Board Members Present:  Danny Sands, Debra Cobb, Eric Bersh (joined via phone, late), Joe Ternullo, Mary Hennings, Judy Danielson, Burt Rosen, Brian Mack, Lynda Mitchell, John Grohol, Geri Lynn Baumblatt

Full attendance record available here. 

Welcome and Level-setting                           Hennings

Geri will be stepping down from the Board at end of 2020.

Minutes from last board meeting                  Bersh

Will approve at next meeting. Special thanks to Lynda Mitchell for taking meeting notes until Bersh joined call.

Treasurer-Membership Report                       Cobb

$145K in bank. $7,500 invoice for Lisa Thompson pending.

News and Updates                                          Hennings

Mary: adding standing agenda item to Board meetings: workgroup reports.  Re: ED search, committee has been formed. Burt Rosen, chair. High level document lays out process and steps moving forward. Committee will share progress and full board will be involved.  ED search currently in process. Re: Governance: Lisa has drafted her thoughts. Discussion about perceived gaps in governance documents. Mary and Lisa planning to meet with Jan and Lynda to identify any needs to be included in governance documents developed by Lisa.

ED Update                                                         Hennings

What skills are needed?  Mary says we need to go over the skill set in detail.  Brian: at what point is the Board still active until ED takes over?  Mary says we need to adapt to new model.  Danny: Expectations are changing. How do we have those conversations?  Some members may leave. Helene Clayton-Jeter: how do we grandfather in earlier involvement?  Mary: more of what we need to talk through.  More discussion about how people will be used.  Sarah says it’s important to not put up barriers to joining the Board.  Mary agrees. How do we elevate expectations and still be attractive?  Danny thinks the plan is great.  Lynda agrees.  She likes idea of quarterly meetings. Brian reminds Board about Governance committee suggestions.  Joe agrees and comments on recruiting.  Brings up the idea of an SPM “Fellow” as a nice inducement to get people to join Board. Danny discusses everyone on Board being a contributor. Helene talks about the greater commitment by having only 4 meetings/year. Mary: opportunity for all Board members to rise to the occasion. Lynda suggests we come up with rough estimate of how many hours/month a Board member should be expected to contribute. Helene agrees. This is important info for any Board she participates in. Danny says we need to be establishing committees. Helene suggests we seek out people with specific interests.  Next step is to discuss plans with Lisa and governance committee.

Galvanize/Transition Committee Revenue Request   Danielson

Judy explains why committee needs funds. Between $1,200 – $1,800. 1) Design of new Manifesto materials; 2) PR. Danny talks about earlier relationship with a PR firm that did work for us free. We may still be able to work with them (Finn Partners). Call for questions. Danny will reach out to them. Danny makes motion for request.  Seconded.  Accepted.

Board Skills Needed                                          Hennings

Clinical background. Cross disciplinary skills. Joe thinks we should strive toward this. Burt: management; professional caregivers; content generator (writer); an expert on Connect. Danny: choose by skill set or fits in with rest of their life.  Board: both. Geri: grant writing. Helene: project management. Danny: choose after interviewing. Geri: any additional skills on technology side? Mary: academic/scholar/research/well-known in community. Danny: health system reform as a specialty. Joe suggests Jay Spitulnik. Mary: how do they open doors for SPM? Geri: social media; community-building. Helene: grass roots community building. Judy: the voice of underrepresented groups (health equity). Helene: name recognition in a particular realm. Geri: review current members for all these skills. Sarah: people with Board experience, especially if they have chaired a Board. Danny: think about a dinner party of compatible people. Burt: what about no Board experience?

Recognizing Geri-Lynn Baumblatt                   Hennings

Hennings reads Resolution. Unanimously agreed. Geri congratulated on her meet-ups. Danny talks about usefulness of meet-ups to give SPM new ideas. Cf: https://www.runtheworld.today. (how to operate virtual events)

Preview of next Board Meeting                        Hennings

Member at Large update off agenda for many months. Connect is important. We have not discussed. Helene: make Board members responsible for commenting about particular topics on a revolving basis. Mary says Board members should always be on Connect. Sarah: we need a “party host” to intro new members to SPM. Danny: we have reports on who comments on Connect. John: very few members, even on Board, who participate on platform. Sarah: we need a community manager. Burt: the platform isn’t great.  We need to give people a reason to post. Helene volunteers to be the “greeter.”

At next Board meeting in January: what we are aiming to accomplish. Discuss Danny’s new role and what marketing is doing.  ED search. Governance update. Discussion around revenue.

Summary

Everyone very engaged.  Good meeting. M-a-L update restored at next meeting.

Adjourned at  7:30 — Next board meeting: January 21, 2021, 6:00 – 7:30 pm ET

Respectfully submitted,

Eric N Bersh

SPM Board Secretary