The U.S. Department of Agriculture is seeking nominations for individuals to serve on the National Sheep Industry Improvement Center (NSIIC) board of directors. Nominations are due to the American Sheep Industry Association (ASI) by Friday, June 7. The board will have two vacancies. Members whose appointments will expire are Clark Willis (Utah), representing producers, and Joan Snyder (N.Y.), representing expertise in finance and management. Both members are eligible to be re-nominated to their current position. ASI is certified to nominate members to the NSIIC board. The ASI executive board will meet via a conference call in June to make nominations; therefore, anyone interested in having their name put forward as a NSIIC board member should contact ASI before Friday, June 7. The board is appointed by the secretary of agriculture and is composed of seven voting members, of whom four are active producers of sheep or goats in the United States, two have expertise in finance and management and one has expertise in lamb, wool, goat or goat-product marketing. The board also is composed of two non-voting members -- the undersecretary of agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs and the undersecretary of agriculture for Research, Education and Economics. The diversity of nominees is, and will continue to be, a very important consideration in board appointments.