Article 1 - NAME OF THE ASSOCIATION
The name of this association shall be FEMINISTAS UNIDAS Inc., a non-profit coalition of
feminist scholars in Spanish, Spanish-American, Luso-Brazilian, Caribbean, Afro-Latin
American, Indigenous studies and languages, and U.S., European and Global Hispanic Studies.
 

Article 2 - OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this coalition are to create and sustain a national and global network of feminist
scholars in the fields of Spanish, Spanish-American, Luso-Brazilian, Caribbean, Afro-Latin
American, Indigenous studies and languages, and U.S., European and Global Hispanic Studies.
The coalition seeks to strengthen the intellectual environment through:
1. Exchange of ideas and information.
2. Collaborative research projects.
3. Organization of conferences.
4. Preparation and presentation of papers and panels.
5. Gathering and dissemination of bibliographical data.
6. Recognizing and rewarding scholarly work.
7. Sharing classroom materials and methodologies.
8. Assisting with publication opportunities.
9. Career counseling and mentoring.
10. Building connections with feminist scholars in Europe, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, and
Latin America.
11. Other appropriate joint intellectual endeavors.
 

Article 3 - MEMBERSHIP AND DUES
Membership
Membership is open to individuals with a professional interest in the coalition's objectives. This
includes employed and unemployed scholars, independent researchers, individuals across all
academic ranks (including graduate students), creative writers, and others engaged in related fields
such as literature, languages, history, and cultures of Spanish, Spanish-American, Luso-Brazilian,
Caribbean, Afro-Latin American, Indigenous studies and languages, and U.S., European and
Global Hispanic Studies.
 

Dues
Annual membership dues are assessed according to rank and cover the calendar year (January 1 –
December 31). Dues fund coalition projects, including the publication of the Newsletter, the
journal Ámbitos Feministas, awards, the website and its maintenance, and arrangements for annual
meetings at conferences such as the Modern Language Association (MLA) and the Latin American
Studies Association (LASA), and other important academic events. All members of the executive
committee must pay the annual membership fee for Feministas Unidas, with the exception of the
person who coordinates the website.

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Article 4 - STRUCTURE AND ORGANIZATION
FEMINISTAS UNIDAS Inc. is organized nationally and globally through an Executive
Committee comprising:
1. President
2. Vice-President
3. Treasurer
4. Secretary
5. Four Members-at-Large:
✔Newsletter Editor.
✔Editor-in-Chief, if possible, or another person in this role, of Ámbitos Feministas.
✔LASA Liaison.
✔Digital content manager, in charge of maintaining the Feministas Unidas website
and social media.

 

Responsibilities
The Executive Committee is responsible for initiating actions aligned with the coalition's goals
and implementing decisions made by the national and global membership.
 

Restrictions
Executive Committee members are ineligible for coalition awards during their term. However, the
Secretary and Members-at-Large may participate in award selection committees, but the President,
Vice-President, and Treasurer cannot.
 

Award Committees
The President, in consultation with the Vice-President, will organize award committees composed
of past award winners, field experts, and, where applicable, the Secretary or Members-at-Large.
The President ensures compliance with anonymity standards for submissions.
No member of the Executive Committee may apply for Feministas Unidas awards. Only the
Secretary and the four Members-at-Large may serve on committees tasked with selecting the
winning submissions; the President, Vice-President, and Treasurer are never allowed to participate
in these committees.
The President, in consultation with the Vice-President, will organize the committees—one for each
award—to select the winning submissions. These committees will be composed of individuals who
have previously won these awards, experts in the field, and, whenever possible, the Secretary
and/or some of the Members-at-Large of Feministas Unidas.
 

Filling Vacancies
Executive Committee positions are filled through elections. If a member resigns before their term
ends, either an interim appointment from within the committee is made, or early elections are held.
 

Banking Authorization
Whenever the Executive Committee is renewed, the incoming officers must be authorized to
access the coalition's bank accounts. This process must occur in December.

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Article 5 - ELECTION OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Term and Elections
Executive Committee members (President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary, and the four
Members-at-Large) are elected for two-year terms by the general membership. Ballots are
distributed electronically before April 30 of the year preceding the start of a new term.
If a position becomes vacant, special elections may be held as determined by the Executive
Committee. An individual may hold multiple roles simultaneously, but their voting power is
limited to one vote.
 

