Pomona College Alumni Association Board Meeting Minutes
Saturday, January 24, 2026 | 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Virtual Meeting via Zoom
Committee Chair & Officers: Andrea Venezia ’91, Robi Ganguly ’00 -president elect, Anne Elsberry ’91 P’14, Stuart Friedel ’08, Emily Zheng ’19, Jim Sutton ’84 P’22, Jackie Huffman ’83, Eliza Bennitt ’98
Board Members: Robert Chew ’14, Lauren Clarke ’83 P’18, Miguel Delgado ’20, Renee Dupont ’80 P’09, Fred Feller ’71, Rebecca Golden ’10, Tony King ’97 (Absent), Toran Langford ’21, Te’auna Patterson ’18, Jesse Stoneman ’12, Jacob Wilson ’15, James Zhang ’95, Grace Zheng ’26
Alumni and Family Engagement Staff: Janncarlo Flores, Pritina Irvin, Mariam Khwajazada, Jenny Kong, Lariza Rigor
Special Guests: Maria Watson, Eric Abelev, Crystal Gammon, Andy Shaindlin (Huron|GG+A), Lisa Brown (Huron|GG+A)
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 (18) in attendance for a quorum.
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 10:06 am by President Andrea Venezia ’91. Approval of previous minutes was postponed due to limited review time, with plans to finalize them at the March board meeting.
Welcome:
President Andrea Venezia ’91 opened the meeting by welcoming attendees and guests. Andrea offered some framing on the Board's ongoing strategic review, stressing the need to clarify PCAAB’s role in decision-making and to establish effective communication channels. She also highlighted the importance of sustaining progress for Alumni Weekend, noting her intention to take a more active leadership role in collaboration with staff and the committee.
Action Items:
- Board Members: Review the prior meeting minutes and associated “next steps” in advance of the March meeting so approval can occur with informed consent.
- Board Leadership/AFE Staff: Improve lead time after the meeting for distributing future minutes so action steps can be tracked and executed between meetings.
AFE Staff Support and Commitments to the PCAAB: Maria Watson
Maria Watson, VP for Advancement, addressed the recent leadership transition within AFE. Maria reaffirmed the institution’s commitment to supporting the Alumni Association and outlined plans for a national search to fill the director role permanently, with select Board leaders involved in the search process, including participating in a search committee. She further assured timely efforts to form committees and set up meetings to regain momentum by Spring.
Action Items:
- College/Advancement Leadership: Identify and engage a search firm for the national AFE Director search, ensuring PCAAB / stakeholder representation.
- AFE Leadership (Maria): Within two weeks, follow up with PCAAB on instantiating committees and scheduling meetings to restore momentum for spring initiatives.
Strategic Alignment Initiative: Huron|GG+A & Maria Watson
The consultants emphasized that their summary work provides an honest assessment of current themes to ensure staff, leadership, and the PCAAB share a clear understanding of the present situation. They explained that the upcoming guiding framework will be both detailed and actionable, with its success relying on collaborative efforts between the PCAAB and staff to implement necessary changes and rebuild trust. Additionally, this framework is designed to act as a decision-making tool, enabling the team to prioritize and evaluate new ideas based on established principles and a shared sense of purpose.
Action Items:
- Huron|GG+A: Deliver the guiding framework content/principles to the Board for use as a prioritization tool.
- PCAAB + AFE Staff: Adopt the framework as a shared operating reference (“north star”) to guide decisions and partnership going forward.
Official College and PCAAB Communications Channels: Eric Abelev + Crystal Gammon
Eric Abelev, Chief Communications Officer, observed that certain communications may necessitate more extensive legal review, potentially affecting both the timeliness and message phrasing, and underscored the importance of a channel-first strategy that prioritizes direct-to-audience and owned channels.
While the College can provide supporting messages for major announcements, Eric reaffirmed developing a one-page guide with talking points for volunteers to use in situations that require further context. He also proposed establishing a monthly meeting with Board leadership to facilitate the communication of alumni feedback and improve responsiveness, in partnership with Crystal Gammon.
Crystal Gammon, AVP, Advancement Communications, outlined Advancement Communications’ focus on written, video, and social storytelling, executive and community messaging, the Pomona College Magazine, trustee/volunteer leadership communications, newsletters, and web content. Key communication channels include the Pomona news site, Sagehen Impact, Sagehen Report, Alumni Chirps and Family Chirps newsletters, and various social platforms.
Action Items:
- Eric (with Maria and Crystal): Develop a consistent process for producing one-page messaging guides/talking points for significant College announcements.
- Andrea, Eric, Crystal (and designated Board members): Establish a monthly communications touchpoint to share alumni feedback trends and emerging issues.
- Sagehen Report: Pritina Irvin to subscribe current PCAAB members to the Sagehen Report to stay informed and aligned with institutional messaging cadence and establish a process to sign up new members annually.
- PCAAB + Advancement Comms: Confirm which channels are appropriate for PCAAB amplification and how alumni feedback should be routed to the correct team/staff.
