Replies

  • Dorene Mahoney October 10, 2015 at 10:18am

    Administrative Board Meeting Minutes

    Friday, October 9, 2015

                                                                                                                                                                           

     

    Present:        Michael Bogar, Craig Chalquist, Kat Hillier, Jeff Kiehl, Dorene Mahoney, James Newell, Brent Potter, Eva Rider, Mark Sipowicz

    Absent:          Gary Bobroff, Donna May

    Staff:  Bonnie Bright

                                                                                                                                                                           

      

    Meeting called to order at 12:30p PDT.

     

    [Note:  Further action items and commitments highlighted, below, in yellow.]

     

    Opening Ritual (Mark)

     

    Welcome & Announcements (Craig)

    • Update on Jesse’s health situation.
    • Introductions of two new board members: Kaitlyn (Kat) Hillier and Jeffrey (Jeff) Kiehl.
    • New call for volunteers will be posted on the website—please email Dorene information (see questions in meeting handout) by Monday afternoon (COB 10/12) if you have needs on your committee.

     

    Committee Status Reports (Craig)

     

                    Programs & Events (Brent)

    • Next meeting is 10/13 at 1:00p PDT. All comers welcome!

       

           Member Experience (Mark)

    • Deep Meet & Greet on 9/24 had 7-10 participants and was very successful. Would like one or two board members to attend each time. Next one: 11/15—please email Mark or Donna if you want to attend (Bonnie is already attending).

    • Committee is looking at offering embodied gatherings regionally. Also reviewing the new member threshold questions for ideas to seed further discussions. Also: are they the right questions going forward?

    • Looking for help welcoming new members to the site. Email Mark if willing and interested.

       

           Education (James)

    • Will be posting for a volunteer knowledgeable to research around how to offer CEU’s.

    • Want to develop a catalog of educational offers.

    • Call for presenters: (1) Well-known people that we may know personally; (2) Not-well-known people who are good and that we may know personally; and (3) Well-known people that we don’t know personally but want to enlist. If you have someone in mind, email James.

    • Community “embodied” initiatives, like Deep Meet & Greet, that educate. One idea: a Multi-cultural Initiative designed to draw members from other cultures.

    • Next committee meeting: Friday, October 30th. All welcome to attend. Please email agenda items to James.

       

           Outreach (Eva)

    • Talking with potential volunteers to populate this committee—only Eva at this time.

       

            Operations (Craig)

    • Worked through rebranding (i.e., reworking the website) to D – E – E – P acronym and restructure of board committees around the brand.
    • Executive Committee renamed Operations Committee—meets every Wednesday from 2:00-4:00p PDT—all are welcome to attend this working committee; email Craig if and when you are interested in attending.
    • Kat Hillier is overseeing the work of the business plan task force—rough draft is posted in Google Docs. Please follow this link to look at what’s there and post comments and suggestions: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HYgdCAljDw_TmlgcV1bNY6voIcBSDTrs0S41IzGNIbc/edit?usp=sharing

     

    New Website and Brand: Dialogue, Explore, Experience, Pollinate (Bonnie)

    • Trying to move from our old Ning website (the version we’re using is no longer supported by Ning) to a new WordPress site (much easier to navigate, with cleaner drop-down menus). Unfortunately, we must have both sites going forward, because we cannot take the archived stuff to WordPress, and some functionality is only available on Ning (e.g., Forum). Our goal is to ensure that visitors’ interface and movement back and forth between the sites is as seamless and simple as possible.
    • Discussion of the branding document distributed before the meeting: the four claims will show up as major headings on the site: Dialogue = Opportunities to participate in community; Explore = Opportunities to inform and educate oneself; Experience = Opportunities to work with depth methods and have depth experiences; Pollinate = Opportunities to extend the depth orientation out into the world. Comment that from a Jungian standpoint, four is good!
    • All of the offers currently on the Ning site have been loosely bulleted under one of the four claims. Not perfect. May be some overlap (which will require links).
    • Comment that some version of this document should be posted on the site as a way of including members in our vision.
    • New focus on experience—true to our mission, we don’t want to approach DP just from a rational intellectual way, but also from the ensouled standpoint—we want to maintain a sense of soul while we move forward and make progress!
    • If you have clarifying questions about what goes where, or the logic of it, contact Craig.
    • If you have thoughts about what may have been missed or important changes, contact Bonnie ASAP, as she is currently working on the back-end, and changes may have technological implications.

