PRESENT: Jenni Tilton-Flood, Celeste Branham, Luke Shorty, Pam Proulx-Curry, Zakk Maher, Ed Barrett, Stacie Haines, Maryalice Crofton
The members convened at 3pm using the virtual meeting technology.
Discussion items:
Reorganization of leadership assignments. Jenni announced changes that result from Commissioner requests and interests. Stacie Haines will take over as chair of Research and Evaluation Task Force which is going to oversee implementation of the Climate Corps. Luke Shorty will become the Commission liaison to States for Service. Zakk will concentrate on his position as chair of the Communications Task Force.
Short update re: staff schedules. Maryalice shared that Michael Ashmore will be out of the country for the month of March. He is travelling to Nepal and is expected back in the office on April 5.
March board meeting. Maryalice pointed out that the published schedule of board meetings indicates “February OR March” which would mean there is not a March meeting. All agreed the known business items can wait for April 15. Jenni noted she has a conflict and will not be able to attend so Luke will have to preside.
Scope of work proposed by Thenera Bailey. Celeste noted that she had sent Bailey some clarifying questions. She asked committee members for additional thoughts and noted the schedule laid out is pretty intense. Feedback noted there were items implied that would be better made explicit: 1. An evaluation of our policies and procedures to ensure DEI compatibility; 2. Strategies to secure greater diversity on the Commission and more direct application of DEI in the grants process; 3. Review of our intermediate and longer-term DEI plans to ensure coherence and reasonable aspirations. Celeste will communicate those to Bailey and complete the contract negotiation.
Identity statement final revision edits. Celeste reported that Thenera Bailey had reviewed the proposed revisions to the identity statement and generally found it to be strong. She suggested changing a couple of phrases. Celeste will make those edits and email the draft to Exec members for comment. After incorporating Exec feedback, she will provide it to the full Commission membership in advance of the next board meeting.
Status of recommended nominees and how to re-engage or keep them interested. There was a lively and intense discussion of how the Office of Boards and Commissions is treating personal appointments. This board is one step away from not being legal. The recommendations for appointments were first sent to that office in August 2021. The most recent message from there stated they would not deal with appointments until the future. Exec Committee developed some actions to move the process. In addition, because some people may have given up, Jenni will reach out to new candidates and ask them to serve as members of the public on task forces. We can at least get their assistance and input there.
Challenge to the board re: States for Service. Luke discussed his idea for challenging the board to contribute towards the dues for States for Service. Because of the organization’s nature, public funds cannot be sued for these dues. He calculates that if 10 of our current 15 members contribute $50 each, that will cover the year. In addition, he can add a request to support the foundation. The group supported this.
LD 1974- Climate Corps. The hearing for the bill was Monday, 2/28. Among the speakers were Rep. Rielly, Jenni for the Commission, Stacie, and Orion Breen from the foundation. Other speakers included conservation organizations, teens, and consultants. The work session was 48 hours later on March 2. The bill was reported out unanimous ought to pass. That means it will go through the chambers “under the gavel” and next focus is Appropriations.
The Climate Corps Coordinator position is open for applications and closes on March 18. Maryalice asked if anyone could help with interviews. Pam offered to help with the initial round and Stacie will join for second interviews.
There were no other discussion items so the group dispersed at 4:04 pm.