Join the EdSA committee
The EdSA Annual Branch Meeting (ABM) is coming up soon, a time when we invite our state voting members to join the EdSA committee in an office-bearing role or a supporting capacity. (Roles are determined by the new committee at its first meeting after the ABM.)
Committee responsibilities cover a range of areas including professional development, communications, budgeting and membership liaison. The committee meets monthly (over Zoom for the past year, but face-to-face meetings will be scheduled from time to time in the future).
Please get in touch if you’d like to find out more about what committee involvement entails.
We’d love to hear from you.
Jo Vabolis AE
EdSA Vice-President and Secretary
edsa.secretary@iped-editors.org
Melanie Dankel AE
EdSA President
edsa.president@iped-editors.org
Committee members’ comments
I’ve been a freelance academic editor for five years. During this time, EdSA has been my lifeline. Editing is an introvert’s job and I’m far from one. I need a community of peers around me to share challenges and experiences. In the early years, I had a real case of imposter syndrome, with huge gaps in my knowledge about writing. A PhD didn’t really teach me the technical side of editing, so I attended all the EdSA workshops. I even received a bursary to attend the IPEd conference in Brisbane. EdSA helped me to build my confidence as an editor and learn freelance business management. Now I balance academic editing with English teaching.
By joining the EdSA branch committee as an early career editor, you will learn about running a small professional organisation and gain experience in communications, event planning, budgeting and strategising. It’s also an opportunity to make new friends and extend your networks.
—Alice Healy Ingram
…
Being part of the committee has really helped develop my skills in areas such as project management, event planning, strategic planning and budgeting. It’s been a lot of fun to think outside the square and work with other like-minded people who get as excited about editing and editors as I do.
Working with the committee sounds daunting, but it’s actually a really supportive environment among people who all have the same vision and want to support your ideas. We all pitch in and help each other out, so you never feel overwhelmed. Of course, more hands lighten the load.
In my time on the committee, not only have I made amazing friends, great professional contacts and learnt loads related and unrelated to my profession, but I get to give back to a community who all share my dream career. Being able to contribute to that in a small way is incredibly satisfying.
—Melanie Dankel AE