In addition to being an educator at the annual Conference and annual Members’ Only Retreat, I put in a lot of my free time volunteering for the Association. I’ve been the head of the Social Media Committee for over three years, and am part of the Outreach Committee and the Al D. Scholarship Committee. Two years ago, I took over the Mentor Program and have worked diligently to expand and strengthen the program to better reach first time Conference attendees and piercers of all levels. I also do various other tasks for the Association, have written articles for The Point and have been featured in many educational podcasts. I excel at multitasking, am highly organized, and I especially enjoy working with new Conference attendees. It’s time for me to move forward, and am excited that my next step is to join the Board of Directors!

After nearly ten years as an APP Member, I am thrilled to be at a point in my career where I know I am ready to serve on the APP’s Board of Directors. While it is an honor to be nominated, I understand that the   position   on the Board is not about status, it’s about hard work.

Deciding to finally run was not a decision I made on my own. I am very fortunate to have a team of people supporting me. What that means for the organization is that I have the stability in my personal life and career to work hard for our organization. I have the ability to commit to a dozen hours a week of additional work, to jump on a plane, or rush to the phone because there are people I work with and live with that also believe in the APP’s mission.

Willingness to work is only half the equation. Below are some of my relevant qualifications.

My APP experience:

• Member since 2009
• Attended Conference since 2006 (I’ve missed only one)
• Speaker at Conference since 2013, and have earned the title of Senior Instructor
• Volunteered at Conference
• Attended all four years of Camp APP, and have led workshops since 2016
• I am a founding committee member of the Body Piercing Archive. While preserving, learning, and presenting our history, my duties and skill sets include program planning and goal setting, management of volunteers, proficiency in Excel, Photoshop, Illustrator, Powerpoint, and also in Google Suite (Google Suite is the APP’s preferred management software.)

My Bay Area Piercers’ Group experience:

I’ve been a body piercer for fifteen years, and I come from humble beginnings. My thirst for knowledge and community has always been strong. In 2009, I founded the Bay Area Piercers’ Group. This group has brought the local piercers in our area together so that we may learn and inspire each other without ego or competition getting in the way. The formation of this group also inspired other communities to get together; now you can find piercer groups across the U.S. and other parts of the world.

My Fakir Intensives experience:

I have also been serving the industry as an Instructor for the Fakir’s Body Piercing and Branding Intensives in San Francisco.

When I found out about my nomination, I spoke with some of our current Board of Directors as well as sent an email to the Oversight Committee. My initial concern was that there may be a conflict of interest because of my nine year working relationship with APP Treasurer, Paul King. Thankfully I have been given a green light to proceed. I will also recuse myself from participation in decisions that involve the Treasurer.

Working on the Board will be no easy task. I think it’s important to have stability and a strong work ethic. These jobs are done best by leaders in our community. I want to be a Board Member, not because of the impact it will have on my career, but because I want to work hard for an organization that changed my life and created the person I am today.

I currently serve as the Membership Coordinator for the Association, and am honored to have been elected to a seat on the Board of Directors. I hope to further my long-running involvement and contributions to the APP. I have to say, this has been a dream of mine since the beginning of my career.

Some of you may have seen me working a booth or door at Conference over the years, seen my name answering posts on the APP Non-Members and APP Members Only forum on social media, as well as my email responding to questions pertaining to membership. Almost 8 years of my piercing career has been spent volunteering my time to the APP.

I have been a:

• Professional piercer since 2010
• Proud recipient of an Al D. Scholarship, allowing me to attend Conference and start volunteering for the APP in 2012
• Business Member of the APP since 2014
• Member of the Membership Committee since 2015
• Membership Coordinator since 2017
• Volunteer to represent the APP at ACHA & NEHA Conferences in 2015
• Conference volunteer from 2012 to 2017
• Mentor to first time attendees at Conference multiple times
• Speaker at Conference 2017, 2018, and will be again in 2019

 As the Membership Coordinator, I help to run the Membership Committee, alongside the Board Member assigned to the Membership Liaison position, which has been Jef Saunders followed by Cody Vaughn.

My current position was created a couple of years ago in response to the exponential growth in membership (around 300 Members in 2014, to around 700 Members in 2017) and increasing number of piercers aspiring to become Members. Heading our hard working committee has become such a large task that it requires the attention and dedication of more than just one person, and that is amazing!

My current workload involves processing applications, answering all emails and communications directed to the Membership Committee, as well as managing membership documents received during the application process. I’ve also headed and assisted with many projects with the committee.

I believe that I have been an integral part of the growth of our organization. I stepped into the Membership Committee during a time where there was tremendous growth, but a need for direction, organization, and improved communication. These are my strong suites and led to me rapidly taking on more responsibility. I believe that through this position I have gained insight and experience into the inner workings of the organization and the workload required of a Board Member. I am ready for this commitment.

I have helped bring on new Membership Committee volunteers that have a strong drive to help, as well as positively shape the organization. I have helped many Members through their applications. We recently launched MemberLeap and an application system that offers a more streamlined process of applying for and maintaining membership records. The future and vitality of the organization is dependent on new energy and a fresh perspective, which I strongly believe that I will provide. There is also a need for more diverse representation of our industry through the Board Members of our organization. Amongst many things, my main goals as a Board Member are to open a dialogue, while respecting and representing the interests of our growing diverse membership and industry, to continue furthering the reach of the organization while maintaining the quality and integrity of membership, as well as carry on the hard work of those who have led our organization and committees previously.