Administrator's Weekly Activity Report
This week was tax week. Due to some preparation that I have done over the past few months, the process was relatively painless. I also continued to assist the rest of the staff in their preparation of testimony for Thursday's HECB meeting. I attended the meeting and supplied copies of the testimony. I also met with the Geoduck Union at TESC and offered my assistance with keeping their membership active.
Accomplishments
- Coordinated preparation of testimony for HECB.
- Edited and supplied copies of testimony to HECB.
- Attended HECB meeting.
- Met with Geoduck Union.
- Filed the WSL's quarterly taxes.
- Began scheduling second childcare forum.
This week I filed a Master Business License with the state. I also coordinated several conversations about the HECB master plan, which laid the groundwork for the WSL's testimony on Oct. 25th. I am also very excited about the web forum I created to facilitate the conversation about the WSL's direction in terms of a strategic plan.
Accomplishments
- Created a web discussion board for members to discuss strategic planning.
- Coordinated conversation about HECB testimony.
- Filed a Master Business License.
- Began coordinating a second childcare forum.
- Tweaked the website.
This week I spent most of my time preparing for my presentation to the SGC meeting in Tri-Cities and the board meeting in Pullman.
Accomplishments
- Prepared materials for board meeting.
- Created financial report.
- Met with WSU's Student Government Council (SGC.
- Gathered feedback on strategic planning.
- Continued to update website.
- Staffed board meeting in Pullman.
This week culminated, after a lot of discussion and preparation, in a very successful stakeholder forum on childcare. I continued to work on the website and to reach out to several branch campuses and the Bellevue Community College.
Accomplishments
- Organized childcare stakeholder forum.
- Improved website.
- Contacted various childcare stakeholders.
- Began preparations for next weekend's board meeting.
- Researched childcare information.
- Outlined possible funding structures for childcare grant program.
- Staffed stakeholder forum.
This week's highlight was the HECB meeting, resulting in an invitation for the WSL to present input before the board on Oct. 25th. While I was in Tri-cities, I was able to connect with the ASWSU-TC students. Also, the childcare stakeholder forum has finally got rolling.
Accomplishments
- Testified before the HECB, encouraged them to include the student voice in the Master Plan process.
- Reached out to ASWSU Tri-cities.
- Sent out invitations for Oct.
6 childcare stakeholder forum.
- Fine tuned website.
This week, despite having a series of other obligations, I was particularly surprised at how much I accomplished. A nearly final version of the WSL website is up and running!
Accomplishments
- Completely redesigned WSL website.
- Met with Chris Reykdal and Cindy Hough of the SBCTC.
This week culminated in the board meeting. Almost all of my time was spent preparing for it. I also spoke with many of the board members on the phone, hopefully giving them useful information and getting them excited for the upcoming year.
Accomplishments
- Updated virus protection software.
- Created information binders for board meeting which included among other documents:
- Framing documents
- Bios of members
- Contact sheets
- My weekly reports
- Reports from USSA
- Legislative information
- Financial reports
- Budgets, bylaws, and the constitution
- Coordinated "game plan" for board meeting.
- Reviewed Bryce McKibben's draft strategic plan.
- Staffed the board meeting.
This week my title of administrator was fitting. I spent the large majority of my time organizing our filing system, determining our tax liability, filing papers with the Secretary of State's office, and creating a financial reporting system and report for next week's board meeting. I also met with Jennifer Thornton, the leading staff person for the House Committee on Higher Education. Some other non-administrator type activities were phone calls to various board members and campus leaders and e-mailing the state higher education leadership the WSL's input for the HECB's master plan.
Accomplishments
- Determined WSL's total tax liability.
- Met with Jennifer Thornton, research analyst for the House Higher Education Committee.
- Created a functional accounting system.
- Contacted various board members.
- E-mailed leadership the WSL's input on the HECB's master plan.
- Created a clear filing system for historical paperwork.
- Organized about a third of WSL's paperwork under above system.
- Began preparations of a binder for next weeks board meeting.