Alumni Board Committee and Project Updates
Cookbook Project Committee: The committee submitted an updated proposal requesting additional funding for a hardbound cookbook and described an expanded keepsake concept featuring sidebars (faculty culinary connections, alumni in food/wine/restaurant industries, dining hall history, and Student Life reprints). Appeal for Cookbook Committee members to explore the feasibility of a themed dinner idea for Alumni Weekend.
Action Items:
- Board Members: Submit recipes to the Cookbook team; personally solicit recipe submissions from faculty/staff (Faculty/staff recipe submissions are needed).
Regional Chapters Committee: The Regionals team noted leadership fatigue in certain chapters and encouraged recruitment of new chapter leaders; the role is meaningful and requires sustained engagement. The Committee requested inclusion in future communications channel planning, given operational experience with channel constraints and response delays.
Action Items:
- All Board Members: Identify and refer potential regional chapter leaders to the Regional Chapters.
- Board Leadership/Comms: Include Regional Chapter leadership in communications channel design discussions.
Development Committee: The Development Committee shared progress on a Senior Impact Gift matching initiative designed to foster giving and increase participation; the group discussed leveraging Alumni Weekend touchpoints to connect with and thank participants.
Action Items:
- Board Members: Email Robi to participate in the match and specify giving capacity.
- Development Committee: Launch senior-facing messagingand fundraising outreach.
Celebrating Oldenborg Committee: Staff shared planned Alumni Weekend programming (celebration event, tours, storytelling, and alumni memory collection) and noted registration opens February 2.
Action Items:
- Advancement Comms + AFE: Board members emphasized that communications should clearly state that Oldenborg is planned to be replaced, so alumni understand the change and are encouraged to return for Alumni Weekend.
- AFE/Oldenborg Working Group: Share updated calendar and opportunities for alumni to contribute memories.
Alumni Weekend – PCAAB: Andrea thanked members who joined the Alumni Weekend committee and noted next steps include confirming chair(s), establishing cadence, and finalizing volunteer assignments; March will focus on finalizing volunteer slots.
Next Steps:
- Alumni Weekend Committee: Confirm chair(s) and schedule meetings.
- Alumni Weekend Committee + AFE: Finalize volunteer slot assignments (March focus).
New Initiative: Coop Store – Alumni/Student Merchandise Design:
Grace Zheng ’26, in partnership with Jesse Stoneman ’12, shared a proposal to launch an alumni (and potentially student) merchandise design competition for items sold through the Coop Store, including a general Pomona theme and an Oldenborg theme. The revenue from merchandise sales will be divided between the Coop Store and donations supporting Pomona-related initiatives. Proceeds from general designs will be directed to PCIP/SURP, while funds from Oldenborg-themed items will benefit the Global Pomona Project.
Action Items:
- Project Leads (Grace and Jesse): Obtain product specs for intended merchandise categories.
- Project Leads + Advancement/AFE Leadership: Confirm donation allocations/approvals and align launch timing with Alumni Weekend/Oldenborg messaging.
New Business & Action Items
Coop Fountain – Grace Zheng ’26: Grace reported that the Coop Fountain is slated to close while CGE is under construction, to provide a temporary space for Campus Catering.
Action Items:
- Maria Watson: To confirm statusof reported Coop Fountain closureand share findingswith theBoard.
PCAAB Alumni Weekend Travel Arrangements – Pritina Irvin: Pritina Irvin, Asst. Dir. of Alumni & Family Engagement, previewed an upcoming email with Alumni Weekend registration guidance and emphasized that all Board members should complete the RSVP form even if not attending (for attendance accuracy, hotel rooms, and shirt sizes).
- Travel Reimbursements: Board members should upload receipts via the designated reimbursement form; receipts must show the last four digits of the credit card (often the signed receipt).
- Weekend logistics discussed included a Welcome Happy Hour at the DoubleTree and a Sunday board meeting (tentatively scheduled from 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.) with a request that departures are booked later in the day; flexibility to extend if needed was noted.
Action Items:
- All PCAAB Members: Complete the Alumni Weekend RSVP/registration form (even if not attending).
- Submit travel reimbursement receipts via the designated upload form and ensure receipts include the last four digits of the credit card used.
- Book return flights to allow attendance at the Sunday board meeting (later afternoon departures preferred).
Meeting Adjourned
Andrea Venezia thanked all participants for their collaboration and adjourned the meeting at 1:07 PM.
Next Meeting: Saturday, March 21, 2026 – Virtual Board Meeting
Key Dates: 2025 – 26
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10/11/25 Oct. Alumni Board Retreat: New Faculty Dinner (Faculty Award) 10/12/25Alumni Board Meeting #2: Sunday* (on campus)
01/24/26Alumni Board Meeting #3 03/21/26 Alumni Board Meeting #4
05/03/25 Alumni Board Meeting #5: Sunday* (on campus) 06/20/26 Alumni Board Meeting #6