District Leadership Committee Nominations for 2021/22 Year
Committee Composition
The District Leadership Committee (DLC) is governed by Toastmasters International Protocol 9.0 District Campaigns and Elections.*
In accordance with the protocol, my appointment as chair of the District Leadership Committee (DLC) was approved by District Director Arnaud Sartre, DTM. I then appointed a representative from each Division and these Division representatives were approved by the District Director.
The members of the District 91 DLC during the 2020/21 Toastmasters Year were:
| Division | Name | Home Club |
|---|---|---|
| A | Emma Loveridge | Reading Verizon Toastmasters |
| B | Hilary Briggs | Grosvenor Square Speakers |
| C | Ken Essien | Covent Garden Speakers |
| D | Leela Bassi | Windsor Speakers |
| H | Paul Rhys-Taylor | Croydon Communicators |
| J | Adrian Lane | Chiltern Speakers Club |
| K | Tony Halford | Wharf Speakers |
| L | Monika Swiderska | Excalibur Speakers |
Timetable
The District Leadership Committee operated on the following timetable presented to the District Executive Committee on 6th Dec 2020.
- 1st Dec 2020 – Call for candidates declarations
- 31st Jan 2021 – Deadline for all candidates to declare their intent to run
- 4th Jan 2021 to 28th Feb 2021 – Candidate Interviews
- 20th Mar 2021 – Deadline for DLC Report submission to District Director
The DLC additionally organised two panel discussions to promote District leadership opportunities to all members on 6th Dec 2020 and on 17th Jan 2021. The recordings of both panel discussions are available at the bottom of this page.
The call for nominations was published on the District website in the first week of December and also advertised in the December version of the District newsletter.
Application Process for Candidates
Application form
The first stage in the application process consisted of an online application form. The application form was the same for all roles. In it, candidates submitted basic details, picked the role they were applying for and answered initial questions about their motivations. The questions were as follows:
- Why are you applying to become a (role applied for)?
- What leadership roles have you had in Toastmasters so far and when did you serve in these roles?
- Looking back at the leadership roles that you’ve held so far. What have been your key accomplishments in them and what have you learnt from them?
- What are the main responsibilities of (role applied for) that you are aware of?
Prework
Once their applications were received, candidates were asked to complete prework tasks before being invited to an interview. The prework consisted of answering between three and four questions in writing, preparing a presentation on their vision for the role and taking part in the Big Five personality test. The results of the personality test were not shared with members of the District Leadership Committee and only for the benefit of the candidates.
Candidate Interviews
The DLC was divided into three different teams who conducted a total of 40 interviews. All candidates who submitted an application were interviewed by the District Leadership Committee.
For the first time in District 91’s history, candidates for non-Trio roles within the District Leadership Team were also interviewed. All of these candidates, as well as Division Director candidates, were interviewed for 1 hour each. This hour was divided into 15mins for a candidate presentation and 45mins for the interview itself.
Candidates for Trio positions (District Director, Program Quality Director and Club Growth Director) were interviewed for one hour, and additionally delivered a presentation followed with questions for an hour.
Applications received
With 25 applications received, including 18 for Division Director roles, the volume of applications was far higher than anticipated by the DLC. Indeed, the number of applications received this year is a record in District 91 history.
During the process, two candidates withdrew their applications, leaving 23 candidates to be assessed by the DLC.
Nominated Candidates
Candidate deliberations took place with the whole of the DLC in attendance. The District Leadership Committee assessed candidates on the strength of their application, prework, interviews and presentations. When the DLC couldn’t agree to a consensus on one candidate, each member of the DLC voted by secret ballot whether or not to nominate a candidate.
The following candidates are nominated for office in the 2021/22 Toastmasters Year:
| Candidate Name | Role Nominated for |
|---|---|
| Helena Boden-Brewer | District Director |
| Rupa Datta | Program Quality Director |
| Bob Bowes | Club Growth Director |
| Diane Richardson | Club Growth Director |
| Olga Galaiko | Public Relations Manager |
| Barbara Saph | Division A Director |
| Amar Visht | Division B Director |
| Andy Newman | Division C Director |
| Michaela Talbot | Division C Director |
| Massimo Guadagnino | Division D Director |
| Debbie Williams | Division H Director |
| Mo Dawodu | Division J Director |
| Emily McQuillen | Division K Director |
| Sarita Yadav | Division L Director |
Want to learn more about the candidates?
Please visit the candidates corner section of the website to find out more information about each candidate.
Looking to learn more about District Leadership?
More information about the key responsibilities of all the leadership roles can be found here by looking at the Area, Division and District sections of the website. You are also welcome to reach out to current leaders in the District at all levels by looking at the Who’s Who page.
Watch and listen to members from District 91 and beyond quizzing current and past District Leaders on their experiences at online panel discussions organised by our Immediate Past District Director and District Leadership Committee Chair Florian Bay.
Leadership Testimonials
Hear from current and past District Leaders about what they’ve learnt as District Leaders, the challenges they faced, the skills they learnt and why you too should consider stepping up to District Leadership.