Call to Order: Deb Cook Lewis, President
The August 20, 2024, virtual meeting of the Board of Directors of the American Council of the Blind was called to order at 7:00PM Eastern by President Deb Cook Lewis.
Roll Call: Denise Colley, Secretary
Board members present at the call of the roll: Deb Cook Lewis, David Trott, Ray Campbell, Denise Colley, Michael Garrett, Kim Charlson, Chris Bell, Donna Brown, Peter Heide, Gabriel Lopez Kafati, Cecily Laney Nipper, Terry Pacheco, Rachel Schroeder, Kenneth Semien, Koni Sims, and Jeff Thom. Board of Publications Member Katie Frederick was present representing that body.
Staff present: Scott Thornhill, ACB Executive Director; Claire Stanley, Director of Advocacy and Governmental Affairs; Swatha Nandhakumar, Advocacy and Outreach Specialist; Dan Spoone, Manager of Special Projects; Nancy Marks-Becker, Chief Financial Officer; and Cindy Hollis, Manager of Membership Engagement.
Guests: Amanda Selm, Zelda Gebhart, Julie Palm, ACB Parliamentarian.
Review and Approval of Agenda: Deb Cook Lewis, ACB President
Deb reviewed the agenda shifting several items to earlier on the agenda. Trott requested time on the agenda during the acb.org Drupal 10 upgrade budget request to discuss another website issue.
It was moved and seconded to approve the agenda as revised. The motion carried.
Review and Approval of the July 5, 2024 Pre-Convention Meeting Minutes: Denise Colley
Denise reported one correction to the draft minutes that were sent out. In the discussion about the International Building Code meeting travel request, it should state that Sims recused herself from the vote for reimbursement for attending the IBC in October in Long Beach, CA. It was moved by Trott and seconded by Schroeder that the minutes be approved with the aforementioned correction. The motion carried.
Review and Approval of the 2024 Resolution Priorities and Assignments: Deb Cook Lewis, Gabe Griffith, Jeff Thom, Claire Stanley and Swatha Nandhakumar
In the document received by the board all resolutions were titled, briefly summarized, assigned a timeline, when status or completion update are expected and the staff person and member/members assigned to each resolution.
Resolution 2024-01 has an immediate ranking with a completion deadline of the 2025 Annual Conference and Convention. There was some discussion around adding someone with low vision to the group working on this resolution. While it was made clear that this resolution specifically focused on tactile labeling, and if it moves into discussions with people about things other than the inclusion of braille, then other aspects of ACB need to be included.
Resolutions 2024-02 and 2024-10 both have immediate rankings with completion dates at the 2025 Annual Conference and Convention.
Resolution 2024-06 has an immediate ranking with the completion date of January 1, 2025.
Resolution 2024-15 has a long-term ranking with an initial progress update for January 2025.
Resolutions 2024-09, 2024-12 and 2024-13 have long term rankings with progress update for the 2025 Leadership Conference.
Resolution 2024-14 has a long-term ranking with an initial progress update for the 2025 Conference and Convention.
Resolution 2024-11 has both an immediate and long-term ranking with no specific progress update or completion date.
Deb has asked the Advocacy team to keep last year’s resolutions in the rear-view mirror so that as things happen with any of them, they will be noted, and as we move into next year’s resolution season, we will be able to give the Committee an idea of the workload that currently exists.
It was moved by Thom and seconded by Sims to accept the Resolutions Ranking document. The motion carried.
ACB.org Drupal 10 upgrade budget request: Dan Spoone, Special Project Director
Dan reviewed ACBs communications IT roadmap and how the Drupal 10 upgrade plays into that. We have been running multiple projects this year in our IT infrastructure.
ACB needed to update several of the websites because acb.org operates in Drupal 7, acbminimall.org in Drupal 8, and the adp.acb.org website is still using an HTML format.
ACB started to move key websites to a Pantheon hosted platform because it provides security, backups, server architecture support and a true development environment. In November, acb.org, acbminimall.org and acbmedia.org were moved to the Pantheon environment. The transition worked seamlessly and has stabilized all those environments.
With the help from the Gibney Foundation grant in 2022, ACB is upgrading adp.acb.org to Drupal 10. With the help of a Drupal expert, we are also upgrading our mini mall and acb.org sites to Drupal 10 and getting them into compliance.
ACB has $20,000 invested in this project, which is within our IT budget for the year. About two weeks prior to this Board meeting, Louisville Web Group made a request for an additional 160 hours of time to get these projects completed. There was a $13,600 discount in the original contract, but with additional support it is being requested from the Board for approval to increase the Drupal 10 contract by this amount, which would provide enough hours to get the ADP website upgrade live and the Drupal 10 upgrade for both acb.org and acbminimall.org completed in the fourth quarter as well.
It was moved by Trott and seconded by Charlson to approve the $13,600 that is required to complete the project. The motion carried.
Community Policy Revision: Cindy Hollis, Manager of Membership Engagement
The proposed changes to the Expectations for Holding a Community Event Policy were outlined in the document provided to the board. When ACB Community began, there was one dedicated ACB zoom account and as the program grew, individuals helped carry some of the load by volunteering their personal zoom accounts. ACB Community now has six dedicated accounts.
