Council leadership announced! Meet your President, VP & Committee Co-Chairs

The Government Social Media professional association is served by a group of elected volunteer advisors representing six regions across the United States. Election results were recently announced for the Northwest, Midwest and Northeast regions.

The newly elected president & vice president officially took their roles on the Government Social Media professional association Membership Council. Congratulations to Council President Zack Seipert and Council Vice President Kaitlin Keeler!

The Membership Council is a body of elected volunteers who support the strategic direction of the Government Social Media professional association, representing each of the six regions of the United States. Each council member takes on various roles to best support association members like you, including leadership positions of Membership Council President and Vice President.

Zack Seipert, Council President and the Marketing & Communications Specialist for the Central Utah Water Conservancy District, says he looks forward to serving the socialgov community in this leadership role.

“Honestly, I am both humbled and honored to have the opportunity to serve as Council President. It has been such a rewarding experience to serve on various GSM committees, speak at GSMCON, and meet so many of you at various networking events over the past few years,” stated Zack. “I’m inspired by and feel so much gratitude for so many of my peers in this community and sincerely look forward to serving each of you to the best of my ability during my time in this leadership role. Thank you to Team GSM and Council for the support and for putting up with my oftentimes unconventional way of doing things. Your trust and support mean the world to me.”

Kaitlin, newly elected Council Vice President and the Marketing & Communications Officer for Oakland County, Michigan Government, shares Zack's enthusiasm for serving the government social media community. With a strong commitment to supporting her peers, she sees this role as a chance to help elevate the field and create opportunities for collaboration and growth.

“This role allows me to give back to an association that has been instrumental in my professional growth,” Kaitlin says. “It’s an opportunity to lead and support my peers, fostering a community where we can share knowledge, innovate, and advocate for better government communications.”

All of us on Team GSM look forward to working closely with the Membership Council on projects that matter most to socialgovs like you! We’re excited to see what Zack and Kaitlin will accomplish in their leadership roles and want to thank the entirety of the Council for their hard work to help government social media professionals:

• Northwest region: Laurel McJannet
• Midwest region: Angela Ramirez
• Northeast region: Kaitlin Keeler
• Southeast region: Mikayla Moskov
• Southwest region: Frances La Rue
• West region: Zack Seipert

Professional association committees

The GSM professional association Membership Council also supports the community through special committees, including Awards, Membership and Training, and new for 2024, Marketing. Each committee has a direct impact on the government social media community to recognize and celebrate the work of fellow socialgovs while further elevating the profession: 

Awards Committee
Provides direction to maintain and grow an exceptional recognition program that empowers and celebrates work by individuals and agencies to elevate the socialgov profession. The annual Golden Post Awards program honors outstanding use of social media by government agencies in the United States.
Co-Chairs: Frances La Rue & Angela Ramirez

Marketing Committee *New this year!*
Marketing Committee
Plays a vital role in shaping the public image of the association by focusing on content creation, social media marketing materials, and event promotion. This committee is responsible for crafting compelling content that drives awareness and engagement across multiple platforms to help amplify the association’s voice and support the growth of our community.
Co-Chairs: Laurel McJannet & Angela Ramirez

Membership Committee
Supports the professional association membership experience by providing insight to recruit and retain members, identify their needs, help them connect with one another and their regional representatives, while also elevating the profession and member accomplishments.
Co-Chairs: Kaitlin Keeler & Laurel McJannet

Training Committee
As the social media landscape continues to evolve, it is essential that government social media managers evolve with it. The Training Committee identifies best practices and develops tools that ensure members gain the skills to confidently and effectively communicate their organization's messages.
Co-Chairs: Mikayla Moskov & Zack Seipert

Get involved! GSM professional association members can apply to serve on a committee–stay tuned for updates coming soon in the association.

Join the GSM professional association

Get the important support you need as a government social media professional by becoming part of the GSM professional association! Complete the new member application form to start viewing member-only content today. Here’s what Zack says:

“To anyone considering joining the professional association: Join us! You would be hard-pressed to find a more caring, fun, and talented group of government communications and social media professionals. And at only $79/year the GSM professional association is one of the most economical memberships available to this highly niche line of work. Your membership includes member-only training, conference perks, and direct access to fellow members in your region.”

Your membership includes:

Professional Development
We help establish and promote best practice standards for government social media to support professional development in this field. We monitor and communicate issues of relevance to members and assist in facilitating discussion with social networks. We communicate new platform features and products to member agencies. 

Educational Webinars
We organize monthly member-only webinars taught by social media experts and fellow socialgov professionals. Members can also view archived recordings of previous webinars.  

Regional Virtual Meetups
We host quarterly meetups for each region held via Zoom and facilitated by council and Team GSM. The meetups are a great opportunity to collaborate on regional topics and network with nearby public communicators.

Community Network
Members have access to a membership directory to search, message and connect with social media peers in their area. A gated online community allows members to communicate with each other and share challenges and lessons learned with social media professionals dealing with the same issues across the U.S. & Canada.

GSMCON Extras
Members registered for the Government Social Media Conference can participate in our annual membership meeting, get complimentary professional headshots and be identified with a member ribbon. Virtual participants can also join in on the membership meeting.

Government Social Media is the first professional association for public sector social media professionals, and we can’t wait for you to be part of it. Genuinely connect with other socialgovs and join the association today!

Government Social Media empowers government professionals to achieve mastery in social media through conferences, online training, and professional association membership.

Best communicate with the public you serve and get connected with fellow socialgovs by registering for the 2025 Government Social Media Conference happening in the Orlando-area and virtually from wherever you are! Join our free network for bi-weekly Government Social Media Chats or professional association for member-only webinars. Sign up for our newsletter to get the latest updates on training, events and more.