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NHA Positions for Growth
By Karen Hall, National Hydrogen Association
The National Hydrogen Association (NHA) is responding to the evolving needs of the hydrogen industry. New efforts are underway to energize and improve the effectiveness of the existing member committees of the NHA, including:
• Annual Conference Steering Committee
• Codes & Standards
• Education & Outreach
• Membership
• Policy
The structure of the member committees will be modeled after the Codes and Standards committee as the Board of Directors felt that this was an example of a thriving member led committee. No new committees are being added at this time, but rather subcommittees to address specific tasks or questions. The goal is to energize the current committees by providing a framework that encourages participation through member and staff led initiatives.
In order to facilitate increased committee activities as discussed in the July 2003 PATH newsletter, the NHA is welcoming back Debbi Smith, who was a key NHA staff resource from 1990 to 1994. After that, Debbi moved to Texas but continued to provide top-notch expertise to the NHA’s Annual Conference and Legislative activities on a part-time basis. Debbi will be rejoining staff full-time later in October. She will assume a leading staff role in Policy and Education & Outreach. In addition, the NHA welcomes Zach Lyman, who will be primarily responsible for providing staff assistance in membership growth initiatives. Lara Neer is focusing on the NHA’s meetings, including the ever growing Annual Conference and Exhibition, as well as committee meetings and workshops. Karen Hall continues to lead the technical areas, including safety codes and standards, with support from Patrick Serfass. Steve Hester, a professional engineer with experience in developing interconnection standards, supplements the technical team. This rich technical team ensures that each working group of the Codes and Standards Committee has a responsible staff liaison for scheduling conference calls and meetings, coordinating with the standards development organizations, and keeping the working groups on schedule.
The committees and subcommittees will meet regularly, develop work plans, elect chairpersons and produce and report results of value to the entire membership and that serve the mission and the priorities of the Association. Staff will ensure that an accurate list of committee members, with contact information, is maintained, posted on the members-only “Members Only” website and published in the annual membership directory.
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