Summary of the December 12, 2017 Board Meeting

On December 12, 2017, the board met virtually to close out final topics for the year ranging from board governance to reviewing the 2018 operational focus. You can find the meeting minutes, board packet and video recording here.

The board unanimously voted to approve changes to the Drupal Association bylaws. The main changes were:

• The ability to pay an Officer. This allows us to pay Adam Goodman, our past board advisor, to serve as interim chair of the Board of Directors. In response to the community’s request for a neutral chair, Adam agreed to step into this role and will continue to help the board evolve strategically and orient itself around a chair that is not the founder of the project. The nominating committee will focus this year on finding a permanent chair. 

• Update of the list of committees. The bylaws now reflect the committees that are in place today.

• Clarity on meeting tools. This allows the board to meet virtually using more modern tools like video conferencing rather than conference lines.

The board also voted to approve the extention of  community elected board members’ seats so their term ends in November of their last year on the board rather than January. Shyamala Rajaram’s seat was extended from January 2018 to November 2018 and Ryan Szrama’s seat was extended from January 2019 to November 2019. We made this change so that community elected board member start and end their terms in the same month as the nominated members. This will provide smoother onboarding for our community elected board members.

Now that community elected board members will join the Board of Directors in November rather than January, community elections will be held this summer.

Additionally, Megan Sanicki, Drupal Association Executive Director, provided an update on 2017 staff achievements and shared the team’s 2018 goals and focus areas. The 2018 goal is to help grow adoption of Drupal 8 ambitious digital experiences including API-first solutions. We will do this by focusing our efforts in the following areas:

1. Accelerate the adoption journey of ambitious digital experiences including API-first solutions

   • By inspiring & informing evaluators with case studies and other resources to help convert them into users faster/easier

   • By improving Drupal’s TCO and ease of use

2. Strengthen the User Journey: Continue to delight existing users and help them expand Drupal usage

3. Support community health

   • Support diversity with DrupalCon inclusion programs and by expanding the personas we serve as well as providing more global support

   • Strengthen the connection between BDFL and community through roundtable discussions and amplifying his messages to the community

   • Support community governance improvements as needed / requested

4. Build a stronger foundation of support

   • Ensure staff satisfaction

   • Ensure organizational and financial health

   • Create better understanding, collaboration between DA & community

Specific details of the Drupal Association’s 2018 execution plan will be shared in a future blog post.

We hope you can join us for our 2018 board meetings, which will be announced soon.