While they are infrequent, my favorite Board meetings are those that are face-to-face.  The energy in the room is piqued, with the discussion often more electric than when online. This was the situation for our two-day meeting in Seattle. Also, it is a chance that our members have to join in an observation mode and that was the case on both days.

On Tuesday, time was allotted for continuing education for the Board. We began with an interactive presentation by Calton Ford, of Diaz Inclusion Consulting, our partner in sustainability, and pointedly how to increase the visibility of Institute activities, goals, continued fiscal stability, and engagement in the year to come. What is being offered to the members to engage them not only for an annual conference but the remaining 51 weeks of the year. The next session was for fiscal sustainability presented by Tiffany Soricelli, a financial strategist, explaining the basic financial knowledge required to build an annual policy with benchmarks that will guide the Board for financial development that supports the activities, grants, programming, and outreach that is critical to the growth of USITT.

The Board is preparing the final editing on the Board Member Contract, which will be approved at the May meeting and available to the membership, specifically as a tool for the Nominating Committee.

Dani Ranisate, the newest Sherry Wagner Henry Board mentee, was introduced to the Board. Her official duties will commence July 1, 2024. More information on Sherry Wagner-Henry Board Fellowship can be found on the USITT.org website.

The Board voted on a replacement for an open position. Scott Parker will join the Board through June 30, 2024, the end of the current term. Congratulations, Scott. Thank you for serving. 

Reports were given from the Treasurer (we are in good shape), Secretary (offering updates on Bylaws and Governance Committee work), Operations (how is USITT, the organization, doing), and then quick updates from Nominations, Development, International Committee, Membership, and Research Activities. I requested these so that board members would hear of both the committee activities over the last 9 months, and the goals being set for the coming year.

The meeting concluded with proclamations to Board members who are finishing their terms of service: Kim Scott-Treasurer, Annemarie Duggan-VP of Membership, Jim Streeter-VP-Exhibitions, and President Carolyn Satter. Thank you for your years of dedication to USITT.

AND a warm thank you to all the National Office staff, Commission, and Committee members who work throughout the year to keep our organization strong, healthy, and moving forward. You are appreciated.

The next Board meeting will be on Zoom on May 14th, 2024 at 4:00-5:00 PM EDT.

Thank you,

Carolyn Satter, president