The Executive Committee and members of the CASBO Board of Directors and Education Advocacy Foundation (EAF) participated in their quarterly board meeting on June 5, 2021.

On June 4, the group also held its customary one-day leadership training event prior to the board meeting, and this year — at last! — we once again held this annual event in person in San Diego … and we’re ALL grateful for that!

For those of you who are new to CASBO, this event kicks off the new year for our association and serves as the planning vehicle by which we maintain and enhance our board members’ leadership and communication skills, as well as regularly review the protocols and procedures that ensure our board’s effectiveness so that our association continues to serve as a model resource for California school business.

During this leadership event, we welcomed the addition of some new 2021-22 board members: Robin Schmitt (representing the Northern Section), Katie Hylton (representing the Eastern Section), Thomas Tan (representing the Southern Section), Jennifer Marrone (representing the San Diego/Imperial Section), Associate Member Committee Chair David Creech and EAF Assistant/Legislative Committee Chair Jamie Phillips.

In addition to the board members, we also welcomed Shasta Cascade Section President Matt Wahlman, Sacramento Section Past President Whitney Hardison, Northern Section Past President Barbara Corrick, Eastern Section President Susana Lopez, Southern Section President Jeff Young and San Diego/Imperial Section Past President Mark Pong.

Select CASBO staff also joined us in our collaborations: CEO Tatia Davenport, Chief Financial Officer John-Paul Bustamante, Chief Governmental Relations Officer Sara Bachez, Vice President of Marketing Operations & Membership David Loyola, Governmental Relations Senior Director of Policy & Governance Elizabeth Esquivel, and Governance Liaison Michelle Neto.

Because CASBO welcomed new board members and a new executive committee, we also reviewed roles and responsibilities, as well as processes and protocols, and discussed strategic planning. We took some time to get to know each other better and share a few stories.

We also spent some time discussing how CASBO can best serve our members, our sections and the association as our schools continue to work through the reopening process, taking full advantage of the state and federal financial incentives being provided that will allow them to offer the best onsite and remote learning options to California’s students.

The official board meeting also included customary updates from our professional staff and member leaders on topics such as current financials, including an overview of the differences in revenue between in-person and virtual events; professional development; legislative advocacy; membership, including new models and pricing; and support for our strategic alliances, partnerships, sponsorships and associate members.

We also reviewed reports from the Executive Committee and section directors; approved committee and professional council appointments; formalized board meeting processes and governance protocols; and discussed how to build leadership capacity in our sections, committees and professional councils.

This June board meeting was a great start to the new year and saw everyone ready to incorporate and build on all of the positive changes and challenges encountered during the past year. CASBO continues to be encouraged by the dedication and commitment of our member leaders and their engagement with the association, especially in light of how many “new normal” circumstances we now work under.

As always, we’ll keep you updated throughout the year about our leadership’s actions and activities, so keep an eye on your inbox. And thank you for your membership and participation in CASBO. We have a lot of positive things to look forward to this year, and your support inspires us to keep that mindset and ensure that 2021-22 will be one of our best years!