The CDS committees provide the leadership and guidance for the society in a number of key areas and offer a great opportunity to become more engaged in CDS. Please look over the list of committees and contact the chair or co-chair for more information on the committee and how you can become involved.

Awards and Recognition Committee

Issues eight (8) annual awards for CDS recognizing volunteer efforts for those who assist the society and recognizes outgoing board members for the society.

·        Co-chair: Craig Talmage, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

·        Co-chair: Michael Dougherty, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Communications/Publications Committee

The Communications Committee is responsible for the design and development of communication networks among CDS members and with entities external to CDS. Committee members oversee the content management of the CDS website; anticipate and recommend policy to support communication needs in CDS; prepare and propose an annual budget to the Board of Directors; manage CD Practice, Vanguard, and Community Development; recommend policy regarding the production and distribution of CDS publications; and organize the process of appointing editors, including making recommendations to the board.

·         Chair Printed Materials: Abbie Gaffey, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

·         Co-chair Electronic Materials: Cindy Banyai, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

·         Co-chair Website: Steve Jeanetta, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

·         Ex officio members:

– CD Practice Editor: Joyce Hoelting, University of Minnesota, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

– Community Development Editor: John Green, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

– Vanguard Editor: Cindy Banyai, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Finance Committee

This important committee reviews and recommends policies and procedures for the CDS Endowment, manages the fund-raising appeals to CDS groups, and seeks financial support from foundations and corporations. The committee is also responsible for monitoring the overall financial health of CDS.

·         Co-chair: Tony Gauvin, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

·          Co-chair: John Gulick, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

International Committee

The International Committee develops strong and productive intercountry communication, research, action, and project links among CDS members and assists in broadening the international participation of CDS.

·         Co-chair: Jim Cavaye, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 ·         Co-chair: Gary Goreham, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

·   This committee servers to foster membership engagement by facilitating member-led interest groups.  These groups serve to connect members throughout the year through networking, resource and information sharing, and program development.

Marketing/Membership Committee

This committee’s responsibilities include developing and implementing a far-reaching innovative plan that will nurture and sustain a viable CDS while also adding value to the field and offering many opportunities for networking, skill development, and capacity building of organizations, people, and communities.

·         Co-chair: Cindy Banyai, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

·         Co-chair: Dan Kahl, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Nominations and Leadership Development

The role of this committee is to foster democratic process within CDS itself by organizing and carrying out the election of officers according to the CDS bylaws, identifying potential candidates for office, and communicating the opportunities for involvement in the leadership of CDS to the membership.

·         Chair: Whitney McIntyre Miller, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

2016 Program Planning Committee

The role of the Program Planning Committee is to build the program for the 2016 CDS Annual International Conference to be held in Bloomington, Minnesota. Keynote speakers and plenary sessions will be determined based on the conference theme, available resources, and in consultation with the Local Host Committee. Concurrent sessions will be selected based on a review of abstracts received in response to the Call for Presentations. The committee will provide support and follow through with keynote speakers, presenters, moderators, mobile learning workshops, and conference sponsors and dignitaries. Mobile learning workshops will be coordinated with the Local Host Committee. Opportunities will be provided for feedback and evaluation of the conference.

·         Chair: Chris Marko, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

2016 Site Selection Committee

Locates potential places for future CDS annual conferences that can provide a peak learning network experience for CD practitioners, scholars, and policy makers.

 Chair: Katie Ellis, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Spring has sprung and it seems as though everyone has a lot on their plate at the moment. These competing needs (along with some technical difficulties) has made it difficult to publish this month's Vanguard on its regularly scheduled date of the 15th. We know you count on keeping up to date through the monthly publication of the Community Development Society's Vanguard. I sincerely apologize for this inconvenience and hope that you still find the content as useful and engaging as usual. 

By Bo Beaulieu

Let me begin this month’s column by urging our members to complete their online ballot for this year’s slate of officers and board members.  The deadline is May 1^st. You will need your unique log-in information that was provided in the email sent to you by CDS Secretary Abbie Gaffey on February 17, 2014.  Please cast your vote today so your voice can be heard.

Another item I would like to bring to your attention is the request by the Community Change Resource Bank for your help in identifying and submitting key resources that can further enhance the value of this web-based site. Over the next few weeks, graduate students from South Dakota State University will be working with the Community Change Resource Bank organizing team to collect as many sources of data as possible in hopes that the online clearinghouse of community change practices, research, and resources will be ready for unveiling at the CDS conference in Dubuque, IA this coming July. 

