Many members may recognize Lourdes Venard, instructor of the popular copyediting series of courses at the EFA as well as the chairperson of the EFA’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Survey Project of our Diversity Initiative. We are delighted to announce that Lourdes recently joined the Board as the new Membership chairperson!

The Membership Committee is at the heart of the EFA’s efforts to create and sustain our community. It is tasked with ensuring that new members understand the values of the organization and that the current members are getting value from their membership. In her role as chairperson, Lourdes will get to know many of you, as she will be responsible for the occasional member and volunteer Spotlights, published on the website and in the Freelancer.

She spoke about what she is most looking forward to in her new role: “I’ve met many of my fellow EFA members through classes I teach and hope to continue meeting more of them as I take on this new role. In my position as Membership chairperson, I plan to reach out to fellow members to identify which benefits are most important to them and expand on our current benefits. I also hope to work with the rest of the Board on several diversity and inclusion initiatives that are underway, as well as other programs that will enable us to continue addressing the needs of all of our members. Please do drop me a line!”

If you have any questions or suggestions about the Membership Program, you may contact Lourdes at membership@the-efa.org.