The Elections Committee is chaired by the Staff Council Vice President/President-Elect and oversees the annual Staff Council election process. The committee is responsible for recruiting candidates, administering elections, and helping ensure broad representation of staff across the university through fair and transparent election practices.

Meet the Committee Members

Ashley Peters

Ashley Peters, Vice President / President-Elect

Title/Position
Organizational Representative
Office of the Vice President for Medical Affairs (VPMA); Iowa River Landing (IRL); UI Health Care North Liberty Campus; UI Health Care Medical Center Downtown; University Hospitals & Clinics (UI Health Care); Psychiatric Hospital; Centers for Disabilities
Elections Committee Chair
Barrett Neda.jpg

Neda Barrett, Staff Council Past President

Title/Position
Human Resources
Function Representative
Chen, Xirui.jpg

Xirui Chen

Title/Position
Function Representative
Business and Finance
Faust, Kayla.jpg

Kayla Faust

Title/Position
Function Representative
Research; Scientific Services
Holland, Andrew.jpg

Andrew Holland

Title/Position
Function Representative
Information Technology

Elections Committee | 2025–26 Impact

During the 2025–26 council year, the Elections Committee successfully administered the annual Staff Council election process, resulting in 64 nominations, the election of 19 council representatives, and the onboarding of 16 new councilors. Through candidate recruitment, election administration, and onboarding efforts, the committee helped ensure broad staff representation and continued engagement in shared governance across the University of Iowa.

64 NOMINATIONS RECEIVED

Staff members across the university were nominated to serve on Staff Council, demonstrating strong interest in shared governance and staff representation.

19 COUNCIL SEATS FILLED

Function and organizational representative vacancies were successfully filled through the annual election process.

16 NEW COUNCILORS ONBOARDED

Newly elected councilors were welcomed and prepared to begin their Staff Council service through orientation and onboarding efforts.

Contact Information:

For questions, please contact ashley-c-peters@uiowa.edu

Chair:

The Elections Committee is chaired by the Staff Council Vice President/President-Elect, Ashley Peters, and is responsible for overseeing the annual Staff Council election process, recruiting candidates, and ensuring fair and equitable staff representation across the university.

Purpose:

To annually solicit candidates for vacant Staff Council Function and Organizational seats. Staff Council is composed of 60 elected councilors. 
For the Executive Committee, this includes recruiting candidates for the roles of President, Vice President/President-Elect, Secretary, Budget Officer, and 4 at-large Executive Committee members. 

Scope of Concern:

Facilitates the nomination, ballot creation, and voting process for new and returning councilors across all job functions and organizational units.

Refer to Article III, VI, VII, VIII, X, XII, XIV and XV of the Bylaws

In addition to managing annual elections, the committee also supports mid-term replacements as needed. 

Highlights:

21 Council seats were up for election across Function and Organizational categories for the 2025–26 term. 

The committee received an impressive 90+ nominations, reflecting strong engagement and interest from the campus community.

Interested in serving on Staff Council? Elections are held each spring, and all eligible Professional and Scientific (P&S) and Merit staff who are not represented by an exclusive bargaining agent are encouraged to run or nominate a colleague. Serving on Staff Council is a rewarding opportunity to represent your constituents, advocate for staff, collaborate with university leadership, and help shape the employee experience across the University of Iowa.

March 1

Nominations Open

April 1

Voting Begins and closes mid-April

Mid-April

Results Announced