Pomona College Alumni Association Board Meeting Minutes
June 26, 2021 – 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Via Zoom
In attendance: Andrew Brown, Alisa Fishbach, Paula Gonzalez, Pritina Irvin, Terrill Jones, Mariam Khwajazada, Andrew Knuckle, Carol Kruse, Kerry Martin, Jon Moore, Vickie Paterno, Andrea Ravich, Alfredo Romero, Don Swan, Lucy Takahashi, Andrea Venezia, Maria Watson, Dominic Yoong, Jon Siegel, Marcel Green, Linda Luisi, Jim McCallum, Lew Phelps, Veronica Roman, Kristen Romero
Absent: Julie Siebel, Nathan Dean, Kevin Dettmar, Jeffery Levere, Megan Long, Cris Monroy, Amy Van Buren Rhodes, Cris Byington, Aaron Davis, Aldair Gomez, Alex Tran, Anna Twum, Jade Sasser
Call to Order, Welcome and Introductions: President Don Swan ’15 called the meeting to order at 10:00 am. The members who were present, introduced themselves. The meeting minutes from May 6, 2021 were approved unanimously by vote.
President’s Report: Don gave an update on the College’s hard work in creating protocols for the dining halls and campus as a whole, as we prepare to reopen the campus and welcome students back in the fall. The College, and Trustees, are also preparing for a Comprehensive Fundraising Campaign
Action Item: Proposal/Approval of FY ’22 (Committees/Chairs); Approved by unanimous vote.
Regional Chapter Committee: Julie Siebel – Chair
Development Committee: Meagan Kaes- Chair
Alumni Engagement Committee: Paula – Chair/ Open – Co-Chair
Regional Chapter’s Committee (RCC) Year-End Update: The RCC (Mariam Khwajazada presented for Julie S.) provided an overview of the Regional Chapters Committee’s history, goals for engagement and the committee’s work during the last year. Regional Chapter cities for the coming year will be: Chicago, Los Angeles New York, Orange County, Puget Sound and San Francisco. The Regional Chapters Committee’s (RCC) outline addresses the changes to the new Regional Chapters and provides preliminary benchmarks and goals to measure activity and success.
The Chapters Leadership Retreat will be held on July 10, 2021. The purpose of Regional Chapters is to serve as a valuable resource for alumni and the college by fostering/energizing a sense of community around the country and world with the help of staff, faculty, leadership, and volunteers. The RCC is requesting 3 volunteer leaders per chapter, with a goal of at least 2 Regional Chapter events per year and 100+ alumni engagement in each Chapter. A copy of the PowerPoint presented will be shared with the full Board.
Engagement Committee (EC) Year-End Update: The Engagement Committee (Jon Moore ’86 & Paula Gonzalez ’95) gave a brief overview of the past year; the EC is continuing to work towards their goal of getting the new/young alumni more involved with the College. Paula is looking forward to creating more engagement opportunities for alumni in the coming year.
Adv. Development Committee (ADC) Year-End Update: The Advancement Development Committee (Alfredo Romero ’91) gave an overview of the ADC; a new committee with goals of supporting the fundraising efforts of Pomona College Advancement through outreach efforts, and with a focus on annual fund and alumni participation. The ADC is currently looking at the current state and (the path forward) to align the needs of the annual fund with the ease of giving, establishing the goals and initiating stewardship for our donors. Future commitments include strong collaboration/alignment with National Chair of Annual Giving, participate with Stewardship initiatives & fundraising efforts that help elevate the donor experience. Also includes encouraging the AB Board to maintain 100% giving participation at meaningful levels to each member. A copy of the PowerPoint presented will be shared with the full Board.
Looking Forward (Back to Campus): Alisa Fishbach presented the Board with a brief snapshot of alumni planning as we move back to in-person events and back on campus:
- Summer is a time when the Advancement divisions are strategizing for the coming Calendar year/Fiscal year (drives fundraising focus), academic year (student experience/ donor experience).
- June 15th: The Campus officially re-opened to the public.; Staff are beginning to return
- Phased return for Staff; Adjustment to workspaces to accommodate more office staff.
- Hayley Van Arsdell, New Alumni and Family Engagement Admin., will start on July 20th.
- Seaver house: AFE, Annual Giving, and Adv. Comms
- Physical space refresh at Seaver House; goal is to strike a balance between an Alumni House that truly represents the full breadth and diversity of the Alumni community.
- The coming year will bring both virtual and in-person programming in an effort to continue to engage with alums all over the world.
- Increasing Volunteers and providing a Volunteer program structure
- Encouraging alumni to visit/attend on-campus events and the new Benton Museum.
- Creation of Alumni Board Past President Council: an advisory group to the College, our office and alumni in general.
- Faculty & Presidential travel to resume; dates forthcoming
Alisa also gave an overview of the year-ahead programming for Alumni & Family Engagement. Highlights include:
- July: virtual Welcome Parties for families; Regional Chapters Leadership Retreat
- August: 75 rising Junior /Senior families to volunteer in welcoming new Sagehen families with Welcome Calls; Welcome Parties; Move-in Days & Family Farewell event
- October: Founders Day (100th Anniversary to celebrate the indigenous history of Pomona campus and in the region. Family Weekend, Angela Davis will visit campus for a talk.
- November: Rivalry Game
- April /May: 4/7 Day, Admit Day, Alumni Weekend, Class of 2022 Commencement, Class of 20-21 Celebration.
Farewells and Thank-You’s: Don Swan ’15 gave his gratitude and thanks for the Alumni Board members who have served their final term on the Board:
General Q&A: Don Swan ’15 answered some general Q&A from the board.
- PowerPoints presented today will be provided to the full Board
- Encouraged the Board to attend the Sontag Theater Shakespeare production in July.
- Don & Alisa to schedule 1:1 meetings with the new AB members.
- Postcards to welcome ’24-’25 back to campus are in the works.
- Don will be sending out the ’22 AB meeting dates soon
Special Guest: Maria Watson, Vice President for Advancement: was present to extend heart-felt encouragement to the board, looking to the year and partnership ahead, and with the leadership that we have seen, to the expansion of the life-long connection – in support of our alumni – she looks forward to building upon the excitement of 2022.
Special Guest: President G. Gabrielle Starr: President Starr congratulated the “graduating” Alumni Board members who are “rolling off” of the Board and welcomed the new Alumni Board members. President Starr is hoping the board will give ideas on how to bring alumni back and closer to the College.
Adjournment: Don Swan ’15 adjourned the meeting at 1:00pm
Next Alumni Board Meeting is scheduled for August 14, 2021 10am-1pm via Zoom