Conduct Review Committee

The Conduct Review Committee (CRC) is a group of nominated volunteers (in addition to selected ARDC staff members) who ensure that ARDC spaces, described in the Code of Conduct, are welcoming and productive places to work and collaborate. They keep their eyes out for Code of Conduct violations, field and evaluate complaints as they relate to the ARDC Code of Conduct, and determine resolutions. They may also make recommendations to ARDC’s Board of Directors for potential updates and changes to this Code.

The committee meets in Q1 for Code of Conduct training, and meetings thereafter will occur on an as-needed basis, at least once per quarter. Time commitment for the CRC may vary, depending on the incidents reported. Initial training will be about 4-8 hours and is required of every committee member. Keeping an eye on ARDC mailing lists and social media likely takes no more than 1-2 hours/week. Additional time would be required in the event of an incident evaluation and resolution. With this in mind, though variable, the estimated time commitment for serving on the CRC is about 1-5 hours per week.

We are always interested in volunteers who are located outside of the United States. Please note that a good command of the English language and flexibility accommodating a broad range of time zones is needed to participate effectively.

Current Members

The 2023 inaugural committee is composed of a Board Member and two members of ARDC staff:

  • Keith Packard (K7WQ), Board Member
  • Merideth Stroh (KK7BKI), Operations Manager (HR Lead)
  • Tim Pozar (KC6GNJ), IT Consultant

Beginning in 2024, the CRC will consist of a Board Member, ARDC’s HR Lead, and 1-3 volunteers from our community. An additional member of ARDC staff may be added if needed.

Training

It is imperative that CRC members receive training about how to evaluate complaints and find resolution. The 2023 members have completed the Otter Tech Code of Conduct Enforcement Training, which is highly regarded throughout the open source community: https://otter.technology/code-of-conduct-training/.

In addition to the Review Committee listed above, ARDC’s Executive Director, Rosy Schechter (KJ7RYV), has also completed this training.

Qualifications

CRC members must be participants of the amateur radio, computer networking, and/or open source communities, and they must be familiar with – and supportive of! – ARDC’s mission and core activities. Ideally, these members have familiarity with Codes of Conduct and their enforcement. An amateur radio license from any country is ideal, but not required.

Term

With the exception of ARDC’s HR Lead, who is an ongoing member, CRC members are generally asked to serve until the end of the calendar year in which they started. At the end of the calendar year, the Board will evaluate existing committee members and determine whether to ask those existing members to continue for another calendar year, as well as add new members as necessary (as described in the Adding New Members section below).

3-year term limits followed by 1-year pause. 1-year terms may be renewed for a total of 3 terms. After that point, a CRC member must take one year off. They may be re-nominated for a CRC role at the end of that off year. At that point, they may serve up to three more terms before needing to take another break, and so on.

No presumptive renewal. Renewal of terms should not be presumed. Information regarding votes to renew terms and potential conditions for removal may be found in the Renewing Terms and Departure and Removal sections above and below, respectively.

Voting

Following discussions about how to handle a complaint, Committee members will take a vote to determine resolution.

Tie-breaking Votes
In the event of a tie vote, it is the duty of the Executive Director to serve as a tiebreaker. In the event that the Executive Director is serving on the committee, not available, or the subject of the complaint being voted upon, then an ARDC Board Member will cast the tie-breaking vote.

Adding New Members

  1. Nominations. Anyone may nominate a qualified candidate for a seat on the Committee, including self-nomination. For more information on submitting a nomination, please refer to the How to Apply section below.
  2. Nominee research and confirmation of qualifications. Following nomination, an ARDC staff member, director, officer, and/or CRC member (or a combination thereof) will research the qualifications and availability of the nominee. This may be done through a combination of:
    1. reviewing materials, such as a nominee’s CV, resume, and/or website;
    2. email correspondence with the nominee; and/or
    3. interview(s) with the nominee. The results of this investigation will be provided to the ARDC Board for review.
  3. Board Review. Following the nominee investigations, the ARDC Board will review the pool of investigated nominees and make a determination of CRC members they would like to add. If this happens at the end of the calendar year, this review will concur with a review of existing CRC members to determine composition for the following year.
  4. CRC New Member Review. Once the Board has made its determination, it will bring those determinations to the CRC for review, creating an opportunity for CRC members to provide insight regarding the determination. Following this review, the Board may decide to keep or remove nominees in the pool.
  5. Board Vote. Following the CRC review, the Board votes to add new members to the CRC.

Departure and Removal

Voluntary Departure. CRC members may voluntarily resign at any time, even if it is before the end of a term. Notice of departure must be submitted in writing to the ARDC Board member serving on the Committee, and/or ARDC’s Executive Director.

Removal. In some cases, it may be required to remove a CRC member before the end of their term. Reasons for removal include but are not limited to:

  • Habitual missing of meetings or non-participation;
  • Harassment or other unwanted behavior as outlined in the Code of Conduct that persists despite intervention; and/or
  • The result of an investigation indicating conflict of interest or other improper conduct.

In the event of any of the above, the ARDC Board may remove a CRC member from their post. The CRC member will be informed of the decision in writing.

Filing a complaint about a CRC Member. Anyone may file a complaint about a CRC member by following the decision appeal steps noted earlier.

How to Apply

We typically accept nominations to join the CRC in October of each year. Send your nomination, along with any supporting materials (resume, CV, website) to hr@ardc.net. Self-nominations are accepted. If you are not submitting a self-nomination, please be sure to include your contact information in the event that we need to reach out for further supporting materials.

We’ll review all applications and/or nominations and aim to make a decision by the end of November. Meetings for these committees will begin around mid-January.