Foundation/Local Chapters/United States/Governance Committee
Purpose
The OpenStreetMap US Governance Committee provides oversight of the OpenStreetMap US community and membership with the aim of fostering a diverse and inclusive community by creating a safe and respectful environment and organized structure for participation. The OpenStreetMap US Governance Committee is tasked with supporting the organization, membership, and community by:
- Overseeing and implementing Code of Conduct moderation as outlined in the OpenStreetMap US Code of Conduct Moderation Process. As moderators of the Code of Conduct, Governance Committee members are tasked with fostering a safe and respectful OpenStreetMap US community by abiding and upholding the rules in all environments outlined in the Code of Conduct and handling any complaints.
- Managing the annual membership voting process, including the election of the Board of Directors and bylaws changes, to ensure transparency, efficiency, inclusion, and adherence to the Code of Conduct. The Committee may designate a committee member as an Election Chair to manage the voting process as outlined in the bylaws.
- Providing Conflict of Interest determinations and recommendations for issues brought to attention by the Board of Directors, staff, or membership.
- Providing guidance on and overseeing documentation of rules, policy and procedures pertaining to membership and community participation including bylaws or other official documents. This includes providing recommendations when requested by the Board of Directors and/or Executive Director, as well as drafting and documenting justifications for any proposed modifications.
The Governance Committee was established in October 2022 as an expansion of the previous Code of Conduct Committee. More information on this transition, including an FAQ, can be found in the announcement blog post here.
Terms of Reference
The Governance Committee Terms of Reference (TOR) approved by the OpenStreetMap US Board on October 25, 2022 can be found here. All information in this wiki is superseded by any board-approved changes to the TOR.
Membership
Any member of the OpenStreetMap US organization can request participation or be invited to join the committee based on their background, experience, or role in the community. If you are interested in joining the Governance Committee, please read the TOR and submit your statement of interest here. This committee currently consists of the following volunteers:
- Ian Dees
- Jonah Adkins
- Clifford Snow
- Yunzhi Lin
- Russell Deffner
Contact
Communication channels will be set up for the Governance Committee. In the meantime, please use the pre-existing Code of Conduct communication channels:
- We have our own Slack channel on the OSM-US team. Sign up at https://slack.openstreetmap.us/ and find us using #code-of-conduct.
- You can reach the CoC Committee by emailing governance@openstreetmap.us. The email will go to all of the above listed Members.
Code of Conduct
In May 2020, OpenStreetMap U.S. adopted a code of conduct and moderation process prepared by the CoC Committee and reviewed by the U.S. community: