By-Laws
TODOS BY-LAWS
ARTICLE I: Title, Purpose, Mission and Objectives
Section 1: The name of the organization shall be TODOS, Terapia Ocupacional para Diversidad, Oportunidad y Solidaridad.
Section 2: TODOS is a network, a professional community of occupational therapy practitioners and students who have as their mission to support and mentor one another, to support the exploration of careers in occupational therapy by Hispanics/Latinos and to promote issues of diversity, inclusion and multiculturalism within the occupational therapy profession.
Section 3: The TODOS network is established for the purpose of:
A. Providing consistent voice to the AOTA, state and local professional organizations regarding the needs and concerns of Hispanic/Latino practitioners, students and consumers.
B. Supporting and mentoring one another, and promoting Hispanic/Latino representation and leadership in local, state and national decision-making bodies.
C. Promoting the exploration of careers in occupational therapy by Hispanics/Latinos.
D. Supporting Hispanic/Latino practitioners who immigrate from other countries, through the process of adjustment and transition into the occupational therapy profession in the U.S.
Section 4: Objectives of the TODOS network include:
A. To hold an annual meeting at the AOTA conference during which members of the TODOS network can come together for business, scholarship and networking.
B. To promote scholarship and research which explores how issues of culture, diversity, inclusion and multiculturalism influence theory, practice and education in O.T.
C. To serve as a resource to the AOTA and its members on questions relating to Hispanic/Latino culture and practice issues related to diversity, inclusion and multiculturalism.
D. To expand the network of practitioners and students committed to ideals of cultural connectedness and inclusion, and dedicated to providing encouragement, support, and mentorship to one another
ARTICLE II: Membership
Section 1: A member is considered in good standing if annual membership dues have been paid. Current members dues are 15.00$ OTR/COTA 10.00$ student. Membership dues are determined by the steering committee in consultation with membership either at the annual meeting or through a newsletter survey. Section 2: Membership Eligibility: membership is open to all occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, occupational therapy students and others who support the mission and objectives of the TODOS network and who remain in good standing with TODOS. Section 1: TODOS honors the collective nature of our Hispanic cultures. The structure consists of several committees who work collectively to accomplish goals, projects and tasks of the organization. A steering committee functions to coordinate, facilitate and support the activities of all TODOS committees and acts as a central point for communication internally, with other regional Hispanic/Latino networks, with AOTA and with other multicultural organizations in and outside the occupational therapy profession.
Section 3: Categories of Membership:
A. Voting Member: Any occupational therapy practitioner or student who expresses a wish to join the TODOS network and pays membership dues to the membership chairperson.
B. Associate Member: Any person who makes a donation and is supportive of the network's objectives and wishes to participate in the group's activities.
Section 4: Records of Membership:
A. Records of membership, maintained by the Membership Committee, shall contain the name, address, telephone, E-mail or FAX number
B. A non-distributed mailing list of members shall be maintained. Those members who indicate a willingness to have their names shared for networking purposes will be included in a network directory which will be made available for distribution. This network includes contact information as well as talents, expertise the member has and projects they would participate in.
C. Membership information may be shared, at the discretion of the steering committee, with newly forming local/regional sections of the TODOS network and/or for the purpose of facilitating networking among members.
ARTICLE III - Organizational Structure
Section 2: The roles and functions of the TODOS committee are:
A. Steering Committee: Members shall attend each networking meeting, support all other TODOS committees in their work, coordinate the agenda and preside at annual meetings; submit and present an annual report of the organization to TODOS membership, work to encourage the development of local/regional sections of Hispanic/Latino networks and function as the primary liaison between TODOS and AOTA, regional Hispanic/Latino networks, and other multicultural organizations in and outside the occupational therapy profession. A minimum of two and maximum of three persons will co-chair the steering committee. All co-chairs of all other TODOS committees will constitute members of the steering committee.
ARTICLE III - Organizational Structure (continued)
B. Communications Committee: Shall be responsible for networking and establishing a relationship among Latino practitioners, students and other interested people thru newsletter, the internet and social networking sites. They will solicits articles from members, electronically publish an organizations newsletter and/or maintain the organization’s website, and coordinates efforts to define efficient and cost-effective means to maintain an effective communication network between TODOS members. A minimum of two and maximum of three persons will co-chair the communications committee.
C. International Connections Committee: Shall be responsible for serving as a point of contact/resource for students, therapist, educators and researchers immigrating to U.S., for finding ways to communicate stories from FW educators, researchers and/or students regarding their international experiences, and to collect and disseminate information on OT conferences in other countries, especially Spanish-speaking countries. A minimum of two and maximum of three persons will co-chair the international connections committee.
D. Membership Committee: Shall coordinate efforts to build the membership base, review membership applications for eligibility, maintain electronic mailing lists of all organization members, compile and update a networking directory for use by organization members, and to collect all dues and fees paid into the organization. A minimum of two and maximum of three persons will co-chair the membership committee
E. Mentoring and Recruitment Committee: Shall be responsible for develop mechanisms for members to support each other’s professional development, for developing and disseminating recruitment career awareness materials, for developing a roster of mentors by area of expertise and region and for coordinating mentor/mentee relationships. A minimum of two and maximum of three persons will co-chair the mentoring and recruitment committee.
Section 3: Steering committee members shall be members in good standing of TODOS.
Section 4: Steering committee members shall be nominated and agree to serve for three year terms.
Section 5: Conference calls and email shall be a means of meeting and communicating among the steering committee members. The funds of the network shall be used, in part, for this purpose. All TODOS committee shall communicate as a group at least one time before the annual business meeting. The steering committee shall communicate on at least a quarterly basis.
ARTICLE IV - Nominations and Willngness to Serve
Section 1: Nominations for steering committee members shall be made, every year for members whose terms are expiring, at the business meeting held at the AOTA conference. Members are nominated or self-nominate to serve on committees and, if so nominated, express a willingness to serve. A formal election will occur only if there are more than 4 nominees for any co-chair position in any committee.
Section 2: Candidates shall be voting members of the network and only voting members shall be allowed to vote.
Section 3: Newly elected steering committee members shall take office when the last order of business at the annual meeting is completed.
ARTICLE V - Local/Regional Sections
Section 1: TODOS will encourage and support the development of local/regional sections of Hispanic/Latino networks, (e.g., HOTI, HOT-NY, SEHOT) whose mission and objectives parallel those of TODOS.
Section 2: Local/regional sections shall identify a contact person for the purpose of communicating with the Steering Committee of TODOS.
Section 3: Sections shall be requested, from time to time, by the steering committee of TODOS to serve as task forces or committees to act on, support or accomplish network business or projects.
ARTICLE VI - Meetings
Section 1: There shall be a meeting held at least annually for the membership. This meeting shall be held at, or in conjunction with, the annual AOTA conference. This meeting will include a business meeting of the TODOS network.
Section 2: A quorum shall consist of at least three members of the TODOS network steering committee and those members present.
ARTICLE VII - Standing Rules
Section 1: In addition to these by-laws, the network shall be governed by such standing rules as the steering committee adopts.
ARTICLE VIII - Ammendments
Section 1: Amendments to these by-laws must be submitted in writing to the steering committee and shall be put to a vote at the annual meeting of the network.
Section 2: Voting on amendments shall be by show of hands and shall require two-thirds vote of members present and voting for adoption.
Section 3: Proposed amendments become effective immediately upon passage.