The Society is conducting its yearly election of officers and board members. As announced in April, the election process for the 2025–2026 SDP Board of Directors began with the call for nominations, and over the months of April and May, the Nominating Committee evaluated the slate of candidates.
In line with SDP’s strategic direction, the committee focused on selecting a slate that will position the Society to grow and deliver strong impact in the years ahead.
Reflecting on a Year of Innovation and Growth
With the focus and dedication to continue to move the society forward, Jeremy Walker and the Board have focused heavily on how we continue to drive greater value for members, how we continue to grow membership and help professionalize decision making – continuing to deliver on our vision of a great decision every time. We continue to drive specific initiatives to bring more and different people into the society and see where we can prioritize our resources - both time and money, toward the vision and the forward movement of the society. This year, the annual conference in Vancouver was a huge success, featuring a record number of speakers. The society also announced the kickoff of the new and innovative "Friends of SDP" program, allowing not only corporations but individuals to contribute financially to the organization. The society has developed a set of values – representing the bedrock of key behaviors for our board and volunteers and has updated the longstanding HERO awards to align with our current community of members more specifically. Additionally, a key milestone for the year has been the launch of the new SDP website at the end of 2024 (Please activate your login if you have not already at www.decisionprofessionals.com). The website offers members the ability to connect, research, and access upcoming events.
Our new chapters in Denver, Boston, and Stavanger continue to grow. With the passing of Ron Howard late last year, the society participated in a beautiful memorial and has now kicked off the Ron Howard SDP Community in the Bay area with a large contingent of dedicated decision enthusiasts. The society is continuing to explore opportunities for greater international presence and international chapters.
Where to now...
The vision for the society remains unchanged – A Great Decision Every Time! This society and its membership are dedicated to living this vision in business decisions, community decisions, and within our own personal decisions. Therefore, all of the events, activities and initiatives we take on are in service of helping members and our community realize this vision.
Growth remains a multifaceted endeavor for SDP, encompassing the expansion of our reach and the integration of new members with diverse professional backgrounds. Our strategy focuses on extending our influence into new regions, increasing our presence within corporate environments, and attracting individuals through third party courses and SDP certifications.
To support sustained membership growth, we are committed to enhancing our organizational structure by involving more volunteers, leveraging our chapters, and continuing to grow the reach and impact of our councils, interest groups and the board. This requires greater engagement and we look forward to working with many active members to make this a reality.
To support the value SDP brings to its members – we have continued to identify additional benefits for members such as frequent webinars, new certification levels, special interest groups, more specialized training, resources, local chapter connects, and annual and regional events to share best practices. We continue to look to grow these offerings to ensure that each member sees the value within SDP.
The above outlines key aspects of where we have come from the past year and where we will head in the upcoming year. The SDP Nomination Committee is asking you to review the slate of directors and executives we’re putting forward this year - and support them with your vote.
Meet the candidates to the SDP Board of Directors
We’re very excited about this group of individuals. They’ve all shown their dedication to continue to move the society forward.
Tom Keelin, our 2024 Pioneer award winner and sponsor of the "Friends of SDP" program will be moving out of the Secretary role to move to the VP role.
We’re equally excited to welcome a new Secretary to our Executive Committee, Lindsay M. Alaniz, an experienced Decision Quality professional specializing in strategic leadership and collaboration at ConocoPhillips.
We are also looking forward to nominating to the board two board members. First, Rob Arnold, a seasoned global strategy leader and longtime Decision Quality practitioner whose career has spanned industries and geographies, is looking to contribute to SDP’s growth, particularly across Asia. David Matheson, who has recently finished serving a term as the past president, who exudes his enthusiasm to develop SDP and move forward, will come back onto the board to continue to push forward in key areas of delivery.
Read their statements of purpose and vote with confidence – these will be your important advocates and leaders of the future. As you see, we are committed to continue our efforts to improve the society by selecting individuals who have shown strong commitment and focus to help build a bigger and stronger community of decision professionals.
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SDP Voting Bylaws
SDP members on file as of May 20th, 2025 are eligible to vote
One ballot vote per member
Steps to VOTE
CLICK HERE to vote using the SDP website
You need to be logged in to be able to vote
First time users, click on "Retrieve Password"
If you need help in retrieving your password, you may contact Hilda Cherekdjian at hilda@decisionprofessionals.com
Position statements and biographies of the candidates are on the survey (Click to expand each paragraph)
The voting form will be available until June 6th, 2025 at 11:59 pm PT
Election results will be announced the second week of June 2025.
The newly elected officers shall assume their duties at the beginning of the SDP fiscal year on July 1st, 2025.
Click below to access your voting ballot.
Voting Ballot