The OTW is officially on break, and will be until mid-January, but it's a very busy time for many of us!*

A change is as good as a rest, or so we've heard! That's a good thing, because change is what we're preparing for: a new term, a new Board, and new committees, all well rested and ready for a strong 2011. In some cases, change means new staff in the form of volunteers who are able to increase their commitment; in other cases, change brings brand new people who answered our Willing to Serve post in October.

The start of a new term also means staff who have served on committees in previous terms have a chance at trying their hand at something new, which strengthens communication and helps foster perspectives that embrace our organization as a dynamic whole rather than as isolated projects. It makes us stronger, smarter, and more sustainable. Fandom is about sharing ideas and making new things out of old, about building our own worlds from a combination of all our dreams; in short, transforming the world as we transform ourselves and each other.

The Organization for Transformative Works is pleased to confirm the 2011 Board of Directors: Rachel Barenblat, Hele Braunstein, Francesca Coppa, Ira Gladkova, Sheila Lane, Allison Morris, and Kristen Murphy. After three years of formal service, founding members Naomi Novik and Rebecca Tushnet have become Emeritus Board Members.

Elizabeth Yalkut, who joined the Board beginning with the 2010 OTW term, has stepped down for the year due to personal reasons. We hope she will be able to consider returning to the Board in the future. We're also happy she will remain on staff during the coming year!

Luckily, we have an excellent candidate who has been heartily endorsed by our members and who has very graciously agreed to step in to complete the remaining two years of Elizabeth's Board appointment. Hele Braunstein had an excellent showing in the November elections and impressed the other candidates, the Board, and candidate chat attendees with her thoughtful approach and commitment to inclusiveness and diversity. A longstanding staff member with our Translation and International Outreach committees, an active Tag Wrangler, and a liaison to the AO3 Support team, Hele has worked to keep things running smoothly for everyone.

As we look forward we also want to look back and take a moment to thank Naomi Novik and Rebecca Tushnet for both their sterling service as founding Board members and for their willingness to stay on as staff. They are bright lights of the OTW, and we haven't burned them out! Victory!

Busy even over break, the new Board determined what committees will be necessary in the new term, the best candidates to chair those committees, and asked those candidates if they were willing to serve and crossed our fingers while we waited for their replies — we're on cloud nine, since every single one of them accepted. \o/ The OTW's new term begins 17 January, 2011 and there's plenty of work for all the teams being assembled!

Without further ado, Board officers and committee chairs for the 2011 OTW Term:

OTW Board
Allison Morris, President
Kristen Murphy, Secretary
Sheila Lane, Treasurer
Rachel Barenblat
Hele Braunstein
Francesca Coppa, PhD
Ira Gladkova

Abuse
Franzeska Dickson, Chair

Accessibility, Design, & Technology
Elz, Co-Chair
Amelia Ryan, Co-Chair

Communications
Francesca Coppa, Chair

Content
Elizabeth Yalkut, Chair

Development & Membership
Megan Westerby, Chair

Finance
Sheila Lane, Chair

International Outreach
Julia Beck, Chair

Journal
Karen Hellekson, Chair

Legal
Rebecca Tushnet, Chair

Open Doors
Heather Cook, Chair

Support
Matty Lynne, Chair

Systems
Arrow, Co-Chair
Sidra, Co-Chair

Tag Wrangling
Alison Watson, Co-Chair
Renay, Co-Chair

Translation
Hele Braunstein, Chair

Vidding
Francesca Coppa, Chair

Volunteers & Recruiting
Allison Morris, Chair

Webmasters
Kristen Murphy, Chair

Wiki
Aethel, Co-Chair
Rachel Barenblat, Co-Chair

*We're not even getting into how busy the amazing coders and testers of the AO3 are right now, but we're very grateful to them, and are happy to see the good feedback on their work on Twitter and elsewhere! They'd do it even without the pats on the back (they want the Archive to be awesome, too), but the appreciation helps!