     

    New Committee Configuration Around D-E-E-P Claims (Bonnie)

    • Discussion of committee document distributed before the meeting.
    • Biggest changes are: (1) Education Committee has become about educational events and programs (loosely under the Explore claim), and (2) Program and Events Committee is newly focused on experiential events and programs (under the Experience claim).
    • Please look carefully at the duties under each committee—if you want to switch, now is a good time—let Craig know. However, (1) you can be active on any and all committees that interest you, and (2) we’d like to have at least one board member on each committee—even if a committee is not currently active—to hold the space and intention for the future.
    • One critical objective of the committees is to establish criteria that can be applied easily to any current and future initiatives.
    • Don’t be overwhelmed with all the responsibilities listed for each committee—this document represents a vision of what we want the organization and board to grow into over time. Some of the duties are placeholders for future work.
    • Please look at the different duties under your committees and set priorities—what to do first, then second, etc. At a minimum, all committees are asked to conduct their affairs with three broad actions in mind: Vision – Validate – Vivify: Once you have a vision of what you’d like to do, validate that it makes sense relative to all the other things that need to be taking place and available resources (people to pull it off, time to prepare and make it successful, funding if required, and technology if required). If it still makes sense, then Vivify it (make it happen)!

     

    Closing Ritual (Mark).  For next month’s opening and closing rituals: Gary Bobroff.

     

    Next month’s board meeting:  November 13th from 12:30-2:00p PDT. Follow the Zoom link we are now always using:

    Join from PC, Mac, iOS or Android: https://zoom.us/j/516453618

    Or join by phone:  +1 408 638 0968 (US Toll) or +1 646 558 8656 (US Toll), Meeting ID: 516 453 618 

     

    Meeting adjourned at 2:05p PDT

     

    Minutes submitted by Dorene Mahoney.

    2015-10-09--October AllianceBdMtgMins.doc

    Depth Psychology Alliance - Business Plan
    Business Plan As of September 16, 2015 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY COMPANY ANALYSIS History and evolution of the Alliance: Nature of the organizati…
  • Dorene Mahoney September 18, 2015 at 10:07pm

    Here are the minutes from today's board meeting, followed by the attached Word document:

    Administrative Board Meeting Minutes

    Friday, September 18, 2015

                                                                                                                                                                                   

     

    Present:        Gary Bobroff, Craig Chalquist, Dorene Mahoney, Donna May, James Newell, Brent Potter, Eva  Rider

    Absent:          Michael Bogar, Mark Sipowicz

    Staff:              Bonnie Bright

                                                                                                                                                                                    

     

    Meeting called to order at 12:30p PDT.

     

    Opening Ritual (Eva)

     

    Welcome & Announcements (Bonnie)

    • Jesse’s contributions to the organization, his illness and departure from the board.
    • Craig has stepped up to be the board chair.
    • Jesse was active in welcoming new members and was instrumental in the decision to continue with the eZine. With his leaving, we need board members who will step up to do new member welcomes (not that many these days), and we really need one or more people to organize and participate in publishing the next “issue” of the eZine.
    • Upcoming webinar—Panel Discussion & Community Connect: DroughtAction—September 22nd 5:00-6:30 Pacific.
    • Upcoming event—Deep Meet & Greet—September 24th 6:00-7:00p PDT.

     

    Committee Status Reports (Craig)

    • Craig asks that committees establish a regular meeting schedule.

