Leadership Council Elections

The ESHIP Alliance operates using an Impact Network approach, with shared leadership across a small staff team, a Core Team, and the Leadership Council.

The Leadership Council serves as the Alliance’s high-level advisory, decision-making, and standards-setting body. Meeting quarterly, the group helps shape the Alliance’s strategic direction and field-level priorities. Council members—both elected and appointed—represent entrepreneurial ecosystem builders and national resource providers (NRPs), intentionally designed to bring a range of lived and professional experience to the table.

While Alliance has a small staff, broader leadership is shared across the Leadership Council and a smaller Core Team, which functions somewhat as a working board. If the Alliance establishes its own 501(c)(3) in the future, the Core Team will likely become its official governing board.

Currently, the Alliance is a fiscally sponsored project of Community Initiatives, a California-based 501(c)(3) organization.

The Leadership Council does not oversee day-to-day operations or act as a fiduciary board. Instead, it provides strategic guidance, champions community voice, and helps ensure the Alliance remains aligned with its mission to advance the field of entrepreneurial ecosystem building nationwide.

Learn more about the current members of the Leadership Council and Core team on our People page.

This is a volunteer position with a two-year term ending in summer 2027. The minimum time commitment is on average 1–2 hours per month, which includes quarterly virtual meetings, occasional check-ins with staff or the Core Team, and opportunities to support the Alliance’s work in the field.

Leadership Council members may also choose to lead or contribute to specific projects that help grow the Alliance or advance the field. These efforts are co-created with staff and may require additional time depending on the project’s scope. The role is designed to be meaningful yet manageable for busy ecosystem builders and resource provider leaders.

An entrepreneurial ecosystem builder is someone who works to create the conditions that help entrepreneurs start and grow businesses. They connect people, align resources, build trust, and foster collaboration across their communities—often in roles like nonprofit leaders, program managers, economic developers, funders, educators, founders, or government staff.

Because ecosystem building is an emerging profession, not everyone uses that title—but what ecosystem builders share is a systems-level, community-led approach to change. They work across organizations and sectors to ensure entrepreneurs have the support they need to thrive. Ecosystem builders may do this work as part of their paid role or as dedicated volunteers.

A National Resource Provider (NRP) representative is someone who works with an organization that supports entrepreneurial ecosystem builders across multiple U.S. states, typically through programs, training, services, research, or funding. These organizations play a critical role in advancing the field, and their representatives bring a national perspective to the ESHIP Alliance Leadership Council.

The ESHIP Alliance has identified more than 100 National Resource Providers (NRPs) to date — see our growing list here. If you think your organization qualifies but is not listed, please reach out to us via our Contact Form.

After submitting a self-nomination form, candidates will be invited to share more about themselves on the ESHIP Alliance’s digital community platform, the ESHIP Commons. Campaigning is informal and should not be a heavy lift—it simply involves posting a short written and/or video introduction, sharing your experiences, and engaging in light dialogue with community members. It’s an opportunity to let others know why you’re passionate about ecosystem building and how you hope to contribute as a member of the Leadership Council.

The election will take place on an online voting platform and all who have profiles in the ESHIP Commons, our digital community, are eligible to vote. This year, the network will elect three ecosystem building practitioners and two national resource provider (NRP) representatives to the Leadership Council to maintain a balanced and representative body.

To ensure broad and inclusive representation, the Core Team may also appoint up to five additional members later this year. While honoring the outcomes of the community vote, the Core Team will thoughtfully consider all self-nominated candidates for these appointed roles, especially with an eye toward ensuring diverse perspectives and lived experiences are reflected in the Council’s makeup.

The election is being facilitated by ESHIP Alliance Council and Core team members

• Lindsay Schuenke, the Senior Director of Community at InBIA,

• Cecilia Wessinger, a Global Advisor to the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) and a board member of the Institute for Work and the Economy, and

• Andy Stoll, the executive director of the ESHIP Alliance, is providing staff support.

If you have questions or concerns about the election process, please get in touch with us via our Contact Form.

You may alternatively contact Andy Stoll at andy.stoll@ebln.us or ESHIP Alliance Treasurer Amy Beaird at treasurer@eship.org.

We’d love to connect with you!

The ESHIP Alliance is hosting a Community Gathering on Friday, June 13, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. EDT. During this virtual event, we’ll share more details and answer questions about the Leadership Council elections. Register here.

You can also reach out to us via our Contact form—we’re happy to help.