Following the remarkable growth in membership of the Association which now includes more than 2,000 members, ACAP recently adopted the new Bylaws which expand its Board of Directors from four to nineteen board members.
Since its inception in 2014, ACAP has not only promoted knowledge exchange and networking among its members, but also established fifteen chapters in U.S. metropolitan areas as well as in Zagreb, created the first birthright program for Croats born outside of Croatia, provided scholarship support for internships of young medical doctors from Croatia at the Cleveland Clinic, partnered with the Croatian Science Foundation on grant reviews, and laid the groundwork through partnership with Dartmouth University to jumpstart medical tourism in Croatia. Additionally, members of the Association provided much needed relief to earthquake damaged Croatian national neonatal intensive care units (NICU) in Zagreb and they continue to raise funds to provide earthquake damage relief for hospitals and emergency care in the Banovina region. More than $380,000 in charitable contributions has been raised since March last year.
“When we first established ACAP, we couldn’t envision that within such a short time, the Association would become the leading organization of the Croatian-American professional and business communities. The changes to the Bylaws are a result of growth of our Association. Our hope is that, by engaging more talented members of our community in the governance of ACAP, we will be able to take the organization to a new level,” said Marko Zoretic, ACAP President.
Following the Association-wide call for nominations and self-nominations, the Board Nomination Committee, in its final report, noted that “[in] reaching our recommendation, we believe that the [… selected] individuals: a) represent a gender balanced board, b) ensure that larger communities are represented, c) comprise members from different sectors and industries and stages in career attainment (from younger professionals to more seasoned professionals), d) provide for Board continuity while adding new members, as well as e) personify different passions for projects within ACAP.”
We introduce the new members of the Board of Directors:
In addition to serving on the Board of Directors, each director will also serve on at least two other board committees (such as Audit, Membership, Conferences, Chapters, etc.).
“I am excited to join ACAP, a relatively new Croatian-American organization uniquely placed to grow the Croatian-American community in the 21st century. ACAP unites a booming new generation of Croatian-American professionals who stand on the shoulders of their immigrant parents. I look forward to helping ACAP to both address the needs of Croatian-American professionals, and to harness the talents of this new generation for the benefit of the larger Croatian-American community,” said Luka Misetic, a prominent international attorney and a long-time advocate for the advancement of Croatian causes.
We congratulate all new board members.