     

                    Programs & Events (Donna and Brent)

    • Meeting soon with new volunteer Kevin Filocamo.

    • Preparing for upcoming Deep Meet & Greet.

       

           Member Experience (Donna and Bonnie on behalf of Mark)

    • Mark has become an Administrator on the Alliance Facebook group to approve comments and welcome members.

    • Mark’s participating in the Deep Meet & Greet.

       

           Education (James)

    • James has replaced Craig as committee chair.

    • Next meeting of the committee: Friday, September 25th.

    • Looking at how webinars can generate cash flow.

    • Designing a course that will become a template for a body of curricula that would lead to an Alliance certificate or diploma. (The pilot course, currently in design, is on the wounded healer.)

    • Donna is researching the CEU process, which will be important in providing value worth paying for.

       

           Outreach (Eva)

    • Has a new volunteer member: Jeff Kiehl, a Jungian analyst.

       

           Transition/Executive Committee (James)

    • The vision task force completed its task. Next step: create a business plan, including deciding about nonprofit status. A task force is being begun—we welcome anyone who wants to help.
    • Results of the vision task force are now contributing to the beginning of another board committee or subcommittee—Marketing. Currently, Bonnie and Gary are working on a marketing plan that will become part of the business plan.
    • Posted a request for volunteers, and Dorene has been interviewing candidates.

     

    Volunteer Recruiting Update (Dorene)

    • Run-through of volunteers who are available for specific tasks.
    • It’s important to assimilate volunteers as quickly as possible, so that they don’t lose interest—get them to request access (online) to the committees group, so they can see the minutes and what the committee has been working on; try to meet with them and match their skills/passions with tasks; loop them into the next committee meeting.
    • Now is the time to refer candidates for volunteer positions (including potential board member seats). Please don’t offer them anything specific, though.

     

    Shift in Branding: Discover, Dialogue, Deepen, Develop & Open Discussion (Bonnie)

    • Discussion of rationale and vision around “claims” (handout)—aim to use language that makes us memorable and distinctive from other organizations.
    • Concerns expressed around overlap with Donna’s long-standing use 3-D’s and the terms discover and deepen in her own branding. Is this a result of something that is being birthed in the collective? Is there a way to use the terms in the Alliance branding that also fully acknowledges Donna’s contribution and is wholly satisfying to Donna? Bonnie and Donna will continue to discuss the issue before hard decisions are made around the Alliance brand.
    • Website revamp and “soft” opening earlier this week. At some point, we’ll do a formal launch.
    • Discussion of how the committees (education, events, etc.) fall under the brand claims, assuming we go forward with the terms.
    • Craig expressed a desire that the Alliance exhibit diversity in our branding and operations. Ideally, members of all ages, races, genders, etc., will see themselves reflected in the Alliance.

     

    Key Commitments Made

    1. Next eZine: Please contact Bonnie if you can help in any way, or know of who might take Jesse’s place.
    2. New Member Welcomes: Also contact Bonnie if you’re willing to help welcome new members to the site.
    3. Committees: Please meet at least once between board meetings.
    4. Committee chairs: Try to set a regular monthly meeting schedule (e.g., 3rd Thursday at noon) and post it on the website.
    5. Business Plan: Contact Bonnie, James or Dorene if you want to participate.
    6. Volunteer Recruiting: Email Dorene (dorene@stepwellconsulting.com) with your recommendations—the person’s name, contact information, one sentence about why you think they’d be good, and how you think they would best serve at the Alliance.
    7. Brand changes: Bonnie and Donna to finalize discussion around claims (e.g., discover, deepen, etc.)
    8. New Committee Configuration: Dorene will post an updated committee matrix when the branding claims are finalized.
    9. Next Meeting Ritual: Mark is up!

     

    Three Minutes of Silence and Prayer for Jesse.

    Closing Ritual (Brent)

     

    Meeting adjourned at 2:20p PDT

    Minutes submitted by Dorene Mahoney.

