing their terms and are not up for reelection in 2026.
Scott Barringer
A Massachusetts native and Connecticut resident, Scott Barringer has been a member of the AMC for seventeen years and the President’s Society for twelve years. He served on the AMC Board of Advisors for eight years prior to his election to the Board of Directors. After graduating from Harvard College, he worked at Goldman Sachs for 23 years, retiring as a partner and subsequently joining Shelter Growth Capital Partners in 2015. Scott was introduced to the AMC and the White Mountains by his father-in-law, Jim Hamilton, with whom he made many exploratory trips to Maine as part of the early stages of the Maine Woods Initiative. The Hamilton Anglers Annual Maine trip continues to this day. Scott enjoys hiking and fly fishing in the White Mountains with his wife, two children (volunteer trail crew!) and dog, using their cabin in Jackson, NH as base camp. Scott also currently serves on the Board of the Cos Cob Archery Club.
Richard Batiuk (Regional Director, South)
An AMC member for many years, Rich has been the Potomac Chapter Treasurer, served on the Potomac Chapter Executive Committee as the chapter’s Paddling Committee chair, and is an AMC-certified paddling and hiking leader. Prior to his retirement, Rich was the Associate Director for Science, Analysis, and Implementation at the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Chesapeake Bay Program Office located in Annapolis, Maryland. There, he led the integration of science into multi-partner policy-making and collaborative decision-making. Rich is a co-founder of CoastWise, providing pro-bono help with the development and implementation of collaborative watershed management strategies to over 80 agencies and organizations all around the world. On the AMC Board, in addition to being the Vice Chair nominee and serving as Regional Director, South, Rich chairs the Conservation Programs Committee and serves on the Finance Committee, the Nominating and Governance Committee, and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. Rich is also an active member of Chesapeake Conservancy’s Board of Directors. Rich received his B.S. in Environmental Science from the University of New Hampshire in 1984 and M.S. in Environmental Toxicology from American University in Washington D.C. in 1985. Rich lives in Annapolis, Maryland with his wife, Susan, and enjoys fly fishing, kayaking, canoeing, hiking, camping, backpacking, bird watching, trail building and maintenance, and traveling.
Bruce Booth
Bruce has been an AMC member for a number of years and is a keen outdoor enthusiast. He and his family are frequent visitors of AMC’s trails and huts in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. He is currently a partner at Atlas Venture, an early-stage biotech investment firm, and focuses on helping start new life science companies. He currently serves on the Boards of multiple public and private biotech firms. Prior to Atlas, Bruce was a consultant with McKinsey & Co. He received his D.Phil. from Oxford University in immunology and his B.S. from Penn State in biochemistry, where he graduated summa cum laude. Bruce splits his time between Wellesley, MA and North Woodstock, NH, where he enjoys skiing, hiking, fishing, and trail running. He and his three children have been volunteer ski coaches with New England Disabled Sports (NEDS) for most of the past decade.
Joshua Carter
Joshua David Carter is husband and father to four amazing children and grandfather to two beautiful grandchildren. He is a citizen of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and the Executive Director of the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, the world’s largest Native American Museum. Previously Mr. Carter served as the Director of Tribal and Native American Relations, Manager of Tribal & Native American Preference, and Manger of Training & Organizational Development for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation. Mr. Carter has been an avid backpacker for decades, enjoying the mountains of New Hampshire and Vermont particularly. He comes from generations of land and water protectors. The deep understanding of the interdependence of all of creation is what the Pequot Nation holds most dear.
Steve Circas (Regional Director, Central Region)
Steve is past Chair of the Worcester Chapter and has led educational activities with the Western Massachusetts Chapter. A strong advocate of the Maine Woods Initiative, he drove eighteen years of the Worcester Chapter’s financial support of MWI and also contributed sweat equity through the construction of the Phoenix Shelter on Trout Pond. He is a member of AMC’s Maine Woods Initiative Committee. He was club-wide Conservation Chair, is a member of the 4,000 Footer Club, and a Leave No Trace Awareness instructor. He has been recognized with several volunteer awards, including the AMC Distinguished Service Award. Steve holds an MBA and was Director/ Revenue Controller predominately in the software and services industry. He is most proud of his four children and eight grandchildren who all consider the outdoors their playground.
