Members to vote on board and bylaws change

By Barbara Nielsen, Nominating Committee

READY, SET, VOTE!!! Our membership direct vote for national board positions (2015 Term) is under way. Ballots should be received by all members in good standing within the next few weeks and must be returned with a postmark no later than February 11.

We’ll be having a Meet and Greet telephone conference with our candidates on an evening during the week of January 12, most likely Tuesday the 13th or Wednesday the 14th  -- notice and call-in information will be forthcoming in a separate email to all members.

WHAT’S ON THE BALLOT??? This second annual election cycle is for three “regular” and one “completion” Board Positions and a Proposed Ballot Amendment to add the Membership Development Committee chair to the Steering Committee.

WHO’S ON THE BALLOT??? We have four dedicated members who have stepped up to volunteer for national board service in these positions:

• At-Large Board Member – Ann Fleischli (Madison, Wisconsin Branch)
• Development Committee Chair – Fran Foulkrod (Greater Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Branch)
• Program Committee Chair – Deb Garretson (Bloomington, Indiana Branch). This is one of two chair positions on the committee. Odile Hugonot Haber (Ann Arbor, Michigan Branch) continues in her role this year.
• Secretary – Candace Perry (Cape Cod, Massachusetts Branch)

The Washington, DC, branch has graciously agreed to count the ballots for this election. We will post the results of the election on Monday, February 23, 2015.

The 2012 membership election that approved a staggered election cycle for the Section’s board terms set in motion a new way for us to seat members on the national board.

In January 2014, we elected members to the 2014 board term for one-, two- or three-year terms that were undertaken as of the beginning of 2014. Three of the 2014 Board Term positions (At-Large, Program Committee, Secretary) were for one-year terms and in this election we will be electing candidates who have applied for these positions for the 2015 Board Term – each for a period of three years. A fourth position is to fill out the two-year term of the 2014 Board Term

Please contact the chair of the Nominating Committee, Barbara L Nielsen, at bln.sf.ca@gmail.com, or the chair of the ad hoc Bylaws Committee, Darien De Lu, at conjoin@macnexus.org, with any election or ballot questions.

Here are the candidate statements of our quartet.

AT-LARGE MEMBER OF THE BOARD
(2015 Board – Three-Year Term)

Ann E. Fleischli
Madison [Wisconsin] Branch

I have practiced law in Wisconsin for over 40 years. My bachelor’s and law degrees are from the University of Illinois. My first job was as a poverty lawyer in South Carolina in the late 1960s. I’ve engaged in many progressive activist activities in Wisconsin. For instance, in the ‘90s I filed four lawsuits in an attempt to stop the building of a convention center on a conservation park.

In the late ‘70s and early ‘80s I was a member of the Madison, Wisconsin WILPF Branch, mentored by Elizabeth Link. I became a member, again, of that branch in the fall of 2012, after getting a master’s degree in environmental journalism at the University of Montana. I am that very active branch’s membership chair and treasurer.

My personal goal is to help establish a WILPF system of proxy voting so that members can attend the Congress meetings and vote the proxies of the members of their branch who could not attend.

I am deeply impressed by the activities of the branches, issue committees and all the members who work so hard for a better world. I would appreciate your vote.

DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE CHAIR
(2014 Board – 2015 Is Final Year of Two-Year Term)

Fran Foulkrod
Greater Philadelphia [Pennsylvania] Branch

My experience includes teaching in Los Angeles and Philadelphia; Administrative Support and Management; IT Consulting; and Trainer on fundraising software. I graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and co-authored a textbook on Adolescence.

I have been an active Member in two Branches, and am presently Branch Co-Chair. I served on our national Detroit Congress Committee, and serve on our Bylaws and Communications Committees. Presently I chair the Rapid Response Team of our Program Committee.

As Chair of Development, I would like to enhance the relationship Members and Donors have with WILPF-US. Program, at all levels, is the heart of our organization. As Development Chair, I would therefore like to coordinate with both Membership Development and Program to enhance fund raising. I also consider it a responsibility to know the financial health of our organization; to see that funds are well used. We owe this to our Donors. Additionally, I want to develop analytical tools for effective Development planning. I would like to widen the base of regular Donors in order to achieve greater income stability. I believe that if we support our Members, they will support WILPF US.

Finally, I hope to carry on the enduring legacy of Robin Lloyd.

PROGRAM COMMITTEE CHAIR
(2015 Board – Three-Year Term)

Deborah Garretson
Bloomington [Indiana] Branch

I am a retired clinical psychologist and I have taught at the university level and served as executive director of a domestic violence shelter in the Chicago area. I received my Ph.D. from Ball State University. In 2005 I attended my first WILPF meeting and have been chair of the Bloomington Branch ever since. I previously served as Secretary on the U.S. National Board and am now completing a one-year term as a Program Chair. Prior to this term I served on the Personnel Committee, the Site Committee, and the Selling the Building Committee for WILPF. Other board experience includes The Sierra Club Indiana State Board, the Park Forest, Illinois Public Library Board and the Temple Beth El in Muncie, Indiana. WILPFers have always impressed me with their intelligent approach to studying issues that contribute to war. There is so much knowledge and experience among members. What has been missing, to me, is efficient processes for communicating across the section. My specific interest is to help design and encourage processes that maximize the impact of our work. Further, I want to see WILPF become a microcosm of the democracy we want to live in.

SECRETARY
[Officer of the Corporation]
(2015 Board – Three-Year Term)

Candace Perry
Cape Cod [Massachusetts] Branch

As a writer, activist, and social worker, I hold the audacious hope that the work we do can change the world. I have an MSW in Clinical Social Work and a BA in Russian/Spanish. I’ve been a Local2Global participant at the UN Commission on the Status of Women and have served as Editor of Peace and Freedom. An active member of the Cape Cod Branch since the late 1980s, I’ve co-produced the Peace and Justice Theater Festival, served as cast and crew on our community television show, and helped develop and present the “Roots of Violence/Seeds of Change” community college course and conference. I’m running for Secretary because I want to support the current leadership and transition to a more functional organization. Clear communication of Board decisions and actions would go a long way to help advance our work. The Secretary needs to be organized, able to write concise minutes and arrange to have these minutes approved in a timely manner. I’m able to do this. I’m also able to take ideas and convert them into writing which can be shared with others. How we communicate with each other matters, and I’d like to contribute to our Section’s voice in speaking out against injustice and working for peace.

Photo: Rama, Creative Commons License from Wikipedia.