It was extremely helpful to have volunteers use their personal Zoom accounts, it posed administrative challenges also. If a host is a no-show on an ACB account, a room opener can get a backup host on the fly, but if it is on an outside account, they may not even learn of this until after the fact or not at all.
This request is that all events held in Community originate on an ACB Zoom account.
It was moved by Campbell and seconded by Brown that the proposed revisions to the ACB Community Guidelines Policy be approved. It was suggested that we might want to consider moving the implementation date for this change from 9/1/24 to 9/15/24 to give affiliates and facilitators adequate time to inform their event participants about the changes, based on whichever direction they decide to go. Event planners would be notified right away and encouraged to make the transition earlier if they wish to do so. Incorporating this suggestion, the motion carried.
DKM Policy Revisions: Kenneth Semien, Zelda Gebhard and Amanda Selm
Deb started this presentation by announcing a couple of changes to the DKM Committee. At ACB we have not really had a national membership chair in some time, as required by our Bylaws. While we have a Membership Committee, we don’t have someone who provided an overarching view of the entire Membership Steering Committee and focusing on all membership issues. Kenneth Semien Sr. has been appointed as our new National Membership Chair. Zelda Gebhard will be stepping in as the new chair of the DKM Committee and a new co-chair will need to be selected.
Updates are being proposed to the Guidelines and Expectations Policies for both the DKM First Timers and JPMorgan Chase Leadership Fellows programs. The primary change is the addition of having been a member of a state or special interest affiliate for a specified number of consecutive years. This expectation would help ensure that those who are applying come into it with an understanding of ACB and how the organization works. The proposal is at least two consecutive years for First Timers applicants and at least three consecutive years for Leadership Fellows applicants.
Having had participation in a state or special interest affiliate would allow the applicant to have a better understanding of the organization before participating in this program, but what they would learn as a First Timer or Leadership Fellow would give them a foundation to build on. It also gives the affiliate president the opportunity to build a relationship with that person and know their leadership potential. Requiring a level of membership participation in a state or special interest affiliate would provide a more well-rounded experience and help ACB identify the leaders who are ready to take that next step in their leadership journey.
It was moved by Nipper and seconded by Thom to approve the proposed changes to the DKM First Timers and JPMorgan Chase Leadership Fellows Policies.
In discussion, concerns were expressed about how these expectations criteria eliminate members-at-large from being eligible, as well as around the ability to travel independently. The Committee indicated that they were bringing this document forward for approval of the requirements for involvement in a state or special interest affiliate only, at this time, and were still working on revising the language around traveling independently.
Because of the importance of this program, and the number of concerns and questions of the Board regarding eligibility expectations, it was moved by Charlson and seconded by Brown that approval of this document and changes to it be postponed until the November Board meeting at which time the document will be brought back to the Board in its completed form. The motion carried.
President’s Report: Deb Cook Lewis
- Fall Board meeting dates: Fall Board training and Board meeting dates are November 1st and 2nd from 9AM to 5PM Central time in Dallas, TX. We are tentatively planning to have parliamentary training as a part of that. Board members need to let Deb know if they are attending virtually so they can plan the training and the format accordingly.
- Parliamentarian budget request: Deb reported that she would like to have the parliamentarian as a permanent asset for our Board meetings outside of convention. This could be helpful and advisable to us as we are conducting Board business. Deb said she will have an actual budget proposal for the new year, but she doesn’t have a precise amount for what will be needed for the end of this year. The convention cost with travel was less than $3,500. The only Board meetings coming up between now and the end of the year will be this one and the Fall Board meeting in November. The budget meetings wouldn’t require a parliamentarian because they aren’t conducted like regular Board meetings.
It was moved by Nipper and seconded by Sims to approve the retaining of a parliamentarian to be available at Board meetings to assist with appropriate protocol when needed. After some discussion about the ways in which this addition could benefit the Board and our Board meetings, the motion carried. - Committee Restructure and Roadmap: The work that has begun around restructure and format for the organization is in response to comments that President Lewis made at opening session of convention. ACB needs to move forward and create a more accountable organization, and more consistency in our environment. Deb shared about some of the top level objectives that the organization is working toward. There is a document that she has been working on about all of this and is almost complete and ready to be sent to the Board for review and input.
Every committee needs to be part of a Steering Committee. This will provide better linkages which will result in increased communication, more accountability, reduction of overlap of tasks among committees, mentoring and support opportunities, and collaborative problem solving. Some committees won’t be assigned or reassigned right away because there is a realignment process going on right now.
We need to develop committee work plans with realistic objectives and measures by quarter and for the year. This will allow the organization to end up with a workflow and timetables so we can see and track progress and resource needs, and an evaluation process for determining how well we are doing as committees and as an organization.
Steering Committees will need to take the plans of the committees under them and incorporate them into their work plan being presented to the Board. It will feed into the organizational strategic plan, and be an opportunity to identify any challenges and allocation of resources.
