NSS Volunteer Opportunities

The NSS is a volunteer organization. Cavers who give their time and talents to the NSS are what make our Society tick. Some jobs can represent a long term commitment, others may be for a specific event or task that we need special expertise or a willing pair of hands to accomplish.

Is there an NSS program you'd like to become involved with? Not every committee position is listed on this web page! Committees nearly always need help and new blood, and often have projects on a list awaiting a volunteer. Contact an appropriate committee chairman or NSS Officer about taking on a project or joining a committee now. This is often how new NSS projects and programs develop and new committees are formed. It is also a part of how the Society remains a dynamic organization.

Click here for the list of Permanent Committees.
Click here to visit the Executive Search Committee
Click here to visit the Nominating Committee

Listed below are current leadership opportunities that you can apply your time and talents to. Just click the job title for a complete description and contact. Please use the contact information provided in each job description to let us know that you can help!

Electronic Publications Manager

The NSS has a long history of publishing and distributing cave-centric books that are only available in a printed format from our Bookstore or associated vendors. However, the publication industry and reader preferences are increasingly migrating to e-publication formats and we recognize the need to offer our readership access to non-printed content. The E-Publications Manager will work closely with the NSS Executive Vice-President (EVP), Special Publications Committee, Bookstore, and Webmaster to develop electronic content for existing and new book publications and to establish web-based distribution methods. In addition, this individual will oversee improving the availability of searchable content on the internet (eg. by partnering with Google Books and other relevant search engines) to improve accessibility and global awareness of our publications.
This is a new volunteer position within the NSS organization that will report directly to the EVP. If you are interested in helping to expand the availability of cave-related literature to the global market and to shape the future of National Speleological Society publications, please email EVP@caves.org. (10/5/2019)

Social Media Committee Members

The social media committee seeks steady, calm, and thoughtful volunteers to represent the NSS by assisting with creating and posting content across our social networks, and by moderating discussions, comments, and group memberships. We especially need people who are enthusiastic users of Instagram and Twitter. Volunteers with social media and/or graphic design experience are encouraged to join the team! Please contact the Social Media Chair at socialmedia@caves.org for details. (11/12/2019)

Volunteer Value Database Manager

The NSS Conservation Division would like to add a Volunteer Value Database Manager to its team. If you have database skills and are interested in an contributing time and expertise to the NSS, please read on.

Cavers give more time, labor, and expertise, spend more of their own money, and are recognized, particularly by Federal Agencies, for having more project persistence than any other land-using group in America. A name has been coined all this donated effort: Volunteer Value.

Volunteer Value represents huge contributions to caves on private, state, and federal lands. Cavers give significantly to the protection, exploration, scientific investigation, conservation, and preservation of cave and karst resources, and through the Volunteer Value program this important work is quantified, recorded and recognized.

By assigning dollar values to the time and expertise volunteered, we can assess the value of the work cavers provide to public land managers and private landowners. This documentation can be used for grant application processes, cave management proposals, and karst protection efforts.

Three simple forms have been created for recording caver contributions to cave-related projects, and calculating Volunteer Value. Copies of the forms can accessed electronically through the NSS Web site, www.caves.org . Click on Conservation and then on Volunteer Value.

Now we would like to create a national database to handle volunteer information for inclusion in NSS Biennial Reports, funding applications, and cave protection and management efforts.

If you have expertise and interest in database projects, and would like to play a major role in expanding this program, please contact Jim Werker and Val Hildreth-Werker, NSS Conservation Division Co-Chairs, valhildrethwerker@caves.org

Do you want to volunteer for something not listed? Email our Volunteer Coordinator, Chelsea Ballard, at volunteer@caves.org