Alumni Association Board Meeting Minutes 06/21/25

Pomona College Alumni Association Board Meeting Minutes

June 21, 2025 – 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. | Virtual

Attendance

Committee Chair & Officers: Andrea Venezia '91, Monika Moore '03, Stuart Friedel '08, Robi Ganguly '00, Joshua Rodriguez '13, Emily Zheng ’19, Nina Zhou ’19

Board Members: Soren Austenfeld ’15 - Absent, Eliza Bennit '98, Michael Bright '10 - Absent, Lauren Clarke '83 P’18, Migel Delgado ’20 - Absent, Renee Dupont ’80 P’09, Anne Elsberry '91 P’14, Jackie Huffman '83, Tony King '97, Toran Langford '21, Te'auna Patterson '18 - Absent, Jim Sutton '84 P'22 - Absent, James Zhang ’95, Devlin Orlin ’25 -Absent

Staff and Faculty Representatives: Tray Hammond ’22, Pritina Irvin, Mariam Khwajazada, Kerry Martin - Absent, Karla Reid - Absent, Victoria Sancho Lobis (Faculty)- Absent

Quorum: The quorum for a meeting of the Board shall be a majority of the voting members. Therefore, this meeting had the necessary number of voting members (17) in attendance for a quorum.

Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 10:00am by President Andrea Venezia ’91 without dissent.

Prior Meeting Minutes: from 5.04.2024 were distributed to the Board for review.

Absent any other questions, comments or corrections, Eliza Bennitt ’98 motioned to approve the minutes. Robi Ganguly ’00 seconded the motion. Minutes approved without dissent; motion passed.

PCAAB President’s Remarks:

In summary, Andrea Venezia ’91 shared an update on the Faculty Liaison, Ben [Last Name], [Title]. Ben will be serving in a capacity similar to Ken Wolfe, but with closer engagement to the board. Ben has committed to sending regular Friday updates, continuing the practice established by Ken, and both he and Andrea hope to institutionalize this communication with future staff support.

Andrea and Ben plan to meet over the summer, and Ben is open to meeting with other alumni. He expressed interest in initiatives that strengthen connections with seniors as “alumni in the making,” including the possibility of hosting a meal for seniors during Alumni Weekend. He acknowledged potential budget, staffing, and agenda constraints but conveyed enthusiasm for cultural repair, community building, and engagement efforts. Andrea invited board members to share ideas or join her in upcoming meetings with Ben.

1. Faculty Chair Update from Ben Keim: Andrea Venezia ’91 shared updates on interests and ideas that Ben has on better ways to connect/engage students; one is a PCAAB meal with the Senior students; Since dinner may be too heavy for the budget, may be a happy hour or cocktail reception may work.

Questions / Action Items:

One idea raised was to have a shared meal with the seniors (lunch, or happy hour) while handing out Graduation Stoles. Mariam and Monika expressed commitment to exploring the idea.

Alumni and Family Engagement Updates:

Monika Moore ’03 shared that Victoria Sancho-Lobis is rolling off as faculty rep, with Steve Bickham (PE professor and men’s tennis coach) stepping in. The Board discussed faculty representation on the Alumni Association Board, noting transitions, appointment processes, and ways to strengthen continuity. Members agreed to engage faculty leadership (Ben) for clarity on the appointment process and to identify more invested faculty partners.

1. Leadership Development Committee (LDC) Updates: Monika reported that 6 of the 7 new members have accepted invitations to join the LDC. While names will be shared separately, all invitees agreed to serve. LDC Orientation is scheduled, and the first full meeting will take place in late August. The decision was made not to involve new members in the current meeting to allow the strategic planning work to get established first.
2. Alumni Engagement Metrics Update: Monika presented an update on alumni engagement metrics, highlighting progress, challenges, and future plans tied to the campaign. She emphasized the importance of tracking engagement in real time, explained the framework (experiential, volunteerism, communication, philanthropic), and shared results showing Pomona ahead of pace for FY24–25. Discussion also touched on data accuracy, Salesforce implementation, and aligning subcommittees to metrics. With a new system in place, the goal is to move from delayed reporting to real-time/quarterly AEM updates using Salesforce.
3. FY26 Sagehen Connect Goals: As part of the division’s annual and campaign engagement goals, Advancement aims to significantly grow Sagehen Connect membership, increasing annual growth from ~600 new members to a target of around 1,000 (or more). This will serve as a key driver for two-way communication engagement and align with broader campaign goals. The intent is to leverage Sagehen Connect more actively to drive alumni engagement, create measurable upticks in communication metrics, and align subcommittee work with overall campaign goals.

Questions & Action Items:

• What is the exact process/timeline for appointing faculty reps? Andrea to ask Ben about the process and possible long-term reps.
• Which faculty are already engaged and strong candidates? Monika Moore ’03 / AFE team to identify engaged faculty for future consideration.

Strategic Alignment – Next Steps: Andrea Venezia ’91 introduced the Board’s strategic alignment planning process with Huron Consulting, outlining draft outcomes and a two-phase approach. She facilitated an exercise to prioritize strategic initiatives, building on the May 4 meeting. Discussion focused on clarifying the Board’s role, balancing engagement and fundraising, authentically addressing alumni needs, and including diverse perspectives (students, young alumni, disengaged alumni), while also refining how volunteer opportunities are communicated.

