2201 Buena Vista SE Suite 424

Albuquerque, NM 87106

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NMAEYC Board Meeting Minutes --- May30, 2015

NMAEYC Office, Albuquerque, NM

Voting Board Members Present: Alberto Mares, Karen Smith (also has proxy vote for Nancy Gomez),Betty Lansdowne, Michelle Staley

Voting Board Members on Phone: Cindy Cicero

Other Members Present: Paige Abrams, Shelby Richardson, Susan Smith, Paloma Delgado-Gonzales, LauraDoctorman, Everette Hill

Staff Present:Baji Rankin, Olivia Natale, Wesley Morton, Ann Sullivan, Ken Moore, Susan Perry, Kindra Hill, Bobbie Bailey

Opening:

  • Welcome and Meeting called to Order by Alberto Mares, President. Alberto explained the dry erase paddles that were placed in front of each participant. These are be used for voting. Participants can write “yes” or “no” on them. A great gift to the Board from Alberto!
  • Introductions – after each participant introduced themselves, Alberto announced the results of our recent election of officers – VP (Public Policy) – Kathy Strickland, VP (Professional Development) – Paige Abrams and Joel Casas (they will co-chair this position because they were tied) Treasurer – Shelby Richardson.
  • Pass around: Attendance, Political Activity Log, In-Kind Log, Duty of Work
  • Approval of Agenda–Betty Lansdowne moved the agenda be accepted, this motion was seconded by Cindy Cicero and the motion passed.
  • Approval of Minutes of January and March meetings. It was noted that we did not have a quorum; consequently, these minutes will be approved at the next Board meeting.

Discussion:

New NAEYC Vision Statement:NAEYC has adopted new vision and mission statements and has asked for feedback from affiliates. The new NAEYC vision and mission statements are very similar to our own, so NMAEYC expressed “some interest” in adopting NAEYC’s. Betty asked how we can ensure that it is a vision statement – something that is strived for but not always attained. Discussion followed and it was suggested that we revisit this in July.

NAEYC also asked for affiliate feedback on co-branding with NAEYC. Since we have a new logo, which is gaining recognition, the feeling was that we should not co-brand.

Strategic Plan Update:Everette, Cindy, Alberto, Baji, Kindra, Olivia and the strategic planning groupsummarized the work that was done at the Retreat in March. Twenty-five members participated in thinking about the organization - where are we going, what do we want and what are our goals for the future. This thinking was then prioritized. Documents are now put together in draft form. Our vision, mission and values are all on one page with a wonderful picture of children and done with nice colors. The next two pages list priorities which include:

  • Effective & Efficient Organization
  • Research & Information
  • Members & Chapters
  • Programs, Products & Partnerships
  • Leadership & Professional Development
  • Advocacy
  • Recognition & Compensation

The second document shows our Strategic Plan 2015 – 2017 all on one page.

The third document explains what the strategic plan is, who is responsible for it and a timeline.

Once these documents are looked at, Everette will create a final document that has all the data. Some changes will still be made and editing will be done

The group looked at Effective & Efficient Organization, which is a priority. The goals that follow support this one.

Everetteand Kindra will now travel around the state and hold meetings with regional groups. He believes that it is important that we are transparent, but not “naked.” The regional groups will look at these documents and give feedback as we want these members to be aware that their input is appreciated and included.

Wesley mentioned that he thinks these documents are amazing; however, he noticed that T.E.A.C.H. is not mentioned at all in the first document. Discussion followed and consensus was that T.E.A.C.H. should be added to Recognition & Compensation and also Leadership & Professional Development.

Everettereported that that our mission, vision and goals are still important and viable. Now we need to figure out how to insure that the goals are worked on and reached.

Comments:

  • Karen asked that acronyms in the documents be spelled out and asked if the members that were interviewed initially will make up the focus groups. If so, she feels it would be helpful for them to have these documents before they meet with Everette.
  • Susan suggested that the AFT training system be deleted. Karen suggested that it be changed, but not deleted as it is an indicator of our success.
  • Betty commented that the documents will help chapters who are not sure of their role and/or their responsibility to the organization.
  • Alberto reported that this will all be looked at again at the retreat in Ruidoso.

