Your Student Leaders in Action: WUSA’s Board Kicks Off Their Year

WUSA’s 2025-26 Board of Directors have wrapped up their first month on Board! Here’s what their first month looked like and what you can expect if you ever get elected to the Board!  

What is the Board of Directors?

The Board of Directors is WUSA’s strategic governing body. They guide the organization’s financial, human resources, legal, and contractual affairs. The Board is comprised of the President, Vice-President, and usually 11 at-large directors.

If you’re interested in learning more about student governance, you can sign up for our Student Leadership E-mail Newsletter here. 

Board Retreat

The Board’s first few days are spent doing professional development activities at the Board Retreat! These few professional development activities ensure the incoming Boad is prepared to be an effective voice for you on campus. Some of the sessions at the retreat focus on the Board’s legal responsibilities under the Ontario Not-for-profit Corporations Act (ONCA), an overview of the student services WUSA offers, and wrapped up with their first official Board meeting!  

Other Onboarding

In the weeks following the Board retreat, the Board received media training which outlines guidelines for interacting with students on social media as a WUSA Board member and tips and tricks for interacting with media! The President and Vice President are the official spokespeople for WUSA, but we ensure all Board members know the right protocol in case they’re contacted. The Board also received training on effective stakeholder engagement, as Board members are your representatives at various university, municipal, provincial, and federal committees and associations!   

External Engagements and Advocacy Planning

Board members have also hit the ground running with advocacy and collaboration beyond campus. VP Remington Zhi attended a Studentcare Fair, where student leaders reviewed the service offerings. They also joined President Damian Mikhail at the kickoff meeting for the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA), where they connected with other student unions across Canada to discuss federal issues — with affordability emerging as a key national concern. 

The President and VP are preparing for several upcoming initiatives, including: 

• A meeting with local politicians to introduce the 2025–26 Board and begin conversations around municipal student priorities. 
• CASA’s Policy & Strategy Conference (PoliStrat) in Calgary this July, where they’ll set federal advocacy goals for the year. 
• A visit to Montreal for Studentcare onboarding and service planning. 
• The OUSA kickoff meeting, where student leaders from across Ontario gather to set provincial advocacy priorities for the year ahead. 

Committee Appointments

In addition to external representation, directors were appointed to a range of internal WUSA committees that support everything from policy and advocacy to finances and elections.