As designated by the ACTR Rules of Governance (Bylaws), ACTR shall have a Board of Directors, whose powers and responsibilities are to direct the business and affairs of ACTR. The ACTR Board, to consist of a maximum of twenty-five members, must represent the Eastern, the Southern, the Mid-Western, and the Western regions of the United States, as well as pre-college and post-secondary programs. Directors are elected for a term of three years. Beginning with Directors elected in 2024, Directors may serve on the Board of Directors for a maximum of three consecutive terms.

To serve on the ACTR Board of Directors is an honor that comes with responsibilities. Directing the business and affairs of ACTR requires the active participation of Board members to provide leadership among the membership as well as within committees charged with conducting the various activities that ACTR sponsors. Board members are expected to attend (at least) two regular Board meetings meetings each year; under normal circumstances one of these meetings will be held at American Councils headquarters in Washington, D.C., with travel expenses covered by ACTR. In recent years additional meetings have moved online. During their terms, board members are also expected to participate actively in the work of ACTR's various committees.

For the 2025 election, the Nominations Committee especially encourages the nomination of those with interest in learning how to serve in the following areas of current board need: pre-college program outreach and support (National Russian Essay Contest, Olympiada, Russian Language Scholar Laureate Award); Newsletter (outreach and soliciting content, reviewing content, editing, copy editing, formatting and technology skills); publicity, social media, and web services. 

As prescribed by the ACTR Rules of Governance (Bylaws), members of the Board of Directors shall be selected from a candidate list compiled through a two-stream system: 

• Nomination by the Board of Directors through its Nominations Committee

• Open nomination from the general membership, to be submitted to the Secretary of ACTR through the online submissions link