New Volunteer Opportunities

Get Involved

Want to have insider knowledge and be involved in the planning of all things VAM? Ready to serve and contribute to the museum community? Volunteer with us!

Any member of VAM may request to join a committee that oversees just about every aspect, from our annual conference to workshops and more.

Get the most out of VAM. We are here to support you. If you have any questions, please contact us!

VAM Program Committee

Solicit, Select, Recruit, and Evaluate Sessions for the conference.

The Program Committee has (3) three sub-committees responsible for planning the conference program: Conference Sessions, Silent Auction, and Student Engagement & Affinity Groups. You may choose more than one committee. Meeting times will vary based on the subcommittee’s areas of responsibility. Each sub-committee will meet no more than five times. 

1. The Conference Session is responsible to select and organize the conference sessions. In addition to some shorter virtual meetings, this sub-committee will meet in person in late summer/early fall to complete the schedule at a glance. Committee members should plan to meet in Richmond from approximately 10 AM to 3 PM during the in-person meeting.

2. The Silent Auction sub-committee is responsible to solicit and manage silent auction items before and during the conference. Virtual meetings will be held in late fall and early winter. Members of this committee must be able to attend the conference to assist with the set-up of auction items.

3. The Student Engagement & Affinity Groups will meet virtually in late fall and early winter. Members of this committee will create a call for poster submissions and plan student and affinity group meet-ups during the conference. Committee members must be able to attend the conference to assist with the set-up and judging of the student poster submissions and attend meet-ups.

Applications are closed for 2024

More information is coming soon about the volunteer committee applications! Each of these committees meets every other month, mainly virtually.

Join a Committee - Applications Coming Soon

Community Engagement Committee

Like to spread the word? This committee plans:

• Advocacy 
• Marketing 
• Communications

Governance Committee

This committee handles:

• Nominations for leadership
• Board member onboarding, development, and evaluation
• DEAI Task Force
• Strategic Planning

Resource Development Committee

This committee works with the VAM staff on:

• Fundraising, gifts in kind, grants
• Volunteer engagement
• Work with staff to develop an annual fundraising calendar/plan

Membership Engagement Committee

Be part of programming for VAM! The Membership Engagement Committee is responsible for:

• Conference planning with VAM staff
• Workshop development
• Organizing and planning Meet-Ups
• Managing the Virginia Certificate in Museum Management Program
• Annual awards such as the Innovative Museum Award, Ann Brownson Award, and the Museum Educator Award

Be a Mentor!

Wherever you are in your career, you have experience and expertise to share.  If you are an EMP interested in getting more involved, perhaps you'd like to mentor a student member.  If you have 25 years in the field, you might want to mentor someone interested in moving up the management ladder.  Mentors can communicate over email, but for a good mentorship to work, ideally the mentor would be committed to some time for relationship building.  Time commitment: medium. Application coming soon.

Review Resumes!

One of our member benefits is to review resumes of individual members who would like assistance--either specifically preparing a resume for a job posting, or just working on a resume for their own records.  Help us by becoming one of our "stable" of reviewers.  Time commitment: small. Application coming soon.

Interested in Board Service?

Serving on our governing board is one of the most impactful ways to be involved with VAM.  Board members are selected from across our membership, and elected to specific open positions each March at our Annual Meeting.  Board members work directly with staff on strategic planning, financial sustainability, member service, and much more.  Terms are 3 years in length, and can be renewed once for an additional 3 years.  

Currently, the board service positions are filled! Please check back later.