Debra Coyman
Debra Coyman has been an AMC member since 1993 and a President’s Society member since 2003. Prior to joining the Board of Directors by appointment in February 2024, she served on the AMC Board of Advisors for eleven years. She also served on the steering committee for AMC’s Leadership Giving Initiative. Debra built her 30+ year career in the biotechnology sector, leading business development and strategic planning for several entrepreneurial companies. In 1994, she joined the executive team at IDEXX Laboratories, a publicly traded veterinary medical device manufacturer, holding a variety of roles, including chief Human Resources executive. Debra has served as a trustee or advisor for not-for-profit organizations including the BTS Center, Gulf of Maine Research Institute, Portland Stage Company, the University of Southern Maine, and Jobs for Maine’s Graduates. She also volunteers with local animal welfare organizations and as a counselor with the AARP Tax Aide program. Debra earned a BA in history from Yale College, and an MBA from the Harvard School of Business Administration. Debra enjoys hiking, cycling, skiing, kayaking, and gardening for wildlife. She recently summitted all 48 of New Hampshire’s 4,000-footers, and has biked the East Coast Greenway from Calais, ME to Key West, FL in one-week segments. She lives in Falmouth, Maine.
Ramón Cruz
Ramón Cruz is immediate past president of Sierra Club—the equivalent to Chairman of their Board. He served as interim Executive Director of the Sierra Club during a staff leadership transition, until Ben Jealous was appointed as ED in 2022. Ramón has over 20 years of experience intersecting the fields of sustainability, environmental policy, urban planning, energy, and climate change. He currently is a Rockwood Leadership Institute Fellow and serves as a Lecturer in Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, where he is teaching a policy course. He has worked in the public sector in his native Puerto Rico as the Deputy Director of the Environmental Quality Board, the state environmental regulatory agency, and as Commissioner of the Puerto Rico Energy Commission. He has also worked in the non-governmental sector in senior positions at the Environmental Defense Fund, the Partnership for New York City, and the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. He has been a consultant for the World Bank, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Greenhouse Gas Management Institute, and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ). Ramon received a BA from American University and an MPA from Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs.
Mardi Fuller
Mardi Fuller advocates for racial equity through writing, speaking, and community building. A lifelong backcountry adventurer, in January 2021 she became the first known Black person to hike all 48 of New Hampshire’s 4,000-footers in winter. She is a speaker, content creator, and a contributing writer to Outside magazine, SKI magazine, NRDC.org, Melanin Basecamp, and more. She lives in Boston where she organizes hike, ski, and climb events centering Black people and BIPOC. She has 20 years of experience as a marketing communications professional dedicated to persuasive storytelling, brand stewardship, and strategic growth. Watch “Mardi & the Whites” for a peek into Mardi’s relationship with the White Mountains, the great outdoors, and the community that surrounds them. She has led popular Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion workshops and webinars for the AMC community. Mardi is committed to personal and corporate Black liberation and thereby, liberation for all humanity.
Solomon Owayda
Solomon has been a member of the AMC since 2000 and currently is a member of the President’s Society. He loves the outdoors including golf, tennis, soccer (in his younger days), and hiking. Solomon grew up in Beirut, Lebanon and was not exposed to hiking until he met his wife Suzanne, who is an avid hiker. Over the last 33 years, they have enjoyed the many trails and huts of the White Mountains. An inveterate traveler, he and his family have hiked in places like Tibet, Sicily, and Tanzania, to name a few. Solomon currently serves on the Investment Committee of the AMC. His finance career spans over 35 years, starting in banking, continuing at the California State Teachers’ Pension System and SVG Advisors, and funding Mozaic Capital in 2015, a boutique private equity secondary advisor that merged with Monument Group in 2023. Solomon holds an MBA from the University of Wisconsin and a BS in Biology from Marquette University.
Nick Wilkoff
Nick Wilkoff is the Chief Marketing Officer at L.L.Bean, having joined the company in 2004. In his current role, Nick is responsible for L.L.Bean’s marketing investments, brand strategy and amplification, creative expression, and is accountable for its Ecommerce channel. Prior to taking on the role of CMO in 2020, Nick held a number of leadership positions across Marketing at L.L.Bean, as well as running its international business in Japan and Canada. After studying Environmental Policy at Middlebury College, Nick began his career working for a Boston-based GIS (geographic information systems) consulting firm, AppGeo. Nick then joined Forrester Research as an industry analyst covering IT trends. A Maine native, Nick currently resides in his hometown of Brunswick with his wife and two teenage children.
2026 Proposed Bylaw Updates
The Appalachian Mountain Club’s (AMC) Bylaws, required by Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ laws¹ governing non-profit organizations, are legal descriptions of the organization’s governance procedures and protocols.
AMC’s Bylaws were last updated in 2009. However, in the past 16 years:
- Massachusetts laws governing non-profits organizations have been updated and AMC’s Bylaws must reflect the updated legal language and requirements;
- AMC adopted its All Out Action Plan 2025-2030 laying out the organization’s five-year strategy for implementing its mission, inclusive of goals and objectives for the organization’s staff and volunteers, which need to be reflected in AMC’s Bylaws; and
- AMC’s process for decision-making and governance as a membership-based and professionally staffed organization needs to be legally documented within AMC’s Bylaws
¹AMC is incorporated in Massachusetts as a non-profit organization and must, therefore, adhere to Massachusetts laws governing non-profit organizations.
