Board of Directors Retreat
This past Saturday, almost our entire Board of Directors got together in DC to talk about what PMAA should be and do. We drew on our own career experience, our shared values of service and commitment, and our desire to give something back to the program that gave us so much. We talked about our priorities and were honest about what our capacity is as a new organization.
As a result of our VERY productive day, we've come away with three main objectives (please bear with us, these still need a little word-smithing):
Serve as a resource for alumni (gather and organize what's out there; find alums)
Share information within the alumni community (create and curate content proactively; bring alumni together)
Increase awareness and outreach outside the alumni community (to ensure continued use and support of the PMF program and positive experiences for potential alumni)
We also used what we learned from those of you that took our survey in August as a gut check - we wanted to make sure we were all on the same page when it comes to what you're looking for in an Alumni Association. While our survey was in no way scientific, or fully representative of the PMAA membership, it gave us an interesting snapshot about what was top of mind. Respondents ranked the following as most important from a list of potential PMAA actions and focus areas:
Positive Representation of Public Service/Servants
Increased Use of Program by Federal Agencies
Access to Career Advice from Senior Folks
Opportunities to get/become a Mentor
We have already started creating action items for each of our three objectives, and you'll hear more about those soon. But we're confident that what the community shared with us fits squarely into those plans. If you're interested in a more granular look at our survey - click here for the data.
We also made some important administrative progress. We're coming to the end of the first year of service of our inaugural, all-volunteer board. So it's time to take the next step in the life-cycle of an organization and transition to our official format for recruiting, reviewing, and formally electing a Board of Directors. Board members will be elected for staggered, three-year terms, beginning with the five seats in the class of 2019. Several current Board Members will stand for election, and there are open seats as well. A Nominating Committee will decide on eligibility criteria, recruit candidates and present all eligible candidates to the current board for a vote. The Nominating Committee will be starting that work shortly - if you're interested, there will be more information in our next email newsletter about how to be considered as a candidate. Election results will be announced the second week in December.
Strategic planning and formal elections are a huge step forward for PMAA - we can't wait to share what's coming next, so stay tuned!