Candidate for Parliamentarian

Member since since 2024

Why are you running for this position? 

Hi! My name is Uhunoma (pronounced “Uno-MA”) Edamwen (“Eh-dah-when”) and I am running for Parliamentarian to support the incredible work of the Thursday Network. My goal is to ensure effective governance for the Executive Leadership Council for the 2025 - 2026 and continued progress to review and refine the Thursday Network’s By-Laws. I have a strong sense of public service. I believe in serving the community and helping out wherever I can. In addition, I highly value institutional memory and continuing to build from our past. I would like to serve our community as Parliamentarian out of my sense of duty, and especially to continue the progress made under the 2024 - 2025 term. Moreover, I would like to serve as a resource to our general body to help inform everyone of our policies and procedures, make our governance structure more accessible to our membership, and assist the next President in maintaining order and time schedules during meetings.

In sum, I am running to serve as your next Parliamentarian to support our next Executive Leadership Council and maximize opportunity for our members to know how to shape the Thursday Network’s structure (or solve any gaps that exist within the 10 Articles of our By-Laws).

What qualifications do you possess that make you uniquely qualified for this position?

My experiences professionally, academically, and personally uniquely qualify me to serve as Parliamentarian. I have been a member of TN for 1.5+ years, and currently serve as Deputy Civic Chair. I have been privileged to serve the public in the federal and state government, where I managed and oversaw grants. These roles required great attention to detail, comprehension of statutory requirements, knowledge of governmental administrative procedures, communication with a variety of stakeholders, and other skills that lend themself to this position.

As Parliamentarian, I will answer questions about Thursday Network’s Policies & Procedures during business hours and post-GBM, ensure our governance falls in line with the Greater Washington Urban League, enforce Roberts Rules of Order in meetings as needed to maintain order and ensure we adhere to time schedules, and generally support the President & ELC. While different on its face, in essence these are similar in nature to the work I have done in government when answering questions to businesses, non-profits, and other constituents, enforcing statutory policies and requirements to grantees, etc. Similarly, my current role as a Communications Manager in County government requires my understanding of County policies and procedures with contracts to communicate to the public, connect businesses and stakeholders to the source of information they seek, and keep internal colleagues on a strict timeline to ensure key deadlines are met. I am confident this experience prepares me to step into the Parliamentary role.

My prior experience in student government qualifies me for the role due to having used Roberts Rules of Order while serving on the UVA Student Council.

In terms of academic qualifications, I attended the University of Virginia where I earned my Bachelor of Arts. I also hold a Masters of Public Administration from George Mason University, with a concentration in Policy Studies.

What initiatives would you implement if selected for this position?

If elected, my priorities include reviewing all of the by-laws myself and in collaboration with the Policies and Procedures Committee, identifying and proposing amendments to enhance our governance, establishing more educational resources, and working closely with the President, members of the ELC, and the next elections committee. 

I would like to see continued review of Thursday Network’s by-laws, policies, and procedures. I would like to support membership proposing amendments when needed to continue to refine Thursday Network’s governance structure and provide remedies for any areas of the By-Laws that cause confusion, discrepancies, or show need for improvement. I am aware there has been consideration of a revision to membership categories. I plan to continue to look at this and propose an amendment if there is interest given Policy and Procedure committee feedback.

To elaborate on my initiatives I would like to see, one of my key areas of interest is solving gaps between how our governance is practiced and how it is written, areas where the by-laws cause confusion or do not adequately serve our collective goals and purpose as a body, and increasing the general membership’s knowledge & access to our governance. Finally, I will ensure the Committee Chairpersons of our 9 standing committees, and the President are consistently supported to carry out their business throughout the term. I want to see all of our ELC do well, and by extension ensure we all enable our members to consistently, actively serve our community to continue the work of our movement.

If selected for this position, describe how you would use your role to impact on the Thursday Network, the Greater Washington Urban League, and the National Urban League Young Professionals?

I would use my role as Parliamentarian to support our civic engagement, community service, and professional development activities as the Thursday Network wherever possible. While the role upholds our governance structure and leads oversight, information sharing, and review of policies & procedures, serving as part of the Board provides me the opportunity to support the President and our Chairpersons’ programs and initiatives. I originally joined TN to get more involved in civic engagement and community service, and intend to continue to do that while serving as Parliamentarian. As I’ve said before, I believe in public service - in helping out wherever I can, when someone needs a hand. I would use my role to also support the Greater Washington Urban League’s efforts, and keep our young professionals informed of, engaged with, and contributors to the GWUL and National Urban League’s empowerment agenda. 

Chiefly, my role allows me to focus on keeping our organization on track each week, each month by ensuring we abide by our by-laws, enforce our policies and procedures accordingly, operate under the GWUL’s directive, and foster organizational collaboration within the ELC and GBM to continue effective governance of the Thursday Network. I mainly aim to be a support to our ELC and membership, which in turn furthers the core values of our Network, the GWUL, and the NULYP as a solid pillar of support enables our members, chairs, and officers to fulfill the work of the movement throughout the year.

How much time can you commit to this position per month? 

20+ hours