I. Purpose

The ALE Committee is established by the APPA Board of Directors to steward the APPA Leadership Exchange (ALE) as a permanent channel between the Association and its affiliates. In this charter, "affiliates" means APPA's recognized regions and chapters, and any successor affiliate structure the Board may recognize under the Bylaws. ALE brings Association and affiliate leaders together to align strategy, share what each level is doing, and surface what members need. The Committee ensures that dialogue continues between annual gatherings and that what it produces reaches the Board in a form the Board can act on.

The Committee operates in an advisory capacity. It brings affiliate perspective to the Board and to staff. Decisions on adoption, funding, and implementation rest with the Board and, within Board-approved policy and budget, with the CEO and staff.

The Committee serves to:

• Set the agenda for the quarterly virtual ALE meetings between the Association and its affiliates
• Shape the program for the annual in-person ALE
• Refine recommendations that come out of ALE into clear, accurate language that reflects the intent of the leaders who developed them
• Recommend to the Board how those recommendations should be prioritized, using whatever grouping or ranking the Committee judges most useful
• Give affiliate leaders a defined, ongoing path for their input to reach the Board, and for the Board's response to reach them

II. Authority

This charter is established under the authority granted to the Board of Directors in the APPA Bylaws to create committees, determine their composition, charge, and duration, and dissolve them. The ALE Committee is an ongoing committee with annual membership presented to the Board following each Annual Meeting. It continues until dissolved by action of the Board.

The Committee exercises advisory authority. It does not have independent decision-making power over Association programs, budgets, staffing, or operations, and it does not have authority over the governance, finances, events, or membership of any affiliate. All substantive decisions arising from Committee recommendations are made by the Board or, within Board-approved policies and budgets, by the CEO and staff. Affiliates remain governed by their own governing documents and by the Regions & Chapters Affiliation Agreement.

The Committee has authority to:

• Set the agenda for the quarterly virtual ALE meetings and, with APPA staff support, convene them
• Shape the program and working sessions of the annual in-person ALE, in coordination with the APPA Board and staff
• Refine recommendations produced at ALE and recommend to the Board how they should be prioritized
• Solicit input from affiliate leaders, Board members, and APPA staff in the course of its work
• Report to the Board on the state of alignment between the Association and its affiliates as it observes it through ALE

Recommendations of the Committee are advisory. The Board and the CEO will determine how and when to act on them based on strategic priorities, operational capacity, budget, and alignment with the Association's mission and policies, and will communicate back to the Committee how its recommendations were considered.

III. Committee Composition

Leadership

• Co-Chairs: Two members of the APPA Board of Directors who are representatives of Institutional Members, from different regions, selected by the Board
• Co-Chairs serve staggered two-year terms so that one Co-Chair is always in the second year of service
• A Co-Chair whose term on the Board ends before their Co-Chair term ends steps down at that Annual Meeting, and the Board selects a successor

Members

• Affiliate Members: Ten chapter leaders, allocated by region. Each region has two seats, except that a region represented by a sitting Co-Chair has one seat. Members from the same region shall come from different chapters.
• Committee Size: Twelve, consisting of two Co-Chairs and ten Affiliate Members
• When Co-Chairs rotate and the seat allocation between regions changes, the adjustment is made at the next vacancy in the affected regions rather than by removing a sitting member

Qualifications. Affiliate Members should be current or recent chapter officers or chapter board members with:

• Direct experience leading a chapter and working with its region and with APPA
• Capacity to attend the quarterly virtual ALE meetings and Committee meetings
• Interest in the alignment of the Association and its affiliates as a whole, not only their own chapter

The Co-Chairs are responsible for ensuring the Committee includes representation from K-12 and independent schools and from community colleges, and reflects the range of institution types and sizes within APPA's membership.

Selection Process

1. APPA issues a call for interest to affiliate leaders each year, using a standard form. For the inaugural Committee, the call is issued at the first quarterly ALE meeting in fall 2026.
2. The Co-Chairs review submissions and select Affiliate Members according to the allocation and qualifications above.
3. Committee membership is presented to the Board for information, annually after the Annual Meeting and, for the inaugural Committee, at the first Board meeting following selection.
4. Mid-term vacancies are filled by the Co-Chairs for the remainder of the term, from the same region.

Staff Support. The CEO designates a staff liaison to the Committee. The liaison supports scheduling, meeting technology, logistics, records, and communication to affiliates. The CEO and COO participate in Committee meetings as ex-officio, non-voting members and provide operational information the Committee needs for informed recommendations.

Term. Affiliate Members serve two-year terms running from one Annual Meeting to the next, staggered so that approximately half the seats turn over each year. Members may be reappointed for one additional consecutive term. Initial terms for the inaugural Committee are set out in a separate implementation document.

