Dear Consumer Voice Members and Friends,
I am writing with an update on the recent Voting Member Group voting on revised Consumer Voice Bylaws, which would establish a new leadership structure for the organization (a Leadership Council and Governing Board versus a single Board of Directors).
Voting closed yesterday - and the Bylaws revisions passed with a significant amount of support (nearly 90% of voters in favor of the changes).
Consumer Voice Board Members, staff, other members and friends have worked to address financial sustainability and governance issues as part of a comprehensive six-month strategic business planning process. The two-tier system includes a Leadership Council, with authority over the development of a policy and program agenda for the organization and with a goal of bringing consumer voices directly and substantively into Consumer Voice. The Leadership Council also ensures significant representation of Consumer Voice's membership on key organizational issues. The second tier of the leadership structure is a Governing Board. The Board will be responsible for fundraising, public relations, financial oversight and hiring and evaluating the Executive Director (up to 2/3 of the Governing Board will be elected by the voting membership).
In accordance with the new Bylaws, the Governing Board and Leadership Council structure goes into effect immediately. Both groups will be initially comprised of members from the (now former) Board of Directors - members have already self-selected which group they would like to participate in. There are several opportunities to add additional members to both groups in the upcoming year. The list of Leadership Council and Governing Board members will be available on our website in the next week. In addition, both groups have agreed to meet in-person at our regularly scheduled April Board meeting to firmly establish Consumer Voice's new leadership structure.
The staff and I would like to thank the entire Consumer Voice membership and network for your support during this process. The governance changes are just one step in our overall plan for the next several years. We look forward to rolling out the complete plan to you soon. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to reach out to me with any questions or feedback.
Sincerely,
Sarah Wells
Executive Director, Consumer Voice