    2015-09-18--AllianceBdMtgMins--September.doc

    https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9142849894?profile=original
  • Dorene Mahoney August 7, 2015 at 9:47pm

    Along with the minutes from today's board meeting, here are the notes from the discussion about evolving board roles. These are just my ideas--refer to them if they're helpful; ignore if they are not:

    Board Director versus Volunteer

     

    At a minimum, a board member must have a heart for the missions and vision of the organization.

     

    Any board member must also be well grounded in the field of Depth Psychology, so that he or she can speak with credibility among our members and as a representative of the Alliance in the greater community.

     

    Ideally, a board is comprised of individuals who can—collectively—provide broad leadership in areas critical to successful operations, such as:

    • Nonprofit Administration/Management
    • Finance
    • Law
    • Public Relations, Social Media
    • Technology
    • Fundraising
    • Program Development
    • Strategic Planning

     

    A director (board member) is an unpaid volunteer, but not every volunteer makes a good board member:

     Director (Board Member)

    Volunteer

    Focuses on strategy and overall direction of the organization

    Performs discrete tasks that serve the board or organization and are of personal interest

    Valued for his or her leadership perspective and vision

    Valued for his or her specific expertise

    Works collaboratively with other directors who likely think differently—a good board tries to have the full array of viewpoints represented, so that collectively it is much greater than the simple sum of its parts

    May share his or her special expertise when brought to a board meeting for the purpose, or on a board committee as requested

    Through genuine curiosity, astute questions and comments, endorses staff decisions and/or challenges staff to think in new or expansive ways (i.e., leads)

    Follows directions and responds to requests of a director or board committee

    (i.e., follows)

     

    Every good leader pitches in when circumstances demand it. However, a good leader is also actively looking for ways to develop skills in others and bring in volunteers to perform discrete tasks.

  • Dorene Mahoney August 7, 2015 at 9:30pm

    Here are the minutes of today's meeting. Please take note of the commitments made. Also, feel free to post corrections or clarifications. I've also attached a Word document:

    Administrative Board Meeting Minutes

    Friday, August 7, 2015

                                                                                                                                                                   

    Present:          Gary Bobroff, Craig Chalquist, Dorene Mahoney, Jesse Masterson, Donna May, James Newell, Brent Potter, Eva Rider, Mark Sipowicz

    Absent:           Michael Bogar

    Staff:               Bonnie Bright

                                                                                                                                                                   

    Meeting called to order at 12:30p PST.

    Welcome & Announcements (Bonnie):

    • Linda Ravenswood stepped off the board, but would like to volunteer for discrete tasks.
    • Dorene creating a contact list that will be posted.
    • New shortcut to board committees info—bee hive in upper left corner of home page.
    • Bonnie off the grid from 8/26-9/12—checking/responding to emails sporadically.
    • To mark board meetings as sacred space, we’re opening and closing them with brief ritual. One-to-two minutes. Rotating alphabetically among board members.
    • Alliance will likely become a nonprofit. Takes about a year. Will need a task force at some point.

     

    Opening Ritual (James)

     

    Committee Highlights (Jesse)

     

         Programs & Events (Donna and Brent)

    • Began to prioritize, relative to income potential, reach, and visibility.
    • Looking for sources of passive income, such as expanding on Bonnie’s book club/book store.

     

         Education (Craig)

    • Meeting mainly about ideas but also talked about creating templates: (1) “Basics of . . . “ online courses; and (2) different pedagogies that are heart based and ideally include field work.
    • Certificate in Depth Psychology—maybe beginning and advanced levels.
    • Maybe discount course costs in exchange for subscription fees.

     

         Member Experience (Mark)

    • Priority: document standards for acceptability in communicating on the site; document criteria/process for dealing with unacceptable behavior.
    • Big part of member experience is having an “experience”—how can we give members a memorable experience. Donna and Mark strategizing on a meet and greet.
    • Need to find volunteers—draft of solicitation of volunteers—Mark welcomes input.

