Minutes: March 17, 2023

Attendance

Board Members:
Emina Darakjy, Emily Spillett-Brownlie, Sarah Gaskin, Mona Fleming, Gordon Mann, Nick Bob Blum, Meha Senthil, Nancy Sappington, Laura Burnett. Anne Fenkner and Asha joined in the afternoon.

Staff:
Nancy Hughes, Dorothy Abetya, Deb Etheredge

Summary

10.05 AM President Emina Darakjy called the meeting to order

  • Review and Approval of Agenda and Consent Calendar with minor modifications to the order of topics on the agenda
  • Conflict of Interest Statements signed by Board members

10.20 AM Discussion of Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Statement (EDI)

  • Committee: Mona & Emily read statement
  • Modify to include “education” in statement
  • Add “action items” to bullet points
  • Create mechanisms for opportunities for engagement
  • Work on Strategic Plan before adding actions to the EDI
  • Include California land acknowledgment Request input from indigenous groups

10.45 AM CalFire grant update (Nancy, Dorothy)

  • No invoices have been paid for 2022, but Q1 2022 was submitted & approved by Walter Passmore
  • 2022 Q2 & Q3 were submitted in late February. Q4 is still being processed by WCA.
  • Meeting set with CalFire (Passmore & Melvin) for Monday afternoon, March 27th to discuss Cool Parks and Cit Forest Renewal (CFR) grants’ possible approvals and potential for payment.
  • John Melvin provided Nancy with encouragement for closure in a 45-minute phone call.
  • Discussion of ongoing CalFire staffing shortages and funding issues

11.10 PM New Funding from the Forest Service (Nancy)

  • Nancy is looking forward to working with Miranda Hutten on the potential use of IRA funds. Miranda will be providing guidance in a webinar sponsored by CaUFC next month.

11:20 PM Regional Council Workshops (Deb)

  • Fresno is scheduled for April 27th with a Workshop (in-person & Zoom) on Urban Trees After the Storm.
  • Sacramento Council is working with the UC Master Gardeners. April 21st is the target date.
  • Street Tree Seminars is targeting Air Quality with a workshop scheduled in August.

12:00 PM Legislative Updates from Tasha Newman of Pacific Policy Group

12:30 PM Strategic Plan Review

  • The priority needs to focus on strengthening the existing programs
  • Look for other funding sources, e.g. other non-UF organizations
  • Grant Station is available for our use (subscription obtained)
  • Network for Good will be our new platform. In the process of moving over
  • Strategic Planning Committee – Emily, Meha, Sarah, Mona, & Nancy
  • Tom Story taught a fundraising workshop to Board in 2011, maybe revisit?
  • Form a coalition with CalReleaf?
  • Reinstate the membership fee: provide incentives to join?

2:00 PM Statement on loss, resilience, & the ongoing need for growing trees after the storm

  • Statement should be published. Reach out to the media
  • Establish “Talking Points” so the media can not take our words out of context
  • Letters to the Editor
  • The statement needs editing before publishing.
  • Who is the target audience
  • Share it with elected local officials
  • Nancy is willing to talk to City Councils
  • Check with Trepepi-Smith for the cost to refine the statement “Trees are essential – After the Storm”

2:18 PM Budget/Finances

  • The next two Board meetings will be about finances which should be clearer after CalFire makes decisions on grant approvals
  • Cool Parks – CaUFC is owed approximately $16K
  • CFR 1.0 – CaUFC is owed approximately $30K
  • AMPlifying the Urban Forest – CaUFC is owed approximately $200K

2:18 PM Transition to a new ED

  • A committee and Chairperson were selected: Gordon (Chair), Emina, Emily, Nancy S.
  • An existing Succession Plan can be found in the CaUFC Governance Framework. It is about ten years old but still is solid
  • The Succession Committee needs to be flexible regarding the location of the individual. Someone or an office in/around Sacramento would help with CaUFC’s advocacy and education mission
  • What are the characteristics to look for in a good ED for CaUFC: skills in diplomacy are essential

3:15 PM Open Discussion
4:00 PM Meeting Adjourned

Deb’s Conference Notes from the Board Meeting

  • Conference Partner is A-Plus Tree for an event August 3, 4, 5 at Mare Island, Vallejo
  • Event is called TreeTopia. It is an outdoor event for industry professionals and families
  • CaUFC attended last year
  • Hundreds are expected to attend
  • CaUFC will have its own tent for educational events/workshops
  • CaUFC cannot charge a fee
  • A committee needs to be established to help organize and manage CaUFC activities at TreeTopia
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