Nominations
Nominations must be submitted in writing to the Secretary or electronically before February 28 of

the election year. Nominations may also be made at the Annual Meeting, including self-
nominations. For the positions of president, vice president, secretary, newsletter editor, and liaison

with LASA, it is recommended that only individuals with a PhD be considered, preferably those
affiliated with the university and who are able to write and speak in both English and Spanish.
 

Voting
A simple majority determines the winner. In the event of a tie or lack of a majority, additional
ballots are cast until a winner is determined.
 

Transition
Terms begin January 1 and end December 31. When possible, the Vice-President will assume the
role of President following their term. Secretaries, Treasurers, and Members-at-Large may seek
reelection. When possible, outgoing Presidents may immediately run for another role, excluding
the Presidency, unless there are reasons such as organizational restructuring or similar issues that
require a longer period, but no more than two additional consecutive years.
 

Article 6 - DUTIES OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS
President
● Presides at the Annual Meeting and Executive Committee meetings.
● Appoints ad hoc committees.
● Oversees elections and compliance with by-laws.
● Coordinates awards (calls for submissions, reviews anonymity compliance, forms selection
committees, communicates results).
 

Additionally, the President is responsible for issuing the call for submissions for the annual
Feministas Unidas awards (reviewing the guidelines, submission procedures, etc.),
receiving and reviewing submissions to ensure compliance with anonymity standards,
identifying individuals to serve on the award committees, preparing all necessary
documentation for the awards, and sending it to the Vice-President. The Vice-President
will then manage communication between the award committees and Feministas Unidas.
After the committees have made their decisions, the Vice-President will notify the
President of the titles of the winning works. The President is responsible for contacting
both the award recipients and those who did not receive the recognition. The names of the
award winners will be announced at the annual MLA conference.
 

● Acts as the primary liaison with MLA. The President serves as the liaison with the MLA
and is responsible for initiating the calls for the guaranteed session, the non-guaranteed
session, and seeking potential collaborations for sessions with other organizations that can
be supported. The President also prepares the necessary details for the annual meeting.
The topics for these sessions should be developed by soliciting ideas from the Executive
Committee and the membership, ensuring that the calls reflect the wide variety of interests
within the Feministas Unidas membership. Whenever possible, the President should attend
the MLA annual conference in person if the sessions are held in person or online if the
sessions are virtual.
 

When Feministas Unidas has sufficient funds, the organization will cover the early bird
registration fee for attending the annual conference, but not the annual MLA membership
fee, which remains the individual’s responsibility. Additionally, every seven years, the
acting President must complete the review report required by the MLA.
The President must first pay this fee personally and, once the Feministas Unidas sessions
are confirmed in September, submit the proof of payment to the Treasurer, who will then
reimburse the amount.
 

● Acts as the primary liaison with LASA. The President is responsible for submitting the
final proposal for the guaranteed session that Feministas Unidas has with LASA. Whenever
the President attends this annual conference, whether in person or online, LASA covers the
conference fees and the annual membership fee for this organization.
Together with the LASA liaison, the President is tasked with issuing the call for the
guaranteed session, disseminating information about this session, selecting the proposals
to be included, and managing, assisting, and coordinating the session, whether it is held in
person or online. Whenever possible, a meeting will be convened during the organization
of this conference.
 

It is the responsibility of the President to contact the person in charge of LASA dues to
confirm the exemption from conference fees and annual membership remains in effect. If
at any point LASA discontinues this exemption, Feministas Unidas will cover the
conference fee under the same terms as those stipulated for the LASA liaison. However,
the liaison will no longer be reimbursed for these fees. Only the President will be
reimbursed, limited to the conference fees, while the annual membership fee will remain
the individual’s responsibility.
 

● Opens the call for proposals from the membership for sessions at the Northeast Modern
Language Association (NeMLA) conference or any other conference in which Feministas
Unidas is involved.
 

● Organizes online book presentations, reading clubs, lectures by prominent individuals, etc.
Each session must be recorded and later added to the Feministas Unidas YouTube channel.
As many sessions as the membership desires can be facilitated, with a minimum of two per
year.
 

