ECPC and WLC Information

COUNCIL STRUCTURE AND RESPONSIBILITIES 

The Early Career Professionals Council (ECPC) and Women’s Leadership Council (WLC) are responsible for providing resources for and increasing engagement of early career professionals and women in AHLA. Council activities add great value to membership and contribute to creating a home for those in the health law community. 

The President-Elect appoints a Chair and three Vice Chairs as the Council’s leadership cohort. The remaining individuals will continue to be appointed as members of their respective Council. 

Council leadership will have the flexibility to determine and assign Vice Chair duties, in alignment with the work groups that they want to establish for the year and in a way that addresses the Council’s focus. This will enable the leadership to match the unique skills of everyone to the roles needed in the Council.  

Chairs and Vice Chairs will continue to share the following responsibilities:  

• Identify and develop topics for professional development offerings and resources in collaboration with other leaders and AHLA staff. 
• Identify new talent. Build and leverage a diverse volunteer pipeline. 
• Encourage broad participation among the membership and invite health law colleagues who don’t yet belong to AHLA to get involved. 
• Participate in (i) leadership orientation and training activities; (ii) leadership calls; (iii) virtual networking events hosted by ECPC and WLC; (iv) AHLA Annual Meeting and programs aligned with Council member attendance and interest, i.e., Fundamentals of Health Law, Transactions, Advising Providers, etc.  
• Use AHLA communities to post questions, share information, promote ECPC and WLC activities, and engage the membership. 

OUTPUT STANDARDS  

The ECPC and the WLC play an important role in providing a forum for inclusion and a place to network, share, and connect with AHLA members. Members of each Council participate in a range of activities that benefit those in their constituency group.  

Council leadership assists the members who are assigned to various work groups. These work groups have responsibility for advancing activities undertaken by the Council. Members of the Council use the Volunteer Town Square to share volunteer opportunities and to identify members interested in supporting Council activities through writing and speaking, e.g., on podcasts, virtual networking events, conference luncheons, etc. They also facilitate the development and sharing of professional development content of interest within AHLA; provide input and ideas to AHLA staff about the educational and networking needs of their member-constituents; and coordinate opportunities for professional engagement and increased representation in leadership within AHLA.  

Each Council connects with members by facilitating discussions, posting, replying to messages, sharing resources, posting resources, and coordinating involvement and participation in Association events through their related Community. In collaboration with other Councils and representatives from the BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and Accessibility Communities, the work groups facilitate and contribute to the development of periodic Member Forum columns in the Health Law Connections magazine; help to connect member-constituents interested in presenting webinars or writing substantive content with Practice Groups; and encourage involvement of members in the Mentoring Program. 

Activities Undertaken by the ECPC and WLC 

On a monthly basis, staff will monitor and report on activities by the Early Career Professionals and the Women’s Leadership Councils. Each Council is encouraged to meet the following targets:   

Annual Requirements: 

• Submission of four to six Member Forum columns in Health Law Connections magazine 
• Host six virtual networking events, to include co-hosting at least one event with a constituency-based community like BIPOC, LGBTQ+, or Accessibility in Health Law. 
• Post volunteer opportunities in AHLA’s Volunteer Town Square. 
• Share information/invitations to Council-sponsored or hosted events, volunteer opportunities, and information of interest in their related Community and in other constituency-based communities. 
• Refer to and rely on the Leadership Toolkit for Inclusive Participation.

Optional/Extra Credit:  

• Propose, and upon approval, identify speakers for one podcast annually. 
• Council members complete mentoring profile, become a mentor and/or mentee, and/or join and contribute to the Mentoring Community. 
• Share information about Council-sponsored events in the Health Law Network, on LinkedIn, and other social media platforms. 
• In collaboration with AHLA staff, host in-person networking events at AHLA conferences.