We need membership long-range plan in our committee structure, which includes identifying any unique work skills that are essential to the work of a particular committee.
Every committee needs to have a webpage with their mission and goals, key elements of their workplan, and updated information. They are just not being used or kept current, leading to a real concern about the public view.
We will be looking at reorganizing our podcasting system so that committee podcasts will no longer fall within the Community podcast system, but will, instead, fall within steering group areas.
All committees will be moved over to ACB zoom accounts which will provide a more consistent environment. We need to work towards doing what is necessary to help professionalize the work that the organization is doing.
It was moved by Bell and seconded by Schroeder to accept the president’s report. The motion carried.
BPI Letter Requesting a Meeting: Deb Cook Lewis
The minutes will reflect that, at this point, Lopez-Kafati did recuse himself from both this conversation and the Board vote because he is both signed on to the letter for BPI and is also an ACB Board member.
The letter was read in its entirety, President Lewis shared comments about continuing to support what she has said in various contexts about wanting the entire organization to heal and to move forward, and it was shared that some key training and support is being planned for leaders of the organization on how to deal in difficult spaces.
Much discussion then ensued about if or how the Board wanted to respond to the BPI letter. One item on the staff’s strategic workplan is the Affiliate and National Expectations document which explains how affiliates will work with each other and with ACB. We are obligated by the document to periodically update it. While the Board had initially decided to begin addressing updates by the end of the year, President Lewis made the recommendation that the Board might want to consider moving that process up sooner so that we could establish a working group that would include a variety of affiliates and affiliate types, Board members and other representatives to begin looking at what needs to change or be revised to serve our affiliates and the national organization better, and be able to present that by the 2025 Leadership Conference. If there is any orientation or training that is needed, this would also be provided as a part of that whole process.
Her second recommendation was that, if the Board did determine that a meeting with BPI was appropriate, this would be held as a professionally facilitated meeting that is private between the Board of ACB and that of BPI and that we have a third-party independent facilitator.
It was moved by Bell and seconded by Sims that the Board defer a meeting with BPI, and that the president appoint a working group to recommend a process for updating the policy on national and affiliate relationships that has the appropriate stakeholder involvement in doing the work. A motion was made by Charlson and seconded by Thom to amend the motion to strike the clause about deferring the conversation with BPI from the motion. The amendment to the motion carried.
The main motion would now read Bell moved and Sims seconded a motion that the president appoint a working group that would involve a representative group of state and special interest affiliates and other stakeholders to design a process for updating the policy on National and Affiliate Expectations, and that the group would report its process recommendations to the Board, and if approved, the process would be used to update the policy. With the consent of the maker of the motion, it was moved and seconded to withdraw the motion on the table. The motion carried.
It was moved by Campbell and seconded by Pacheco that the ACB Board instruct the ACB president to appoint a working group consisting of Board members and representatives of a variety of state and special interest affiliates to update the National Affiliate and Relations and Expectations document with the objective that a draft would be available for Board review by the DC Leadership meeting. The motion carried.
It was moved by Trott and seconded by Sims that the ACB Board not have the requested meeting with BPI. A roll call vote was then taken. The motion to not hold a meeting passed with ten yes votes and four no votes cast by Heide, Pacheco, Semien, and Thom.
It was recommended by Heide that a response letter be sent to the BPI Board informing them of the decision that was made along with the roll call vote count.
Executive Director’s Report: Scott Thornhill
Accessibility and Training Services:
Scott reviewed the Accessibility and Training Services proposal document and the history behind its feasibility for new revenue sources for ACB. The proposal would require some staff realignment but would not create any issue with the budget for this current year. There would be some budget needs for next year but those would be offset. We would be leveraging a third-party subcontractor to begin with to do work because we don’t really have the people in house right now to do it. A second win is that as our members get trained in digital accessibility and other areas through trainings offered by BITS, we could eventually start to offer job opportunities to more of our ACB members.
Since there is not currently any monetary request, the Board unanimously agreed to give Scott the green light to move forward and start to put the pieces of the proposal into place. At such time as financial assistance is being requested, we can address those issues and make those determinations then.
It was moved by Trott and seconded by Semien to approve the Executive Director’s report. The motion carried.
Election of the Budget Committee
The Budget Committee consists of three members from the Board along with the President and Treasurer. Kenneth Semien, Terry Pacheco and David Trott were nominated.
It was moved and seconded to elect these three individuals by acclamation. The motion carried.
Election of the Executive Committee
Due to the lateness of the hour and the fact that we would have to go into breakout rooms to identify the members, it was recommended and unanimously agreed to that we postpone this election until our November Board meeting.
Executive Session
It was moved by Sims and seconded by Semien that the Board move into Executive Session for purposes of discussion of the items as outlined by the president. The motion carried, and the board moved into Executive Session at 12:15AM Eastern time.
The Board received updates about a sensitive convention issue, but there were no motions made or actions taken.
It was moved by Campbell and seconded by Sims to move out of Executive Session and adjourn the meeting.
The meeting was adjourned at 12:56AM Eastern time.
Denise Colley
Secretary
Date submitted: October 12, 2024
Approved: November 2, 2024