Click Here to Download A Copy of the 2026 Proposed Revised Bylaws
Therefore, AMC’s Board of Directors recommends AMC members’ approval of the updated AMC Bylaws and directs your attention to the following updates from AMC’s 2009 Bylaws:
- References to “Club” through the entire document have been replaced with “AMC.”
- Gender neutral pronouns have been updated throughout the document. Both "she" and "he" have been replaced with ‘they’ throughout, as this has become standard in American English usage to connote she/he/they and is briefer.
- The text describing the different types of memberships will be documented in AMC’s new Operating Policies and Procedures, which will be updated in 2026.
- The requirements that Regional Directors be residents of the region for which they are designated, and that they be members of a Chapter within the region have been removed.
- Community Directors will be recognized in addition to the existing “Regional Directors” as a member of the Board who would represent AMC’s volunteer camps and cabins and/or the many volunteer entities engaged in supporting outdoor facilities, programs and related activities.
- Chapters are given the flexibility to be organized on the basis of regions and other organizing principles.
- The term of each Board Director has been increased from two to three years. There is no change to the maximum number of consecutive terms a Director can serve.
- There is a 2026 transition provision to accommodate Board Directors whose terms are to expire in January 2026. Upon adoption of these updated Bylaws by the Members, the two-year term shall be extended an additional year. The two-year terms of all other Board Directors will also become three-year terms.
- The maximum number of Board Directors has been increased from 24 to 26.
- The list of Board Directors and Board Officer nominations will be shared in writing with Members at least 8 weeks prior to the annual AMC business meeting, and additional nominees which may be designated by the written petition will be delivered to AMC no less than 4 weeks prior to the annual AMC business meeting.
- The Board’s Vice Chair(s) and Secretary are recognized as members of the Board’s Executive Committee.
- The means by which Directors can participate in meetings via electronic means has been updated to reflect Massachusetts law and modern communications that were not anticipated in the 2009 Bylaws.
FAQs
Expand the accordions below to explore answers to common questions about the Bylaw changes.
In addition to the information on this page, AMC hosted a webinar on Wednesday, November 19, 2025 at 12PM EST to review the Bylaw changes and take questions.
You can view a recording of the webinar by clicking the button below and using the passcode: 5iky^+K6
Click here to watch a recording of the webinar
If you want to stay up-to-date on AMC news, please make sure your email is updated with us.
The Nominating and Governance Committee of AMC’s Board of Directors undertook a multi-year process to review and update the Bylaws. To start, staff, volunteers, and past Board chairs flagged areas for consideration and clarification. A Massachusetts attorney with expertise in nonprofit corporate law was retained to provide counsel. The Committee met monthly for a year to compose, review, and clarify drafts. The Management Team and Board of Directors, inclusive of Regional Directors, vetted the proposed changes. After incorporating comments and finalizing the proposed Bylaws, the Committee presented them to the Board of Directors to endorse and refer the updated Bylaws to the AMC Membership to vote on at its next Annual Meeting, scheduled for January 2026.
AMC’s bylaws will be re-evaluated and updated in the infrequent scenario in which there are changes to the organization's internal rules, such as the duties and terms of officers, how board meetings are run, and how elections are held and the procedures for financial management, conflict of interest, and director indemnification. Additionally, Bylaws will have to be re-evaluated when there are significant changes to Commonwealth of Massachusetts laws governing nonprofit organizations.
If the changes are not approved, AMC will continue operating with outdated Bylaws that no longer align with current law or the way AMC functions today. We would likely need to restart the update process. This would delay compliance and important improvements to member representation and governance.
“All Out 2025–2030” is AMC’s long-term strategic direction, developed with input from staff, volunteers, and members. Including key elements in the Bylaws ensures that AMC’s governance aligns with our mission and commitments, and that both staff and volunteer leadership are working toward the same shared plan. It is typical for Bylaws to be updated to ensure alignment with an organization’s current action plan, but future plans will not automatically trigger Bylaw revisions.
Yes, the spirit of the Appalachian Mountain Club lives on with these changes. It will remain a member organization focused on cultivating a welcoming and robust community.
Bylaws define AMC’s legal governance structure—how the organization is run. Operating Policies and Procedures define how programs and membership work and can be updated more flexibly as member needs evolve.
Moving membership categories out of the Bylaws allows AMC to adapt membership options more easily without a legal vote each time—something most modern nonprofits have done to remain member-responsive.
No. Member rights are preserved, including the ability to vote on key organizational matters, such as electing the Board and approving future Bylaw changes. In some areas, the updates increase clarity and transparency around how member-driven governance works.
