Minutes: June 20, 2023

Attendance

Board Members:
Nick Harvey, Emily Spillett-Brownlie (needed to leave early), Mona Cummings, Sarah Gaskin, Bob Blum, Nancy Sappington, Meha Senthil, Laura Burnett, Magen Shaw (left early), Emina (joined late)

Absent: Gordon Mann, Anne Fenkner, Gordon Matassa

Staff:
Nancy Hughes, Deb Etheredge

Summary

12.35 PM Called the meeting to order

  • Motion by Emily to move the Strategic Plan & Mind the Divide to top of agenda.

12.37 PM Consent calendar approved

12.39 PM Mind the Divide update from Emily

  • Monday is on Monday, June 26
  • Reminder email is going out this afternoon.
  • Compiling a resource library on the website.
  • Solicit feedback and policy recommendations at the meeting on Monday before the fires.
  • Francisco’s team is doing the post-fire recommendations.
  • Urban forest practices and policies to maintain the forest.

12.45 PM Strategic Plan Review Committee Update – See Google Spreadsheet

  • Emily presented the latest revision of the Strategic Plan 2021 – 2025
  • Nancy S. What is the timeframe? Are we reviewing this annually? What are the milestones to check progress on action items?
  • Some of the items discussed included strategies 1 through 3.
  • Updated & edited desired outcomes for the strategies.
    • Refresh, strengthen and promote 2 existing programs: IFGU & UFMP Toolkit
    • Work with municipal and community-based partnerships to maximize urban canopy, outreach, education, and collaboration.
    • Build relationships with non-profits doing equity-based work.
  • Action Item
    1. Identify budget and find funding to refresh and revive programs.
      • Hire a dedicated CaUFC Urban Forester
    2. Identify communities for outreach, how best to reach them, and what to promote.
    3. Identify equity-based non-profits.
  • Emily presented what needs to be discussed for fundraising activities.
  • The discussion moved to Executive Director search.
  • The search committee is looking for the new Executive Director.
  • The document is to be shared, and people can make comments in the Google doc.

1:25 PM TreeTopia update from Sarah

  • Nancy is meeting with Sarah at the venue.
  • We already have ten applicants for scholarships, and Nancy is seeing if we can fund more.
  • Nancy working with Igor, Gordon, and Dorothy to build the list of speakers.

1:28 PM CAL FIRE issues update

  • Through the end of April to get the work done on the grants.
  • WCA had a lot of work to do to make sure all the commitments were met.
  • Cool Parks – looks like being paid in full.
  • CFR – may not be fully paid.
  • CFR2.0 – got shut down. Nancy will see if the money allocated for that could be repurposed into another shovel-ready program.

1:33 PM Financials update

  • Nancy is working on a budget.

1:35 PM DEI statement

  • Statement to be shared and added to our materials.
  • Mona said Sarah has the finalized statement.

1:38 PM Regional Council Workshops – Deb to chase up councils.

  • 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

1:39 PM Next meeting July 11

  • 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

1:40 PM Meeting adjourned.

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