Note: Dan has withdrawn from the race, but he completed his answers before withdrawing, so they will be posted to the site.
A number of candidates cited the issue of Board transparency in their manifestos. What does a transparent Board look like to you, and what specific steps would you take to ensure the Board you serve on is a transparent Board? / Many candidates talked about the need for transparency for the board to volunteers/members. What does your vision for transparency entail?
I think sometimes, board seems secretive. They do have issues of confidentiality sometimes which makes things difficult to talk about. One thing I would do would be sure that it was known that my inbox was always open, both my personal as well as my board account. I’d always be happy to chat with anyone too, and answer questions. I believe in clear lines of communication between board and everyone else. I won’t hide anything other than what is confidential for legal or policy reasons.
Due to legal reasons, internal transcripts of meetings are purged every year. However with a lack of consistent and comprehensive information posted to internal and external locations, details of Org interactions can be lost to the abyss. This leaves voters with a dearth of details when attempting to learn about the Org, and in this situation, candidates. What internal remedies would you suggest? And what would you suggest voters do in the mean time in lieu of relying on the rumor mill (FFA & emails) and digging through various social media sites?
Well, this year we’re in the good position of having our candidates answer sixty questions on many topics. That will help fill in the blanks on some of us, I hope. We will also be having some live chats with different candidates, which will allow us to speak to you one on one. For myself, if you have any questions you wish to ask privately, you are welcome to contact me and I would be more than happy to talk to you.
I do hope the chats show people more about the candidates and how they react in real situations, as opposed to answering these questions or manifestos in private and their own time.
The current Board has had frequent issues keeping an available agenda for their weekly meetings, which were often cancelled or cut short due to lack of quorum or matters to discuss. What do you think the purpose of open Board meetings is, and what would you change about the current setup?
I think open board is there so people have a chance to speak with the board in a public setting. Some of what board has to do can’t be done or discussed in a public setting, so they need to do it elsewhere. Further, one of the things I love about the OTW is how international we are. I believe our current board members live in 4 or 5 times zones, spread out over vast distances. It’s hard to schedule meetings with that setup, but there is always room for improvement.
I do like how board meeting times fluctuate a bit so people in various time zones can have access to it. Consistency is good but I would rather be accessible for others.