2025-05-24 Trustee Election
The 2025 election will open on the 24th of May 2025 and will run for seven days. All members will have the opportunity to vote, no matter how remote. Voting will be carried out using the OpaVote platform using the Scottish Single Transferable Vote (Scottish STV) system.
You will receive an individual voting email to your HMS registered email address. Our returning officer again this year is Gareth Howell. Thank you Gareth!
There are four open positions this year (meaning we need at least five nominations). Three of these will be two year terms, with the forth being a one year term. The fourth position is due to the resignation of Edward Podgorski. As per our Constitution, positions will be ordered by length of term, longest first, and awarded in order as each candidate passes the winning threshold.
Election Hustings and Voting
Once the nomination window closes, your details will be put on the Wiki before the voting period begins. The election voting will start on 24th of May and run for 7 days - keep an eye on your emails, Discord and future newsletters for more details.
We'd like to provide an opportunity for membership to meet the nominees (if they haven't already). For this we will try to find a time between the nomination window closing and voting begins - this is 14 days.
Nominees
A sufficient number of nominations have been received in order to proceed. Voting will begin on 24th May. Thank you everyone who nominated themselves.
| Who? | Nominee Text |
|---|---|
| Aaron Jackson
|
I've been a trustee for nearly two years and if you want me to, I'm happy to do it again! During my term I have improved our risk assessments, worked on our GDPR policy, been present, listened to membership and tried to improve things where I can. I've also not made anything worse, I think, so that's good!
I've also remained active with team related things, such as making improvements to HMS (like the Discord integration and a few other fixes), building the snackspace heaters, and running pledge drives for the electronics area. More recently I've run a workshop on building an Arduino, there'll be another soon. Most importantly, despite it being quite hectic at times, I've still found time to enjoy the space for socialising and making stuff. You may have noticed an excessive number of LED matrix displays (sorry about that). We also have a pager network now, for some reason. And more recently I've been having lots of fun trying to repair an old LaserDisc player with some cool people. |
| Arona Jones
|
Strangely, I didn't really join the hackspace for the tools. I have a fairly well equipped workshop as is (shed. it's a shed.) although the laser cutter has turned out to be an awesome new string in my bow! I joined in the hope of enabling others to make stuff, especially with resources that would otherwise go to waste. I have some experience in a role similar to that of Trustee, having led the committee of Nottingham TEC (UoN's 100% student led technical events group) for two years, managing relationships with the university, the broader students' union, external clients and a diverse team of volunteers into delivering some fairly large events. I also did a brand refresh and an entire IT systems overhaul whilst I was there. Just for something to do, you know. I'd like to say that makes me an expert at this unique kind of leadership challenge, but really it just made me awfully empathetic for shepherds... Ahem. Anyway, I now run my own events company (really just to finance and even occasionally justify me fettling around making stuff) and am also training as an electrician. The latter I suspect significantly more helpful to the space. I'm not going to say I'd be perfect in the role - my job occasionally eats me for weeks/months at a time, I'm ADHD to all hell and my people skills can tend towards Minimum Viable Product. But I want to see the space grow and thrive, and therefore as I see it the least I can do is put myself forward for this. Trustee or not, my future Hackspace plans include leading the legwork to enable the safe use of resin 3d printing in the space, and to help push forward metalworking downstairs. The Hackspace has already enabled me to build some amazing stuff (not least an 8x4ft capable CNC router!) and I would truly relish the opportunity to enable others to continue to do the same. |
| Edgar Jasper
|
Hi. I've been a trustee for almost 1 year. I'm around the space a fair bit and like interacting with members, talking to people about their projects and listening to their ideas regarding the space.
I've participated in the various boring parts of being a trustee, for example, sending out letters (so many letters) about possibly abandoned projects / storage boxes. More enjoyably, I worked on sorting out the table saw induction process and clearing the induction backlog. This was a good example of the sort of thing where being a trustee made it easier to move things forward. I'd like to take what I have learnt from this to try and improve inductions in other areas where there are issues. I've remained an active member of various teams while a trustee. I am on the laser team where I give inductions and help out with (easier) maintenance tasks. I am on the membership team and regularly give tours. I am on the woodworking team. The hackspace is a member-run organisation and I think the core function of the trustees is to support this. This can mean things like taking on the more boring day-to-day tasks, facilitating members who wish to set up new events or groups and encouraging members who wish to get more involved in sustaining and improving the space. I am happy to continue as trustee. |
| Isatou Sheriff
|
I have been a member of the Hackspace for two years and have really enjoyed being part of a community full of curious and creative individuals. I love hearing about fellow members’ projects, ideas, and interests. I want to help maintain and improve the space so it remains welcoming, well-organized, and inspiring for everyone.
I am passionate about learning and sharing knowledge. By becoming a trustee, I hope to further contribute to the space's growth and strengthen our vibrant community. I am willing to assist and committed to ensuring the Hackspace continues to thrive for all members. I am committed to contributing actively and helping the Hackspace remain a thriving, welcoming place for everyone. |
| Mark Hollowell
|
Hi, I would like to volunteer to be a trustee for the hackspace. I've been a member for a few years and am using the space quite regularly. I spend a lot of time with the miniature wargaming group and some sewing.
I love the community feel of the space and feel that as a trustee my goal would be to facilitate expanding that community to as many people as can responsibly use it, whether that's through open days and events, or other forms of community outreach. I have been enjoying doing minor fixes to sewing machines recently and am hoping to run a basics of sewing machines workshop soon and encourage others to do similar for other tools in the space, hopefully giving people the confidence to use tools they don't feel confident using without a little guidance first. |
Election Timeline
| Item | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Nomination Announcement | Saturday 12th April 2025 | This will be the formal announcement of the election. |
| Nomination Window Opens | Saturday 19th April @ 00:00 | |
| Nomination Window Closes | Friday 9th May 2025 @ end of day | Nominations after this time will not be acknowledged. |
| Nominations Published | Saturday 10th May 2025 | An email will be sent linking to this page. |
| Gap Window | 10th - 23rd May | Opportunity to meet nominees. |
| Election Begins | Saturday 24th May 2025 @ 00:00 | |
| Election Ends | Friday 30th May 2025 @ 23:59 | |
| Results Announced | Saturday 31st May 2025 |
Nominating Yourself for the Election
In order to run the election we must receive at least five nominations.
If you wish to nominate yourself for the role of trustee, please email your application to trustees@nottinghack.org.uk - This must include your name, a photo of yourself and a paragraph or two about what you can bring to the role of trustee.
You may wish to include your experience, interests, projects you've worked on in the space, what you've already done for the hackspace community, and why members might want to vote for you for this important role.
We'd like to see as many members as possible apply to be a trustee. Applications from women and minorities are encouraged - diversity in our membership and the board is important.