The project, launched by members of the Community Change Network, has tapped the expertise and active involvement of a number of CDS members.  What I am pleased to note is that the countless hours of work they have devoted to this effort has resulted in the creation of an online network called RuralXChange.

I want to express my thanks to many of our key CDS leaders who have dedicated their time and expertise to the development of “The Resource Bank,” including past presidents Mary Emery, Connie Loden and Jane Leonard, CDS member Milan Wall, as well as Karen Fasimpaur who is guiding the creation of the RuralXChange and Community Change Resource Bank.  

I hope you will take the time to submit your ideas and relevant resource links here. If you have questions, please send an email to Jane Leonard at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The 2014 annual meeting in Dubuque is fast approaching.  Our local host committee is putting together some exciting mobile learning workshops. Moreover, the program committee has communicated with all who have submitted proposals. If your proposal has been approved for the upcoming meeting, please make sure Dave Lamie knows of your plans to take part in the annual meeting. He’ll need this information in order to finalize the conference program. 

Finally, the CDS Business Office should be releasing the online registration system in the next week or two. So, keep an eye on your email for information on how to register for the 2014 annual conference.  Take care

2013 has been a fast-moving year full of many surprises and opportunities. I've learned a lot taking over the helm of Vanguard and I hope you are liking the changes. I want Vanguard to be your connection to the activities and events of the Community Development Society, as well as a way to stay abreast of the latest news and opportunities in our field. With that in mind, please feel free to share your ideas on ways to better use this publication for our community of interest and practice. This edition will the last of 2013 and I'm looking forward to growing and sharing more with you in 2014. Wishing you the best over the holidays and a happy new year!

Image borrowed from here

CALL for SUBMISSIONS
Journal of Public Affairs Education
Symposium
“Pedagogical Perspectives on Race, Class, and Gender in Community Development”
The Journal of Public Affairs Education, announces a special symposium on “Pedagogical Perspectives on Race, Class and Gender in Community Development.”
It has long been established within the field of community development, in addition to other academic disciplines, that the historical development of power relations within local communities tends to have a disparate impact on racial and ethnic minorities, women, and other individuals that are part of the ‘underclass’, which subsequently results, at least rhetorically, in the necessity for broader social responses of community development. Since community development usually attempts to build agency and capacity among these historically neglected groups, it raises the questions: how are community development practitioners and academics trained to work with these disadvantaged groups in order to yield more successful community development outcomes? And, what are the best practices for integrating race, class, and gender into community development coursework?
This symposium seeks to bring together an interdisciplinary group of authors to write on the importance of integrating race, class, and gender into college coursework and practitioner training programs in community development, in addition to pedagogical methods for this integration.
Potential papers may consider, but are not limited to, the following topics:
• Empirical analyses, including case studies, of the intercultural competence of community development practitioners and the need for training;
• The role of higher education- in terms of student preparation/ engagement/ collaboration- in community development practice and/or theory;
• Pedagogical tools and examples that can be used in the classroom to foster cultural competency; and
• Theoretical discussions on the merits and challenges of community-based research versus traditional research in terms of community development and student learning.
Papers can either focus exclusively on race, class, or gender or on the intersections of race, class and gender in the context of education and training for community development practitioners and/or researchers.
Guest editors for this symposium are Ashley E. Nickels, Rutgers University-Camden, and Jason D. Rivera, Rutgers University-Camden.
The deadline for manuscripts is March 31, 2014. Contributing authors will receive notification of tentative acceptance to the symposium from the editors by April 15, 2014, at which time tentatively accepted manuscripts will be sent out for peer review. The symposium is scheduled for publication in May 2015. All submissions should be emailed to the guest editors, Ashley Nickels (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) and Jason Rivera (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) as a Word or PDF attachment. Please include “JPAE submission” in the Subject line.
Manuscripts should not exceed 30 double spaced pages including references. For information about the Journal of Public Affairs Education, in addition to style and format guidelines please refer to http://www.naspaa.org/initiatives/jpae/jpae.asp.
If selected, papers must be submitted to JPAE by May 31, 2014. Inquiries about the review process or about a particular manuscript should be directed to a guest editor, Ashley Nickels or Jason Rivera.