This is an article that appeared in the summer edition of the UPA magazine, but which I've reprinted here in advance of the upcoming board elections. For more information about the elections and to read about and listen to the candidates, please visit www.upa.org.
---------
The two most important attributes of a board of directors are: a) that it is representative of the interests of its constituents, and b) that it is an effective governing body for the organization, shepherding its growth and improvement. In order to best achieve these outcomes, the UPA Board has recently approved a change to the way in which the composition of the Board is determined.
There are two (sometimes competing) ways to think about what makes a board more likely or able to represent the membership: one is the idea that the board should be elected by the membership (and thus accountable to them), and the other is the idea that the board should be made up of a cross-section of membership demographics (however those may be defined). These two goals sometimes come into conflict, such as when the results of an election lead to a board that lacks representation of some constituent group. For example, if no candidates with any youth Ultimate experience run for the board for several years in a row, we could end up with a board that does not adequately represent the interests of youth players/coaches/etc.
Furthermore, effective governance of our organization relies on having a Board comprised of individuals that bring more than just Ultimate experience and passion to the table. It has become increasing clear to us over the last several years that having Board members with specific areas of expertise (for example, legal, IT, management, financial, marketing, etc) enables us to govern much more effectively and efficiently.
The UPA Board has come to the conclusion that the best way to achieve these two aims (becoming more representative and governing more effectively) is to appoint a small number of Board members in order to fill the gaps left by our current, purely electoral system. Many non-profit organizations have boards that are partially or completely appointed rather than elected. Of course, the UPA is a membership organization, and therefore we believe that it is extremely important that the Board of Directors remain a largely elected body, in order to ensure direct accountability to the membership. However, we believe that having a minority of appointed Board members (25%) will serve to fulfill some of the aims outlined above, without dramatically altering the character of our Board and our accountability to the membership.
With this in mind, and after much discussion and deliberation, the Board decided to make some changes to the current system. Currently, 6 Board members are regional representatives, elected by their regional members, and 6 are at-large reps, elected by the membership as a whole. Under the new system, the 6 regional seats are unchanged, but the at-large seats are divided among 3 elected members and 3 appointed members, resulting in a final composition of 9 elected and 3 appointed Board members. This mix ensures that the Board is still made up of a super-majority of elected members. In any given year, 2 regional reps and 1 at-large rep will be elected by the membership, while 1 at-large rep will be appointed by the current Board (this will result in the 9/3 mix being achieved over the course of the next 3 years). The Board is currently working on figuring out the best process for making these appointments, one that will ensure the fair and appropriate use of this new system.
We are excited about this change in the UPA’s approach to governance, because it preserves our values as a member-driven organization while ensuring that the Board has the right skills and representation to be effective in guiding the ‘next stage’ of growth for the UPA and for Ultimate in the United States.
-Peri Kurshan
President, UPA Board of Directors
-----------
You can post a message to the entire board by commenting here (comments will not be publicly viewable, but will be read by the board), or feel free to send me an email about this or anything else at peri.kurshan@upa.org.
No comments:
Post a Comment