Spring 2026 Section Health Working Group Update

This is a spring 2026 update from the SAA Section Health Working Group.

As you may recall, our group is charged with envisioning a new model for Sections. We are charged through fall 2026 and are preparing now to deliver our final report and recommendations to the SAA Council.

As part of our envisionment work, we reviewed the full spring 2023 section health survey responses, and conducted focus groups this past spring. These focus groups -- of which there were four -- included 28 member and non-member participants, alongside conversations with SAA staff. During the focus groups, we asked participants to reflect on the role of Sections; pain points for leading and sustaining Sections; the relationships between SAA Council liaisons and sections; Section communication needs and opportunities; and how we might imagine group configurations and supports into the future. Thank you so much to our focus group participants! We’re grateful for their generosity, honesty, and willingness to think creatively about how our groups can best serve SAA’s members and the organization’s needs.

The report that we’re preparing now will include what we learned from these focus groups and from the 2023 survey, but it will also include the working group member’s own thoughts and opinions about what SAA should do to move forward in this area.

We look forward to sharing our report and recommendations this fall. As ever, if you have questions about the group’s work, please contact any of our members.

Best wishes,

Section Health Working Group Members

Stefanie Caloia
Alison Clemens
Joyce Gabiola
Susan McElrath
Matthew Peek
Lydia Tang
Julie Yamashita