Minutes of the IAGD General Meeting
October 27, 2013, 4:00 pm, Denver, CO
Note: A follow-up to this meeting will be conducted virtually on December 20, 2013. Access information to this webinar will be made available during the first week of December.
Executive Committee in Attendance:
- Christopher Atchison, Executive Director
- Kristie Bradford, Executive Secretary
- Brett Gilley, Director of Membership and Community Engagement
- Kathleen Nicoll, Director of Foundations
- Anthony Feig, Executive Counselor
- Gina Ceylan, Executive Counselor
- Gretchen Miller, Executive Counselor
- Caitlin Callahan, Executive Counselor
General Members in attendance:
- Laura Serpa
- Adrianne Leinbach
- Julie Libarkin
- Mark Izold
- Julie Maxson
- Katherine Ryker
- Heather Pacheco
- Natalie Bursztyn
- Kera Judy
Meeting called to order at 4:00pm.
Christopher Atchison – welcome statement and some announcements
- We are officially 5 years old even though this is our 2nd annual meeting
- Over this past year we have had our By-laws approved, elected an executive committee, become an affiliate member of GSA, and increased awareness and the membership of the IAGD
(Members and executive committee introduced themselves)
- Next elections scheduled for GSA Annual Meeting in 2014
- Elections will occur every GSA –
- Terms are for two years with staggered executive counselor terms.
- New executive counselors for 2013-2015 term: Gretchen Miller and Caitlin Callahan.
- Next year all executive committee members with the exception of the two new executive counselors will be up for election.
Brett Gilley – Membership update
- We’ve grown significantly this year – 116 members with 162 contacts in the Google Group,
- 39 states and DC, along with 10 countries represented
- 11 states are not represented – WV, ND, FL, IN, AK, HI, ID, AL, MS, LA. VT
- People are talking about us more and more!
- Now we need to turn those people into members – stickers, cards, and brochures need to be distributed during the meeting.
- Membership is FREE we need to emphasize that we are a network of people wanting to improve access.
Christopher Atchison – Communications
- Website – Be sure to check it out!
- IAGD Google Group – idea sharing . We are trying to have an easy way to send out announcements and start conversations. These communications have to be easily accessible to those looking for information. Some issues we need it to show up on the website too – link it to a blog? Need to work on that still.
- Email – newsletters – look for them in June and January. We need news! January newsletter will be composed beginning in December
- Facebook – we use Facebook as an easy place to start conversations and share information; but, all important information is also sent as email, posted on the website; and, the Google group. It is a quick way to get out information and to network. GSA saw a post we had regarding accessibility at the conference and then posted it themselves on their own page and in information at the conference.
Kristie Bradford – Profiles and Events
- Experienced Instructor/Student Profiles – call out for people to write about how they have solved/handled issues with accessibility. Information would be posted in the Resources tab. Email profiles to Kristie Bradford – could be useful for promoting a student community.
- GSA Events
– IAGD Booth #113
– Sessions: Monday Poster Session (#147), Tuesday Oral Session (#286).
– Socials:
- 6:00 – 8:00 – Sunday, Geoeducation Social, Hyatt Continental Ballroom D
- 5:30 – 7pm Tuesday, Diversity Social, Hyatt Centennial Ballroom D
Kathleen Nicoll – Foundation
- We are now a GSA Associated Society.
- We are looking for donors
- To have a fully functional foundation account, we need to have a minimum of $25,000.
- We may be added to the GSA dues donation page hopefully for the 2015 membership registration drive
- Call for pictures to add to GSA Today and the GSA website they will be invaluable to use to pitch to sponsors.
- GSA will manage the foundation so that we can avoid the legal issues. GSA will handle all the legal issues. GSA will invest the money to help it grow. They are very good at managing funds. Since the 2008 downturn, they only dropped 2% in value so our money is in the best hands.
- Kathleen will be going to the GSA meeting tomorrow (Monday, October 28) to promote the IAGD to get the foundation rolling
Kera Judy – Project ideas and collaboration opportunities
- Kera is trying to establish a consortium of schools willing to develop field-based learning for students with physical disabilities
- There are few accessible field courses
- Creating a Geoscience Faculty Guidebook – how to handle the legal issues, who do you go to with different problems, answers questions so that faculty feel more comfortable taking students with disabilities out in the field
- Chris and Brett will be offering an accessible field trip at the 2014 GSA in Vancouver.
Christopher Atchison – Closing statements
- We need more people to attend the meetings
- Follow-up virtual meeting on December 20, 2013. Watch for emails with access information. Meeting will be after 1 pm EST to accommodate our members in Australia and New Zealand.
- Come by and hang out at the Booth!! Get people to know more about us.
Adjourn: 4:45pm.