ARIN Elections 2025: Nominations 101

By Jason Byrne – Senior Customer Success Analyst

Each year the ARIN community elects candidates to the ARIN Board of Trustees and Advisory Council (AC). For two out of every three years, this process also includes electing one ARIN region representative to the Number Resource Organization Number Council (NRO NC). This process is now underway for 2025; the Call for Nominations opened Monday, 16 June, and will remain open until 7:00 PM ET on Monday, 30 June.

Whether you’re thinking about running for a seat or just want to understand how the process works, read on for an overview of all the key information: Who can make nominations? What should a nominee expect throughout the timeline? How are nominees classified, and what qualifications are sought?

We Want You

Serving the ARIN community in a leadership role is one of the best ways to support ARIN’s mission and strengthen our community-driven, multistakeholder approach to Internet governance and policy development — ensuring a secure, stable, and inclusive Internet.

We hope you’ll consider submitting a self-nomination to the Board if you have:

Professional excellence in the technology, public policy, finance, legal, or nonprofit sectors.
Strategic governance insight and corporate-level decision making experience.

We strongly encourage you to consider submitting a self-nomination to the AC if you have:

Professional experience in Internet number resource management or public policy.
Experience with consensus-based governance.
Familiarity with concerns of ARIN community members.

If you’re interested in a global scope, consider serving on the NRO NC. These nominees should:

Have a track record of involvement with issues related to Internet number resources,
Want to take a role in the global policy development process, and
Be available to travel to NRO NC and ARIN meetings, participate in virtual meetings, and attend to NRO NC matters.

Nominees for all roles should possess ethical integrity and accountability, awareness of the Internet ecosystem, regional diversity to reflect the needs of the broader ARIN community, and a commitment to open-minded collaboration to maintain responsible Internet stewardship.

The Qualifications

There are separate sets of qualifications, requirements, and responsibilities for the Board, the AC, and the NRO NC, along with some areas of overlap, including the Conflicts of Interest Policy which applies to all nominees for all bodies.

Board of Trustees

For the Board of Trustees, the following also applies either as a requirement or as something that will be considered in the evaluation process:

Board of Trustees Nominee Questionnaire, which details a nominee’s background and qualifications.
Expected Qualifications and Responsibilities, which provides an overview of Trustee responsibilities, generally desired skills and experience, and provides information on the time commitment involved in serving on the Board.
Board’s Guidance Letter to the Nomination Committee, which highlights specific relevant experience, background, and skills that the Board is looking for in its new members.
Article V of the ARIN Election Process.

Advisory Council

The AC’s specific requirements focus mainly on the Advisory Council Requirements and Responsibilities, and the Advisory Council Nominee Questionnaire summarizes the background information and qualification details that will be taken into consideration during evaluation.

NRO Number Council

ARIN region representatives to the NRO NC are required to reside within the ARIN region, and NRO NC members are required to attend a few in-person meetings held in various locations throughout the year and participate in periodic virtual meetings. Their responsibilities consist of providing advice and recommendations to the Board of the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and developing procedures related to appointments and roles for the ICANN Board and Address Supporting Organization Address Council (ASO AC).

For a full list of the responsibilities expected of NRO NC members, view our NRO NC Requirements and Responsibilities page.

Submission of Nominations

Any individual may submit a self-nomination for an elected ARIN position, whether they are associated with a General Member organization or not.

All nominees must complete the nominee questionnaire within the published nomination period. Board nominees must also authorize an independent third party to conduct a background check. Nominees who do not complete these required steps will not be eligible for consideration. Information submitted by nominees is handled per the Candidate Information Privacy section of the Election Processes — contact information and the details of the background check are all kept strictly confidential.

Evaluation and Classification

After nominations close, an independent third-party vendor will evaluate nominees. All qualified nominees will then be placed on the ballot. On the slate of candidates, nominees for the Board will appear with a classification of “Well Qualified,” “Qualified,” or “Qualifications not Confirmed.” Any nominees for any elected position assessed as “Unable to Qualify” will not appear on the initial slate of candidates.

The third-party vendor engaged by ARIN will have the sole responsibility to review and assess each nominee. This includes reviewing the nomination questionnaire responses, relevant position descriptions available on ARIN’s website, and the Guidance Letter for the Board and determining qualification categories for all nominees. For all Board nominees, the vendor will also conduct background checks and interviews.

With the completion of the candidate slate development process, the NomCom will provide an initial slate of candidates. The only nominees not included on this initial slate will be individuals classified as “Unable to Qualify” based on the evaluation criteria. If any individuals are assessed as being unable to qualify, they will be offered an opportunity to petition the community to be added to the ballot.

Additional Information

This overview summarizes the detailed procedures found in the following documents:

The nominations process is just the start of all this. For information on petitions, the final slate of candidates, and actual voting procedures, be sure to check out the links above.

The Nomination Committee

While all candidates must self-nominate, the Nomination Committee (aka the “NomCom”) plays an important role in recruiting candidates. The Board members appointed to the NomCom — Dan Alexander, Peter Harrison, and Chris Tacit for 2025 — select volunteers from the community to fill five additional seats on the NomCom and serve up to two-year terms. Community volunteers must be associated with General Members in Good Standing. The following individuals are serving on the 2025 Nomination Committee:

Dan Alexander, Chair and Trustee
Peter Harrison, Trustee
Chris Tacit, Trustee
Dustin Moses, General Member representative¹
Roman Tatarnikov, General Member representative¹
Matthew Wilder, General Member representative¹
Christopher Quesada, General Member representative²
William Sylvester, General Member representative²

¹ Term is for 2024-2025 Election Cycles
² Term is for 2025-2026 Election Cycles

Take the Next Step!

Interested in running for the ARIN Board or AC or the NRO NC? Watch our Leadership Development Series of two short, on-demand videos to learn more about the roles of the Board and AC and how you can get involved. Then select one of the links below to take the next step and submit a nomination before 7:00 PM ET on Monday, 30 June 2025.

This year’s elections will fill three full-term seats on the Board of Trustees for terms starting on 1 January 2026. For the Advisory Council, there will be five full-term seats to fill. The election for the NRO NC ARIN region representative will be for one full-term seat.

Stay tuned to the ARIN website, subscribe to the ARIN Announce and General Members mailing lists, and follow us on social media for updates on 2025 ARIN Election processes and participation opportunities.

Post written by:

Jason Byrne
Senior Customer Success Analyst

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