What is the House of Delegates?

The AAPA Bylaws, Article VI, Section 1 provide for the House of Delegates as follows:

Duties and Responsibilities. The Academy shall have a House of Delegates, which shall represent the interests of the membership. The House of Delegates shall exercise the sole authority on behalf of the Academy to enact policies establishing the collective values, philosophies, and principles of the PA profession. The House of Delegates may make recommendations to the Board for granting charters to Chapters and for granting official recognition to specialty organizations. The House of Delegates may make recommendations to the Board for the establishment of Academy commissions and work groups and shall establish such committees of the House of Delegates as necessary to fulfill its duties.  The House of Delegates shall be entitled to vote on amendments to these Bylaws on behalf of the four members in accordance with Article XIV of these Bylaws. The House of Delegates shall be solely responsible for establishing such rules of procedure, which are not inconsistent with these Bylaws, the Articles of Incorporation, or existing law, as may be necessary for carrying out the activities of the House (i.e., House of Delegates Standing Rules).

Open Positions, Terms, & Descriptions

There are three (3) House Officer positions with terms starting July 1, 2026:

• AAPA Vice President/Speaker of the House: one-year term
• Director/First Vice Speaker: one-year term
• Director/Second Vice Speaker: one-year term

House of Delegates Officers also serve on AAPA’s Board of Directors in addition to their duties in the House of Delegates. See the Board of Directors General Election information for additional duties/responsibilities.

Position Descriptions

Please refer to the House Officer Position Descriptions document, linked here, to learn more about the duties and expectations of board and HOD service.

Eligibility and Qualifications

In accordance with AAPA Bylaws, Article XIII, Section 3, candidates for board director and officer positions must meet the following eligibility requirements:

1. A candidate must be a fellow member of AAPA.
2. A candidate must be a member of an AAPA constituent organization.
3. A candidate must have been an AAPA fellow and/or student member for the last three years.
4. A candidate must have served in at least two leadership roles in the Academy, Student Academy, a constituent organization or related PA organization (as defined in section (i) below) in the past five years. This experience requirement will be waived for currently sitting AAPA Board members who choose to run for a subsequent term of office.

   i. Related PA organizations include the PA Foundation, PA History Society, AAPA’S Political Action Committee, PA Education Association, ARC-PA, or National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants. An AAPA or constituent organization officer, board member, committee, council, commission, work group, task force chair.

5. Up to one leadership role as delineated in Section 3 may be obtained by serving in an executive or equivalent role in a healthcare professional organization.
6. A candidate for House Officer must have been a seated delegate for a minimum of two years in the past five years.

For purposes of verifying eligibility, the Governance Commission interprets these criteria as follows:

• ‘Leadership Role’ is defined as an elected or appointed position on a board, committee, commission, work group or task force, service as an AAPA HOD delegate, or service as an external representative for AAPA.
  • A distinct leadership role would include a position that has inherited succession (e.g. president-elect/president/immediate past president or vice chair/chair) or positions with concurrent roles (e.g. member and chair of a commission).
• ‘Healthcare Professional Organization’ may include a hospital, health system, professional association for health providers, medical society, licensing or public health board.
• ‘Executive or equivalent role’ may include a C-suite position (e.g. CEO, CMO), a director of ‘APPs,’ corporate medical director, or board member.

House Officer candidates must also be credentialed delegates to the 2024 HOD meeting.

2026 House of Delegates Election Timeline

BOD/HOD Meetings Schedule

For planning purposes, candidates should be available for the following meetings:

The above dates are tentative and subject to change. Dates and times of House Officer meetings will be set at a later time. House Officers also organize and participate in House-related conference calls throughout the leadership year.

*Optional event

Who is Eligible to Vote?

Eligible apportioned HOD delegates who have current fellow or student membership, are credentialed delegates fifteen days in advance of voting, and present at the time of voting will be eligible to vote for House Officers and the NomCom. The precise date of eligibility will depend on the final HOD meeting agenda.