WA4PT Board Information
At the beginning of each year we hold board nominations to replace our current board members who have completed their term. This means you can become part of our team!
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Follow us on our social media for updates with nominations and elections!
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Join the WA4PT Board!
Join us! We have fun getting to advocate, plan and create a community in Washington State for therapists who are Registered Play Therapists, utilize play techniques in sessions, or who are new to the field and wanting to learn more about play therapy! Being a part of WA4PT, we are constantly looking for ways to help grow our community and make changes to increase clinicians' passion and interest in play therapy. We need people like you to join us, bringing in new ideas and additional passion so we can turn our vision into a reality!
Frequently Asked Questions
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What is the process to become a board member?
In Janurary we start the process for nominations. We follow APT bylaws which require us to hold nominations and elections for persons who are interested in serving on the board. You will complete a self nomination form or get nominated by another play therapist. Elections are then held and you are voted in. Please see Process of Nominations and Elections section for full explaination of this process!
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What board positions are available?
Our board roles are split into 2 categories: a Director or an Officer. Officer positions are REQUIRED to be filled to be in compliance of APT bylaws. Director positions have shifted throughout the years depending on what tasks or projects we are working on. Please see example of current and past positions below.
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What is required when being a board member?
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Board members must be in good standing with our states licensing boards and the Association for Play Therapy.
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All board directors are volunteers who commit to serving a 3-year term.
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General board directors volunteer approximately 2-4 hours per month.
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Officer board members (president, vice president, treasurer, and secretary) volunteer approximately 4-8 hours per month.
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Upon receiving your position we review a contract about what it means to be in your position.
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There is a communication expectation for board members to check and respond to emails and/or Google Workspace within 24-48 hours.
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What happens when you become a board member?
Through our election process all of our board members are nominated to the board by the general membership for the number of positions that are available for that year. When you are elected onto the board, you become a "Director" and are elected into a general position. At our first meeting of the year (which is typically held on the first Tuesday of April), the board will vote directors into positions based on their skill sets and what they have to offer the team.
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What are the benefits of being a board member?
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Opportunity to advocate for play therapy in our state
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Recognition as a play therapist
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Networking with other play therapists and child-serving professionals
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Advocate and serve our Play Therapy Community
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Having a voice when it comes to presenters, networking events and outreach services.
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Free admission into workshops and conferences sponsored by WA4PT
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Should board members need to pay for CEs would be at a reduced rate
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"Enter into children's play, and you will find the place where their minds, hearts, and souls meet." — Virginia Axline.
Board Positions
Examples of
Officer Positions:
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President
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Vice President
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Secretary
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Treasurer
Example of Director Positions:
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Past President
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Newsletter Creator
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Image Content Creator
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Conference Chair
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Membership Director
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Operations Manager
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Social Media Manager
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Website Manager
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Outreach Director
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Networking Director
Process of Nominations and Elections
In January, we open up nominations for the amount of board positions that are opening up. It is in our Bylaws that our board is to be composed of no less than 5 and no more than 9 directors. Therefore, in January we determine the amount of board directors who will be joining us and then we host nominations and elections!
If you are a current WA4PT member you will receive an email with all the information needed to participate in board nominations and elections. If you are not a current WA4PT member, you can access this information by joining our monthly newsletters, checking our website and/or by following us on Facebook and/or Instagram!
Joining the board first starts with the nomination portion! This happens through either completing the self nomination form or by completing the online nomination form for another play therapist. Anyone who is not self nominated, do not worry we will contact you and make sure you are interested in joining us!
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Once nominations close, our voting period will open up to all WA4PT members! So this is a great time to join and be apart of our Washington membership!
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After elections close, you will receive an email informing you if you have been elected to our board or not. Then at our Annual Public Board Meeting (typically held during the Saturday lunch of our Spring Conference) we will announce the new board directors (as long as all positions have been accepted) and say goodbye to any board directors who have completed their terms and positions with us.
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You can then see an overall introduction on our social media pages shortly after the first board meeting of the year. This will include the board members and their positions they were voted into for the year.
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And, if you keep following us on social media, you will get to learn a little bit about each board member!