BIFD Board of Directors - How We Organize our Work and Communications

Periodically, it’s good to take a moment and remind ourselves of how we organize our work and communications so that we might be efficient, keep things collegial even when we disagree, and most of all serve our community and the BIFD mission.

How the board operates:

• The board meets regularly, every month or two, via Zoom or in person

• We devise an agenda in advance of the meeting to make sure we address all the important matters for the group

• Though we welcome social banter and a relaxed atmosphere, we make a concerted effort to keep our meetings on topic so that they remain of reasonable length

• Outside and in between meetings, we rely primarily on email to exchange, discuss, and make decisions on lesser matters

• Many email conversations are between individuals who have volunteered to take on a specific task or project

• However, any information pertinent to a board decision is circulated to the whole group for input and, if necessary, voting.

Let’s remember that we’re all volunteers and taking out of our personal time to contribute to BIFD. So, whether we’re connecting in person, on screen, or via email, this means:

• We always assume good intentions from our colleagues and keep in mind that they wish to make BIFD and its community better

• We treat each other with respect and choose our words with care so that we can be well understood

• We cultivate an atmosphere where all are free to express their opinions, and all are free to disagree

• We express disagreements by articulating how we differ on the matter at hand and avoid making personal attacks of any kind

• We seek to contribute practical solutions to the challenges we are discussing