     

         Outreach (Eva)

    • Exploring ways to reach out to larger organizations—the Marion Woodman group has expressed interest in the Alliance and meets in February. Also, the Marion Woodman Foundation is a potential alliance.
    • Met an Adlerian writer in Toronto who is interested in joining our board.
    • Also looking into the Sacred Wisdom Center as a potential collaborator.

     

    Vision Task Force (Bonnie and Gary)

    • Closing in on our vision. Answering questions: Who is our audience?—We want to be inclusive; some talk about ‘taking it to the streets’, but for now it is anyone with exposure to Depth Psychology.
    • What is the Depth Psychology Alliance?—We’re more than our Ning site—want to expand into social media more (e.g., Facebook page with links to the site). We want the Alliance to “feed the soul.”
    • Three tiers: (1) open access to the public and through social media; (2) membership tier to vet members and avoid spam; and (3) Dues-paying organization membership. Also, by offering certificates may support paid membership.
    • How to leverage our brand—Can we capitalize on the bee symbol?
    • Next steps: research how other organizations are doing what we are.

     

    Special Topic—Guidelines for Committees (Bonnie and Jesse)

    • Thanks for huge effort so far! What’s expected going forward?
    • Meet once a month; try to document turnkey processes for volunteers to perform—assessing and prioritizing initiatives, launch and sustain new initiatives; avoid burnout by recruiting volunteers; summarize monthly progress at next board meeting.
    • These guidelines—which are meant to be a help—will be posted to the website

     

    Special Topic—The Evolving Organization & Evolving Board Roles (Dorene)

    • Current board efforts in launching committees are perfect for where we are—breaking apart one huge job, done by one person, into functional committees is the first step. Just joining a committee, actually meeting, and beginning to surface and organize all the issues is more than enough!
    • As we evolve, it’s good to keep in mind the ideal strategic and leadership role of a board member (versus a volunteer): Unlike board members, volunteers perform discrete tasks at the direction of a board member. (A board member is a volunteer, but not all volunteers are board members.) As board members perform important discrete tasks, just continue to be aware of our aims—once we have enough people—is for the board to lead strategy.
    • Important to recruit new board members and other volunteers as soon as possible.

     

    Key Commitments Made

    • All board members—email Dorene your contact information if you haven’t already.
    • Bonnie to give Education Committee links to institutions to create master list of course topics.
    • Mark to research contracting with Independent Booksellers for Programs Committee, so that Alliance can receive passive income from members’ purchase of books.
    • Bonnie to post the original committee charters and suggested guidelines for running committees going forward as a helpful reference.
    • Dorene to draft and post several recruiting documents: (1) a structured process to source potential new board members and other volunteers (from within and beyond our membership); (2) a solicitation letter to potential candidates that contains the benefits of serving on the Alliance board (or as an Alliance volunteer); (3) what’s expected of an Alliance director; (4) solicitation language for a posting to the Alliance website; (5) an application form. (Dorene to speak with Eva, Mark and Gary about their ideas and needs.

     

    Closing Ritual (James)

     

    Meeting adjourned at 2:00p

     

    Minutes submitted by Dorene Mahoney.

    2015-08-07--AllianceBdMtgMins.doc

  • Bonnie Bright July 13, 2015 at 5:19pm

    Thanks, Dorene. Very thorough and clear. I have no more to add.

  • Dorene Mahoney July 13, 2015 at 4:34pm

    Administrative Board Meeting Minutes

    Friday, July 10, 2015

     

    Present:          Gary Bobroff, Craig Chalquist, Dorene Mahoney, Jesse Masterson, Donna May, Brent Potter, Eva Rider

    Absent:           Michael Bogar, James Newell, Linda Ravenswood, Mark Sipowicz

    Staff:               Bonnie Bright

     

    Meeting called to order at 12:30p PST.

     

    Check in and Announcements:

    Discussion of how difficult it is for board members to talk up the Alliance at events without some kind of compelling “elevator speech.” Suggested that this be taken up by the appropriate committee when we set them up.