● Sends monthly communications to the membership alongside the Secretary.
● Ensures a smooth transition between Executive Committees by providing essential
documents, by-laws, and account access.
● The President and Treasurer must use the generic email accounts created to ensure that all
communications from Feministas Unidas are properly recorded. Additionally, they are
responsible for maintaining their respective Google Drives with the materials generated
during their term. They are required to keep a personal copy of all materials produced
during their tenure with Feministas Unidas on their personal computers, in addition to
storing them in the association's Google Drive, managed through the President's account.
● Feministas Unidas Website: Together with the secretary and the person in charge of
maintaining the website and social media, they are responsible for updating the Feministas
Unidas website.
 

Vice-President
● Assumes the President's duties in their absence.
● Manages communications with award committees, ensuring documentation (rubrics,
scores, and winners) is accurate and complete before results are announced.
This person is in charge of communicating with the people who form the prize committees.
Their responsibility is to share the submitted works, rubrics for the committee members to
use, coordinate how the committees deliberate and meet. This person cannot be part of
these deliberations, and the respective committees inform her of the winning works. Before
communicating these results to the president, it is the vice president’s duty to ensure that
all rubrics with comments on each work are in the digital folder, as well as that the scores
for each work are recorded and the winner is clearly identified, usually managed through
an Excel document. Once this person has checked all of this, the vice president must inform
the president of the slogan of the winning works.
● Acts as secondary liaison with MLA and supports continuity by attending MLA
conferences when possible.
 

Secretary
● Records minutes of Annual and Executive Committee meetings.
● Manages correspondence and arrangements for meetings.
● Sends monthly updates to members.
● Oversees website updates with the President, and the person in charge of the website and
social media.
● Provides voting links to eligible members.
 

Treasurer
● Manages finances, including dues collection, accounts, and membership records.
● Coordinates banking transitions between Executive Committees.
● Approves expenses with input from other Executive Committee members.
● Submits in timely manner the annual taxes, including Form 990-N, which provides the IRS
with important financial information about the organization
● Is responsible for submitting a bi-annual financial report to the board, which is then
included in the newsletter for the members.
 

Members-at-Large
● Newsletter Editor. Assists in coalition activities, including the publication twice a year of
the Newsletter and maintains sections of the coalition's website.
● Editor-in-Chief of Ámbitos Feministas. Assists in coalition activities, including the
publication once a year of Ámbitos Feministas and maintains sections of the coalition's
website. Whenever possible, the Editor-in-Chief will be in charge; however, when this is
not possible, another member of the editorial team will take on the role.
● LASA Liaison: As long as the individual attends the LASA conference, either in person or
online, Feministas Unidas will cover part of the conference registration cost, always in
relation to early bird registration. If the cost is equal to or less than the MLA annual
conference fee, the full amount will be covered. If the cost exceeds the MLA annual
conference fee, only the amount equivalent to the MLA fee will be reimbursed, excluding
the annual membership fee. The individual must first pay the registration fee, and once the
Feministas Unidas session is officially confirmed by LASA—initially with a confirmation
in November and a final one in March—they must send the treasurer proof of payment for
the conference, which will then be reimbursed.
● Digital content manager: this person is in charge of maintaining the Feministas Unidas
website and social media. This individual must keep the Feministas Unidas website
updated according to the instructions of the President, Secretary, and the person from the
Ámbitos Feministas editorial team. Additionally, this person is responsible for posting
content on Feministas Unidas' social media, such as Facebook, Instagram, or others. This
person is exempt from paying the annual membership fee of Feministas Unidas. Like the
rest of the executive team, they cannot run for awards but can participate in committees to
select the winning works.
 

Article 7 - MEETINGS
Annual Meeting
The coalition meets annually during the MLA conference. Additional Executive Committee
meetings may be called as needed. The coalition may also organize separate conferences without
replacing the Annual Meeting.
 

Article 8 - VOTING PROCEDURES
Membership Voting
Voting at the Annual Meeting is conducted by voice, show of hands, or online format. A simple
majority carries the vote.
Executive Committee Voting
Voting among Executive Committee members follows the same procedures and may also be
conducted online.
 

Article 9 - AMENDING THE BY-LAWS
Proposals to amend the by-laws must be submitted to the Executive Committee at least two months
before the Annual Meeting. Members will receive proposed changes one month prior to the
meeting. Amendments take effect immediately upon majority approval.
 

Article 10 - PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY
When necessary, the President may invoke Robert's Rules of Order to facilitate meetings and
decision-making processes.

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FEMINISTAS UNIDAS Inc.
Adopted April 4, 2018
Modified and Approved February 13, 2025