How the Alliance works: the national level

How the Alliance is organized

This part of your training looks at how the National Amateur Radio Alliance is put together at the national level: the Board of Directors, the three territories, the ten regions, and the two representatives serving every state.

Seven on the Board of Directors

The Alliance organizes its geography into three territories: Eastern, Central and Western. Three people oversee those territories, and they serve on the Board of Directors alongside four national officers: a President, a Vice President, a Secretary and a Treasurer. Those seven board members are all elected by the members of the Alliance who hold voting rights. Voting members elect the four officers, and they elect the territory representative for the territory they live in. All seven serve four year terms.

Three territories: Eastern, Central, Western

Here are the three territories. Each one has a board member behind it, working with the state and regional representatives inside it.

Ten regions, aligned to the FEMA regions

Our three territories are divided into regions. Our ten national regions align with the ten federally recognized FEMA regions, and each region has a representative. Together those representatives make up a board of advisors to the Board of Directors. The Regional Advisory Council has no governing authority, but it provides insight, feedback and recommendations on matters affecting the amateur radio community across all regions.

Committees do much of the detailed work

The Board of Directors provides governance and direction, but much of the detailed work of the organization happens through committees. We use standing committees, which handle ongoing areas of responsibility. They address areas such as governance and policy, membership and engagement, legislative and regulatory affairs, outreach and education, finance and development, and diversity and youth engagement. We also create special committees when a particular project or need requires focused attention.

How a committee works

Committees research issues and develop ideas. They work on projects and make recommendations to the Board. They also give volunteers with particular interests or experience an opportunity to contribute directly to the work of the organization. Committee members collaborate using the Alliance's digital tools, and committees report their work and recommendations to the Board. You do not need to memorize the committee structure. What is important to understand is that our work is distributed among volunteers. The Board does not do everything, and good ideas do not have to originate at the Board level. If you have experience or an interest in a particular area, serving on a committee may be one of the best ways for you to become involved.

Inside a state

Every state has two representatives serving at the state level: a State Representative and a Field Services Representative. These two roles are not stacked one above the other. They work together. One of the responsibilities of the state representative is to assign a club council representative to each region within their state. Each state is divided into groups of counties called Club Councils, and those council representatives are our last line of boots on the ground, interacting with clubs at a local level.

What the State Representative does

The State Representative serves as the Alliance's representative within their state, helping connect us with amateur radio operators, clubs and volunteers across the state. They maintain a statewide view of activities, needs and opportunities. The role focuses on coordination, communication and service, rather than management or authority.

Representatives and Ambassadors

Because we did not want to build a hierarchy of directors and managers, we chose to refer to all of our volunteers who serve a specific geographical area as Representatives. All other volunteers are simply Ambassadors. This is more than a naming choice. It reflects an organization wide philosophy about how we serve the amateur radio community.

Titles describe the role, not rank

We are all amateur radio operators who love our hobby and want to see it thrive. Being a volunteer with the Alliance does not give anyone authority over another amateur radio operator, club or organization. Our titles are not about rank, status or control. They simply describe the role we have agreed to take on, and the people or areas we have volunteered to serve.

What that looks like in practice

Our Representatives are there to listen, to communicate, to connect people with resources, to identify unmet needs, and to help strengthen relationships between the Alliance and the amateur radio community. Our Ambassadors do the same through the programs, projects, events and activities they support.