     

    Special Topic for Discussion—Board Committees:

    • Five standing committees were proposed: Executive, Programs & Events, Member Experience, Outreach, and Education.
    • Rather than having a separate Fundraising Committee it was discussed that fundraising opportunities and financial resources must be priorities of all committees (and expressly covered in all recommendations to the board).
    • Concerns about establishing committees to do work when the larger vision of what the work should be is not clear. It was decided to create a Vision Task Force to clarify vision, purpose and direction of the Alliance going forward.
    • Rather than committing to a standing Executive Committee, it was decided to have a Transition Committee to oversee the evolving board for the next six months. At some point the Transition Committee would morph into a standing Executive Committee. The Vision Task Force will fall within the Transition Committee.
    • As “Staff” of the Alliance, Bonnie will participate on all committees, subcommittees, and task forces, as appropriate.
    • Discussion about the need to recruit more board members and other volunteers (oversight role of the Transition/Executive Committee).

     

    Special Topic for Discussion—Committee Roles and Leadership Positions:

    • Discussion about not necessarily being qualified for certain work for the Alliance committees, or knowing what one is committing to. Concern about fitting committee responsibilities in with board members’ already-full lives. Okay to make mistakes—we’re all learning.
    • Important to be led by Psyche in choices—is resistance to serving because Psyche is saying it’s not your work to do, or is reluctance due to facing your learning edge (and serving will support growth and your other work in the world?
    • Discussion about leadership roles of Chair and Secretary on the Transition Committee. It was suggested that rather than asking who wants to take on a role, that others nominate someone. Jesse was nominated for Transition Committee chair, and he accepted. Dorene volunteered to be Secretary.
    • First pass at populating committees:
    • Programs & Events Committee: Brent, Donna, Jesse (especially for the eZine)
    • Member Experience Committee: Mark
    • Website Task Force: Craig, Eva
    • Outreach: Eva
    • Education: Craig (committee chair), Eva, Donna, James
    • Transition Committee: Jesse (Chair), Dorene (Secretary)
    • Vision Task Force: Jesse, Gary, Eva
    • Bonnie will be an active participant in all committees and task forces, as possible and appropriate.
    • It was decided to think further about where each can serve in committees and let Bonnie know in the next few days. Absent board members should choose which committees they want to serve on.
    • Committees will meet at least once before the next board meeting
    • The aim of the first committee meeting: discuss and prioritize the initiatives/issues that fall under the committee’s charter (according to the best use of resources of time/money. Begin developing a formal plan with action steps and estimated resources needed (hours and costs) for each. 
    • Each committee will choose a chair (or rotate responsibility) and report back at the August 7th board meeting.

     

    Special Topic for Discussion—Board Communications and Participation:

    Bonnie asked that board members (1) check the board group on the website twice a week (follow the bee icon on the left side of the home page), (2) respond to every board post, especially those that request feedback (“agree,” “no opinion,” etc. is okay), and (3) posts be kept concise (bulleted, even) so that they don’t take a lot of time to read.

     

    Review Commitments & Final Wrap-up:

    • Board members will review the committee charters and notify Bonnie of their commitments to participate. Every board member should be on at least one committee (and hopefully two until we get more board members).
    • Absent board members will review the committee charters and sign up for one or more committees that draw them and where they can make a contribution.
    • Committees will meet once before the next board meeting.
    • Committees will pick a chair from the committee to report out each month at the board meeting.
    • Committees will set broad initial priorities or initiatives based on potential return/value vs. investment (of time and/or money) for the committee and present the plan at the August 7th board meeting.
    • Committees will set a monthly committee meeting schedule and post to the website.
    • Committees will identify missing skills/talents that may be needed to accomplish the committees’ charters.
    • Board members agreed to check the Board Member group at least twice weekly and respond to every request.

     

    Meeting adjourned at 2:00p

     

    Minutes submitted by Dorene Mahoney.

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