Hello!
The first meeting of this group will be on Wednesday 7/29 at 5PM PT-- 6PM MT. This is a Skype call and my contact is either Msipow or my name....Mark Sipowicz
If you want to join us please contact me directly by email msipow@gmail.com.
Board members Jesse and Donna plan to be in attendance as does Bonnie, founder of DPA.
This will be an exploratory and initial meeting, helping us to identify the scope of this group's mission as it relates to the experience of both new and onging, individual and orgaizational members.
Look forward to sharing ideas, clarifying mission and scope of the group, and identifying a few key areas to begin improving, implementing, or monitoring.
See you Wednesday on the call!
Mark
Replies
Hi Mark,
As you may have seen in my posts on the Visioning Task Force, I've discovered some interesting information about the International Association for the Study of Dreams. Another document I found in one of their Dreamtime magazines is a member survey, which I scanned and have attached here. I'm not suggesting that it is precisely what we'd need, but we may be able to adapt it for our own purposes at some time.
IASD Member Survey.pdf
Thanks Dorene! One of my favorite dream workers is one of the founders of IASD, Jeremy Taylor. If you haven't already had the opportunity, watch for chances to work with him. A great, kind, generous, very wise teacher...I'll look at the survey for ideas for ours.
Mark
Below is a very rough first draft of a Help Wanted notice for this committee. Please share alternative perspectives, insights, and suggestions as they arise. Thank you!
Seeking Volunteers for the Membership Experience Committee
This is a new committee focused on tending and enhancing DPA membership’s experience of being a part of this community. It includes:
*keeping the spark of creativity, connection, research and soul lit and supported.
*keeping conversations on track and aware of insensitivities.
*creating and cultivating new ways of communicating with members and promoting a rich connection to other members and our collective investigation of depth psychology and its work in the world.
*awareness that many members that come to the DPA are looking not only to share and receive information, but also for connection and experience that is soulful and aware of the many tinted calls of the psyche.
We are looking for people interested in working on this committee:
*You have a background in depth psychology. No matter whether academic, clinical, self-taught or experience in analysis—you have made some substantial investment of time and exploration in the basic archetypes of Depth Psychology…Psyche, Complex, Collective Unconscious, Archetypes, etc…
*You work well with others and are drawn to this group’s mission and agenda.
*You have experience either facilitating, coaching, teaching, or guiding others.
*You have a strong capacity for seeing many sides of an issue.
*You can spare 3-4 hours per month to support the cause of the Depth Psychology Alliance.
Mark, thanks for moving so quickly. Your ad is very thoughtful. I played around with your language, and my suggestions are below (use or not, as you see fit). Also, when you title the post, I would highlight that the call is FROM the board, such as: The Alliance Board of Directors is Seeking Volunteers for the Membership Experience Committee. This leverages any prestige that may be attached to volunteering on a board.
Here is a question for the full board--Mark needs volunteers NOW. Is it better for him (and other committee chairs) to post individual ads, or should we put a big call out? I can see the benefit of specialized requests, but it may be odd to have lots of posts for volunteers. Thoughts?
Suggested ad language:
Do you have a background in depth psychology in any of its myriad "flavors," as well as some direct experience in facilitation, coaching, teaching, or guiding others in their learning journeys?
Do you possess strong collaboration skills and a capacity for seeing many sides of an issue?
Would you enjoy spending 3-4 hours a month strategizing with like-minded others on how to ignite and sustain the spark of creativity, connection and soul in 4,500 individuals around the world?
If this sounds interesting to you, volunteering on the Member Experience Committee of the Board of Directors for Depth Psychology Alliance may provide a fun and rewarding opportunity to contribute to a worthy cause!
This committee is one of five committees on the Depth Psychology Alliance Board of Directors. It is charged with the responsibility of tending and enhancing the experience of our members. Among other things, the committee oversees and develops strategies around how to:
*create and cultivate new ways to: communicate with members and promote rich connection among members in our collective interest and investigation into depth psychology and its work in the world.
*learn from our members what they most want from the Alliance, including what having a soulful connection and experience means to them and how we might provide it.
*establish communication standards that: (1) ensure that posts and conversations align with the mission and vision of the Alliance, (2) allow for lively debate and exploration of depth concepts, and (3) are also appropriately sensitive to and respectful of all our members.
Does any of this strike a chord in you? If so, the Member Experience Committee would like to hear from you! Submit . . . (tell them how to apply and what information to include)
Mark, I thought it was a great meeting and I look forward to working with you on the "meet & greet" forum discussed!
Membership Experience Meeting 7/29 on Zoom (please add or embellish topics discussed and those not listed that need to be included in ongoing discussions--thanks!)
What we need
is here. And we pray, not
for new earth or heaven, but to be
quiet in heart, and in eye,
clear. What we need is here.
(Wendell Berry meditation for our work with Membership Experience)
Attending: Dorene, Donna, Jesse Bonnie, Mark
--Discussion of Meet and Greet for new members, maybe monthly-- maybe with older members invited too.
--Talked about importance/requirement of having non-board members in this committee (Mark is currently the only committed member of this committee due to other board member’s full plates elsewhere at DPA and beyond) and our interest in standards or criteria without painting too literal a picture of what that might be. Depth experience/training as possible ground level criteria?
--For future task force talked about drafting a letter of standards for new members/all members on how to honor depth experience of others in the Alliance. Perhaps even asking readers to agree with compliance?
--Re-committed ourselves to keep Alliance open for all interested, regardless of level of familiarity or training in depth psychology. And felt the tension of this open-ness with desire to create depth standards of communication related in the topic above.
--Jesse introduce the image of a Mexican community center where every participant and member had a role and a skill where they thrived. This felt like an image for the Alliance or some remedy for concern about different orientations, backgrounds, levels of expertise, etc…Perhaps a vision for this committee in particular.
--Other future agendas should include how to file complaints regarding other member’s behavior and a procedure for addressing grievances and possible revocation of membership.
--Brainstormed for future development: harvesting data in questionnaire for more groups and groupings and other new actions; live chats; twitter possibilities.
--Agreed that navigation, look and feel of website, is part of this committee’s domain. Mark agreed to join that committee’s discussion.
--Recognized within context of Membership Experience that a substantial draw for many of us to depth is our desire to have an experience with the material under discussion, investigation, or being shared.
Actions
*Mark and Donna plan to launch Meet and Greets for new members, probably monthly to start with.
*Mark will identify and label some clear roles for members to play in this committee and propose strategies for calling, selecting, and gathering them.
Proposed Agenda
*Invocation w/ shared inspirations
*Website Groups: Hosts and other ways to infuse more regular contributions and engagement
*Guidelines for engagement in discussions: council format or other
*Navigation of the website: new tips or suggestions, new mapping possibilities
*Membership Questionnaire and other places/ways to make direct contact with members.
*DPA Embodied Regional/Local Gatherings
*Other Topics?
*Identify at least two action items
Meeting now on Zoom. Contact Mark directly for meeting ID#
Thanks!
I emailed you, Mark, and I'll try to be there!
Thanks Dorene, hope to see you there. Now meeting on Zoom. See your email for details.
--Mark