Your day-to-day member experience—activities, chapters, volunteering, communications, and benefits—will not change because of this update. These changes are about how AMC is governed, not about changing the member experience. The goal is to strengthen AMC’s structure so that members continue to have a strong voice and AMC is positioned for the future.
This change reflects how members participate across regions, especially with virtual engagement and multi-chapter involvement. It allows AMC to select the most qualified leaders, including those with strong ties to a region even if they live elsewhere.
Regional perspectives remain a cornerstone of AMC’s member-led model. Representation will be ensured through ongoing engagement with Chapters and members, and by selecting individuals who have demonstrated commitment to the region’s needs. Chapters continue to be a central vehicle for member influence.
While the Chapters have had explicit representation on the Board via the Regional Director positions, other large components of the volunteer community within AMC have not had similar representation. The addition of a Community Director allows for other volunteer units, inclusive of the volunteer-managed camps and cabin, to have an official seat on the Board.
The Board has not decided on exactly how many Community Directors will be nominated. Individuals nominated to fill the Community Director position will go through an open nomination process like the process undertaken for nominating the next Regional Director.
No, the Regional Directors will remain. The proposed Bylaws simply add a seat at the table for other volunteer entities within the organization.
AMC is proud of its regional Chapter system, and it will continue. The Bylaw’s proposed language adds flexibility so that, if members wish, Chapters could also form around shared interests or other organizing principles. This aligns with our attorney’s recommendation to write the Bylaws to handle the overall structure for governance, while allowing practices to be updated through the AMC operating rules, which are easier to amend as the organization evolves.
No. Current chapters remain as they are. This update simply creates an option for future chapters if members and volunteers express interest. Any new chapter formation would follow an approval process rooted in member input and governance.
The “…upon the recommendation of the Chapters Committee” language was removed from the bylaws because it described only one example of the Board’s broader expectation for the Chapters Committee to provide the Board with feedback and recommendations regarding the operation of the Chapters. The bylaws address big picture governance, not specific examples of decisions.
The Chapters Committee is a Board Committee with responsibilities documented in both the 2009 and proposed updated bylaws:
“Article III. Section 8. Chapters Committee. The Chapters Committee shall consist of the chairs of each Chapter of the AMC and each of the Regional Directors and shall be chaired by a Regional Director designated by the Chair of the Board, with the advice and consent of the Board. The Chapters Committee shall be responsible for recommending to the Board those overall policies pertaining to the operation of the Chapters.”
The above language is consistent between the 2009 Bylaws and the proposed updated bylaws (Article III Board of Directors Section 7/8: Other Committees). The boldfaced language above describes the Chapters Committee role as a Committee of the Board of Directors.
More detailed roles and responsibilities of the Chapters Committee are documented in a separate Committee Charter reviewed and approved by the Board as required by both sets of bylaws. Prior to making decisions, the Board will seek input from the Board Committee with responsibility for that part of AMC’s mission, and that includes the Chapters Committee for decisions involving the chapters.
AMC is a complex organization, and it typically takes more than a year for Directors to come up to speed on governance matters. Many similarly complex nonprofit organizations have 3-year terms, with a maximum service of 3 consecutive terms, to support continuity in governance and productive onboarding.
Term limits are a healthy practice for governing boards. In practice, AMC was skirting the letter of our current term limits by asking prior-serving Directors to return for second tours of duty after taking a required one-year break. Many dedicated leaders have served as Directors for anywhere from 12 to 15 years, and we are grateful for their service. However, these Board members, some of whom served on the Nominating and Governance Committee, observed that the routineness of this practice was an indication that our short Board terms were not serving the organization, and that consecutive service would be more beneficial. Under the newly proposed Bylaws, Directors may serve 3, 6, or 9 years consecutively, at the pleasure of the Membership.
First, we are increasing the number of volunteer representatives by adding a Community Director. Second, the Board has a relatively high number of committees given the size of its membership. The option of a larger Board means that we can have a stronger roster to draw from for committee service.
The structure remains the same. The Board of Directors remains the governing body of AMC with fiduciary responsibility. AMC is a single corporate entity, incorporated in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. As part of the Bylaw review process, legal counsel has clarified that chapters cannot have their own Bylaws, so we will be streamlining our operating rules to comply. Chapters retain their representation on the Board via the Regional Directors; additionally, the Board is adding a Community Director slot to represent the wider volunteer community.
This extends the timing for nominations process.
If approved by AMC members in 2026, the revised Bylaws will take effect immediately.
It is existing Massachusetts laws governing nonprofit organizations that AMC have a single set of bylaws for the entire organization. It will be the responsibility of the Chapters Committee to oversee the transition from the existing chapters’ bylaws to a consistent set of policies and procedures governing the chapters. All AMC operating policies and procedures are ultimately reviewed and approved by the Board.