Strategic Alignment Discussion:

Andrea Venezia highlighted overlapping priorities in the group’s exercise and began surfacing themes such as interest in strategy vs. process.

• Strategic Planning Process: Lauren Clarke asked about protocols and sequencing for task force work (e.g., which constituencies are engaged and in what order). Monika Moore clarified that the current alignment process is focused on the Alumni Board, consultants, and Advancement staff, not a shared governance model, but will align with the campus-wide governance process. She noted a timeline exists in the contract and will be shared when finalized.
• Emerging Themes: Andrea summarized that members want a process that is contextualized for Pomona, relational and inclusive, aligned with college priorities, properly resourced, and able to deliver real impact. Members supported sharing the current draft document with consultants to reflect these priorities.
• Board History & Institutional Memory: Robi Ganguly suggested creating a comprehensive history of the Alumni Board to avoid “reinventing the wheel” every few years. Andrea, Monika, and Josh Rodriguez agreed, emphasizing the value of documenting past efforts, lessons learned, and alumni involvement to reduce information asymmetry and create a more level playing field for new board members.

Questions Raised /Suggestions:

• Clarify the Alumni Board’s role in balancing engagement with fundraising.
• Define a shared vision of the alumni journey and identify key touchpoints across life stages.
• Ensure diverse voices (students, young alumni, disengaged alumni) are included in the strategic planning process.
• Refresh the Board Book with a simplified “cheat sheet” of volunteer opportunities.
• Gather peer institution examples to inform benchmarking and best practices.
• Share process documentation and timeline from the Huron contract once finalized.
• Ensure consultants understand the Board’s desired themes (strategic, inclusive, aligned, resourced, impactful).
• Develop a comprehensive and accessible history of the Alumni Board to preserve institutional memory.
• Explore student involvement (research/documentation support) to help compile board history while fostering engagement.

Discussion with Campus Partners:

1. End-of-Year Projects: Victoria highlighted an upswing in faculty morale, partially due to a shift in student and faculty focus following recent events, disciplinary outcomes, and broader national issues such as the election.
2. FY26 Priorities:
   1. Admissions:
      1. Alumni Admissions Volunteers (AAV): ~400 previously “active” volunteers; numbers will drop with AAV sensing.
      2. Alumni interviews are not returning (even via Zoom). Cited California requirements (training, finger printing, background checks) and cost/benefit concerns. Monica will ask Admissions what peer schools in CA are doing and clarify how the law applies (in-state only vs. nationwide practice).
   2. Communications (Advancement/Central Comms):
      1. FY26 focus: Build stronger infrastructure and content for Sage & Connect in partnership with Advancement Comms, CDO, and new central VP for communications (Catherine Laidlaw).
      2. Traffic drivers under exploration (e.g., “Ask a Sagehen” concept); benchmarking peer institutions that use the same platform.
      3. Year-end “sor ask” storytelling on Facebook to support giving; coordination via Advancement Comms.
   3. Development (Annual Giving/Participation):
      1. Alumni Board at 100% participation.
      2. Final-week push: encouraging regional chapter leaders and personal outreach/texts to boost alumni participation (gir of any amount to any area).
      3. Gifts to endowed scholarships: count toward alumni participation, but generally not toward unrestricted annual giving totals (fund-dependent). Focus right now is participation rate.
   4. Action Items:
      1. Crystal Gammon (AVP, Advancement Comms) to coordinate with Development on year-end storytelling push (social media + giving ask).
      2. Alumni Board members to continue final-week outreach (regional chapter leaders, personal texts/emails) to drive alumni participation.
   5. New Business & Action Items:
      1. No new business or additional action items raised.
   6. Farewell & Service Acknowledgment:
      1. Andrea Venezia ’91 recognized and thanked Josh Rodriguez for his service, highlighting his thoughtful leadership, consistency, and strong relationship-building with the CDO. Josh shared personal reflections on how the Board reconnected him with Pomona and expressed gratitude for the experience, and his eagerness to continue working with the CDO.

1:00 pm Adjournment Andrea Venezia ’91 motioned to adjourn the meeting at 1:00pm; Moton to adjourn moved by Josh Rodriguez, seconded by Anne Elsberry, and approved.

Key Dates: 2025 - 26

7/27/24 New Member Onboarding 8/10/24 Alumni Board Meetng #1

8/17/24 New Student / Family Orientaton

10/18/24 Oct. Alumni Board Retreat: Senior Class/AB Mixer

10/19/24 Oct. Alumni Board Retreat: New Faculty Dinner (Faculty Award) 10/19/24 Alumni Board Meetng #2

11/1-2/24 Family Weekend 2024 12/7/24 Alumni Board Meetng #3 3/15/25 Alumni Board Meetng #4 5/1 – 5/4/25 Alumni Weekend 2025 5/4/25 Alumni Board Meetng #56/21/25 Alumni Board Meetng #6