Board Retreat:Cindy reported that our main focus at the retreat will be the Strategic Plan, especially Priority A (Effective & Efficient Organization). Roles and responsibilities of Board and Staff members will be presented. Board Retreat information was sent out with Board meeting information and will be sent out again. Everettementioned that our policies frame our work well, so we don’t have to reinvent the wheel, but must move forward with action and get the work done. We need to build capacity and efficiency in order to do this. Karen commented that a timeline of the entire process would be helpful. It should begin when we first received the funding.

The deadline for retreat registration is June 15th.

Reports:

Financial Training Dates:Olivia reported that she met with Janice Moen from Non-profit Back Office Resources who can provide financial training for the Board as well as for the staff. This is an important step in our Strategic Planning. We’d like to bring Board members together to do this training and we need to accomplish this before the retreat. Cindy suggested June 22nd from 5:30 to 7:00 PM and have the training available online as well as in person here at the office. Discussion followed and it was decided to hold the training on June 17th if Janice is available. Ann suggested that we do a webinar and keep a copy here in the office and make it available to new Board members. June 11th was chosen as an alternative date. Alberto hopes that we can have a follow up training at our Board meeting on September 26th.

Financial Report:Baji passed out financial reports. She reported that she is hoping that our finances will be reported ina more comprehensive way in the future. MIP is software that Marie is familiar with and we’re hoping to implement that software instead of the system we are currently using. Baji mentioned that our auditors don’t have a problem using the current system; however, the systemis difficult for the Board and staff to understand. The training received from Janice should help. A question was asked about the amount allocated to the Public Policy Committee. Baji explained that the amount was increased because the committee will have a speaker presenting in Deming in November. Baji walked us through the NMAEYC income and expenses.

Alberto suggested that we let committees know about the $14,000 for Upleaf. He would like this amount to be added to the conference budget and have the conference committee ask for more. Bobbie suggested that the amount be in the Technology budget since the upgrade to our website can be used by TEACH, Chapters, etc. and not only the conference.

The presentation and proposal fromUpleaf will be presented at the June 13th Conference Committee meeting. Discussion followed and consensus was that the Conference Committee, after hearing the presentation and proposal, then make a recommendation to the Executive Committee regarding this.

Karen asked that the Leadership Retreat allocation should be increased. Baji explained that the retreat this year is being partially funded by Strategic Planning monies. Baji recommends that the allocation be increased next year. Karen also asked about the possibility of not having hard copies of our newsletter. Alberto has been in favor of us moving away from mailing hard copies. Discussion followed and it was decided that we move away from using hard copies. Alberto mentioned that Upleaf could do our ballots for election of officers. He proposed that the Executive Committee make a final recommendation to the Board regarding the newsletter.

Baji reported that she and Olivia have begun looking at trends…like Conference income and Conference participation. They will share their finding with the Conference Committee.

Baji walked us through the TEACH financials.

TEACH & INCENTIVE$ Update:Funding has increased so the staff can now reach out to home visiting and early intervention people. CYFD is going to require all home visiting folks to take early childhood courses and attain a certificate. Dan is working on the certificate. Funders include Race to the Top monies and also United Way. Because of FOCUS and Pre K, we have received many applications. FOCUS has made quite an impact.

Conference Report: A report and a conference timeline were sent to Board, Committee and Staff members. Alberto asked for comparisons to be included in the report as well as financial figures.

Wonder of Learning Report: Baji reported that Wonder of Learning monies are phasing out. There is a new organization that is emerging. It is the New Mexico Reggio Emilia Exchange (NMREX). They have met twice and have created several groups for members to be involved in – Membership, Creative Expression, and others. There is a lot of interest in this. Olivia is the contact person. Baji asked if NMAEYC would want to be a fiscal agent for interested groups? We need to ascertain just what the relationship between NMREX and NMAEYC is. Karen commentedthat we need to look at policies and procedures and by laws and make sure that they reflect what we are doing. If they do not, do we need to revise? Alberto commented that he worries about whether we have the capacity to take on more projects.

Submitted by Bobbie Bailey substituting for Michelle Staley, NMAEYC Board Secretary