IV. Duties and Responsibilities

The ALE Committee shall:

Steward the Quarterly ALE Meetings

• Set the agenda for each quarterly virtual ALE meeting and distribute it to affiliate leaders in advance
• Ensure each meeting includes operational updates from APPA, updates from affiliates, and a defined segment for affiliate leaders to raise needs and questions
• Ensure meetings are recorded and a written recap with links is distributed afterward
• Track participation by affiliate and follow up with affiliates that are not represented

Shape the Annual In-Person ALE

• Work with the APPA Board and staff on the program, working sessions, and intended outcomes of each in-person ALE
• Ensure each ALE builds on the prior year's work rather than starting over
• Carry unfinished recommendations and open questions forward into the next ALE

Refine and Prioritize ALE Recommendations

• Rewrite draft recommendations produced at ALE into clear, accurate language faithful to the intent of the leaders who developed them
• Recommend to the Board how the recommendations should be prioritized, using whatever grouping or ranking the Committee judges most useful
• For each recommendation, identify who is best positioned to act on it: the Board, APPA staff, affiliates, or some combination
• Where the Committee's prioritization departs from the views expressed by ALE participants, say so and explain why
• Present recommendations to the Board on the schedule in Section VI

Maintain the Feedback Loop

• Track how the Board and staff have responded to Committee recommendations
• Report those responses back to affiliate leaders at the quarterly ALE meetings, so participants see what happened to their input
• Raise with the Board any recurring concern from affiliates that has not been addressed

Committee Self-Evaluation

• Conduct an annual self-evaluation of the Committee's effectiveness
• Recommend changes to this charter, the quarterly meeting format, or the ALE program as needed

Inaugural Charge. The first charge of the Committee is to refine and prioritize the eight draft recommendations produced at ALE 2026 and present them to the Board as a recommendation for its consideration.

V. Meeting Requirements

Frequency. The ALE Committee shall meet at least quarterly, with additional meetings as the Co-Chairs determine. Committee meetings are distinct from the quarterly ALE meetings, which are open to all affiliate leaders; the Committee meets ahead of each quarterly ALE meeting to set its agenda and after it to review what was raised. A recommended annual schedule:

• Fall (following the Annual Meeting): Committee formation, review of charter, planning for the year, agenda for the first quarterly ALE meeting
• Winter: Working session to refine and prioritize recommendations from the prior ALE
• Spring: Finalize recommendations for presentation to the Board; agenda for the spring quarterly ALE meeting
• Summer (at the in-person ALE): Report to affiliate leaders on the Board's response, participate in ALE working sessions, transition to incoming members

Meeting Format. Meetings may be conducted in person, by videoconference, or through other electronic means that permit real-time communication among all participants. The Co-Chairs, in consultation with the CEO, determine the format of each meeting.

Quorum. A majority of Committee members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

Decision-Making

• Recommendations to the Board require a majority vote of Committee members present
• Co-Chairs vote on all Committee matters
• Co-Chairs may make procedural decisions between meetings, subject to Committee ratification
• All substantive recommendations shall be documented in meeting minutes

Minutes and Records. The Committee shall maintain: minutes of all Committee meetings; agendas, recordings, and written recaps of the quarterly ALE meetings; recommendations and their revision history; records of all decisions and votes; and a running record of Board and staff responses to Committee recommendations. Committee minutes shall be maintained by APPA staff in accordance with the Association's document retention policy.

VI. Reporting Requirements

Reports to the Board of Directors

• The Co-Chairs report on the Committee's work at each regular meeting of the Board, as members of the Board
• Committee membership is presented to the Board for information annually following the Annual Meeting
• Recommendations Report (spring): The refined recommendations from the prior in-person ALE and the Committee's recommended prioritization, presented for the Board's consideration. For the inaugural Committee, this report covers the eight ALE 2026 recommendations and is due to the Board by its May 2027 meeting.

Communication to Affiliates

• Agendas and written recaps of quarterly ALE meetings shall be distributed to all affiliate leaders
• The Board's response to Committee recommendations shall be communicated to affiliate leaders at the next quarterly ALE meeting following Board action
• The Co-Chairs shall report on the Committee's work at the in-person ALE each year

Committee deliberations, draft recommendations, and minutes are internal to the Committee until presented to the Board.

Staff Coordination

• Committee recommendations directed to staff are provided to the CEO for consideration and implementation
• Staff will update the Committee on how recommendations are being incorporated or the reasons a recommendation cannot be implemented
• The Co-Chairs maintain regular communication with the CEO and the staff liaison

VII. Conflict of Interest

Committee members must:

• Comply with APPA's Conflict of Interest Policy
• Disclose any personal, professional, or financial interest that could affect their objectivity in the Committee's work
• Recuse themselves from discussions and votes on any matter in which they have a direct conflict of interest, including matters that would confer a specific benefit on their own institution or affiliate that is not available to others
• Maintain confidentiality of Committee deliberations and draft recommendations until presented to the Board

Members are selected by region and bring the perspective of their chapter and region to the Committee. That is the point of the Committee. Recommendations, however, should serve the alignment of the Association and its affiliates as a whole, and members are expected to weigh the interests of affiliates not represented at the table alongside their own.

Committee Advocacy. Members may answer factual questions about Committee recommendations, but the Committee speaks to the Board with one voice through its formal recommendations and the reports of the Co-Chairs.

VIII. Amendments

This charter may be amended by:

• Recommendation of the Co-Chairs, OR
• Action of the APPA Board of Directors

All amendments must be approved by the APPA Board of Directors.

The charter shall be reviewed annually by the Co-Chairs and updated as needed to reflect changes in the Association's affiliate structure, lessons from the ALE program, and organizational needs.

IX. Adoption and Effective Date

This charter was adopted by the APPA Board of Directors on September 24, 2026.