The board is nominated for three years. The current members were elected in 2014. The Chair is John Barnes (United Kingdom), the Deputy Chairs are Hetty Berens (Netherlands) and Maria de Jesus Monge (Portugal) and the Secretary/Treasurer is Elsa Rodrigues (Portugal). The Councillors are: Ana Cristina Carvalho (Brazil), Carmen Jiménez Sanz (Spain), Ann Scheid (USA) and Luc Vanackere (Belgium).

Responsibilities of the Board

The Chair organises the board, oversees the finances, and liaises with ICOM (attending the ICOM meetings in Paris, liaising with contacts from other committees and writing reports for ICOM).

The Secretary/Treasurer contacts the members (sends out newsletters, calls for paper, conference programs and other information), manages the account and administers DEMHIST. The Councillors undertake special projects and organise conferences.