The CWR Board of Directors met in Cincinnati on Tuesday, September 27, just prior to the 2022 CWR Annual Conference. In the interest of keeping members informed, we present highlights from that meeting:
Incoming (2023) Board member Caelie Haines attended the meeting as a guest.
Tammy Townsend Denny opened the meeting by leading the Board in an adaptation of the The Welcoming Prayer.
Chair Kim Westerman reported that Deena Swank and Julie Ferraro had resigned from their seats on the Board for personal reasons.
The Board approved a motion for the 2022 Executive Committee – Kim Westerman (Chair), Siobhan O’Neill Meluso (Vice Chair), Tammy Townsend Denny (Treasurer), and Alison Lucci (Corporate Secretary) – to continue in the same roles in 2023.
Because of the difficulty of maintaining a full Board over the past two years, the Board also approved a motion to propose a CWR bylaw change reducing the minimum number of Board members from 11 to nine. The proposal will be presented to CWR members for a vote.
Executive Director Ginny Hizer led a review of the initial draft of a new CWR strategic plan.
The Board made plans to ask attendees during the 2022 conference to share the greatest challenges facing them as communicators and how CWR has assisted them in facing those challenges or could do so in the future. Member feedback will be used in CWR strategic planning.
Conference 2022 Committee Co-Chairs Erin Reder (who joined the meeting as a guest) and Siobhan O’Neill Meluso provided a final pre-conference update. Board members were also updated on their conference responsibilities.
During the final portion of the meeting, representatives of Sankofa Consulting facilitated discussion of CWR’s priorities, goals, and challenges and of how CWR can best accomplish its mission. CWR was one of a selection of Conrad N. Hilton Foundation grantees invited by the foundation to work with Sankofa Consulting.
The Board next meets on Thursday, October 27, via videoconference.
CWR 2022 Board of Directors
Kim Westerman, Chair
Siobhan O’Neill Meluso, Vice Chair
Tammy Townsend Denny, Treasurer
Alison Lucci, Corporate Secretary
Dusty Krikau
Beth Murphy, OP
Stacy Spitler
Gina Sullivan
CWR Staff
Ginny Hizer, Executive Director
Michelle Izguerra, Business Operations Manager
Brian Lavelle, Communication & Membership Manager