(See Japanese translation here)
The second quarter brought some transitions to the Board. As a part of Veronica Urioste’s retirement from her work as a psychotherapist, she is giving herself a 6-month sabbatical and so she retired from the Board as well. We already miss her warm, even-tempered and wise presence.
Knowing of Veronica’s impending departure, the Nominating Committee sent along two new candidates whom the Board readily and happily approved: Tom Larkin and Bill Gayner. Their first official meeting was in June, and we are confident that we have a wonderful new team.
You can read about Tom and Bill, and read Veronica’s goodbye in the June 12 “In Focus News Feed.”
Our Nominating Committee is always led by a member of the Board; currently, Florentina Sassoli has that as her portfolio. There is also always a member of the International Leadership Council (ILC) on the Nominating Committee, which right now is Massimo Zarghetta. They are joined by members-at-large Amona Buechler and Roberto Larios. Our Executive Director, Catherine Torpey, also attends their meetings. Together, they are always seeking possible new members for the ILC or the Board, and we’ve always been thankful for their great work. If you have anyone you would like to suggest for nomination, you can write the Committee at [email protected]. Board and ILC members serve for 3-year terms and can serve a second 3-year term, after which they must leave for at least a year before being nominated for any future terms. This gives the Board and ILC a good balance between stability and freshness.
As for actions the Board took in this quarter, we were delighted to approve the ILC’s new Governing Document, which can be found on their web page, here. The Board is also considering updating the 4 Goals of The International Focusing Institute, which were written through a meticulous 2-year process which the Board and ILC engaged in from 2015 to 2017. The existing goals received lots of feedback from you (at the 2015 Seattle International Focusing Conference and beyond). Those goals, which can be read at focusing.org/mission, are still excellent (which reflects all that felt sensing) and they are still in effect. Now, with a number of years having passed, the Board is considering ways in which they could be updated. Board member Evelyn Fendler-Lee has been working with Catherine Torpey to draft possible revisions, which the Board has begun to consider. Watch for updates.
This quarter, the Board also spent time considering ways in which we can implement the intentions we expressed through our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion statement. As our statement indicates, TIFI is a wonderfully diverse community already, but we want to continually widen our welcome and reflect this diversity in our offerings.
For more details about the Board’s work, you are always invited to read the minutes of our meetings, which are posted at focusing.org/board, and to write to us any time at [email protected].