- Created a contact list of all board members and proxies.
This week I met with a variety of stakeholders and governmental staffers from the higher education community in Olympia. The meetings were educational on a variety of levels and I was careful to record all the salient points that
I was able to recall immediately afterwards. They were also very useful to the WSL because of some strategic advice, some information gathered and because of the relationships I've begun to develop. I think many of the people I met with are pleased to see the WSL with an administrator who can be a consistent accessible point of contact.
Accomplishments
- Met with Deb Merle, the governor's higher education policy analyst.
- Met with Terry Teale, executive director of the council of presidents.
- Met with Chris Thompson and Bob Burdick of the HECB.
- Met with Tim Yowell and Debbie Driver, the higher education fiscal analysts for appropriations and ways and means.
- Met with Aldo Melchiori of the senate higher education committee.
- Set-up meeting with Jennifer Thornton of house higher education committee.
- Researched and gathered material to create a "fact book" for the board.
- Determined WSL's federal tax liability.
- Sent out thank you notes to those I met with.
This week I figured out in one day, by visiting the IRS and the DOL, what it was nearly impossible to figure out by going to government websites. I now know what steps I need to take to file the WSL's taxes. The brightest highlight of this week was my meeting with Jake Stillwell and Mike Bogatay, particularly their concrete vision for getting out the students vote.
Accomplishments
- Gathered paperwork from the IRS and DOL and determined what taxes and forms the WSL needs to have employees.
- Sent out update email to the board with request for bios and pictures.
- Set up meetings with a variety of stakeholders and governmental staff people.
- Began gathering information from all six campuses about distribution of services and activities fees.
- Continued coordinating and planning for childcare stakeholder meeting.
- Met with Jake Stillwell and Mike Bogatay to discuss a variety of issues, including:
- Developing some strategic first steps and longer-term plans for doing vote work on campuses.
- Talking with political science departments about offering credit for doing vote work.
- Planning an Electoral Action Training for the fall.
This week, I spent most of my time with my face buried in old documents that have been filed according to several dozen different filing systems over the past twenty five years. I was panning for gold in the form of historical documents. I found a few nuggets. I also met with Mike Bogatay on Tuesday and two representatives from The Evergreen State College's Geoduck Union on Saturday. I also found an up to date, but free accounting program as an alternative to our outdated version of QuickBooks.
Accomplishments
- Researched WSL history and pre-history.
- Contributed to WSL "framing" document.
- Found useful accounting software.
- Began entering accounting information.
- Began reorganizing office filing system.
- Established a stronger relationship and a preliminary plan for TESC with several Geoduck Union representatives.
- Collected financial information from Mike Bogatay.
- Discussed common vision and strategy with Mike Bogatay.
This week's highlight was my extended meeting with Bryce McKibben. On Monday, we met for six hours! I got to check out the University of Washington campus and we had an extensive discussion about the realities of the WSL and our dreams for its future. Among other topics, we discussed ways of remaining vigilant about my accountability to the students I serve, strategic plans for helping the new student board grow the WSL in whatever direction they decide, strategies for raising awareness about the WSL and what other groups we may form coalitions with on particular issues.
Accomplishments
- Began developing a common vision about my role in the WSL with President Bryce McKibben.
- Developed a consistent and transparent method for communicating my activities to the board.
- Reported on the activities of my first three weeks.
- Reviewed the training materials of last weeks USSA training.
- Researched demographics of voters in Washington State.
- Continued to discuss aspects of the WSL's structure, history, and direction.
- Began research on various aspects of higher education policy.
Aside from assembling a contact list for the upcoming childcare stakeholder forum and communicating with the Bryce McKibben and representatives from the Geoduck Union at Evergreen, this entire week was devoted to the USSA's training in Berkeley, CA.
National State Student Association (SSA) Staff Training
Because it is in all students' best interest to have as many strong SSAs as possible, the USSA felt it would be money well spent to pay for my attendance, travel and housing at the training. I received an incredible amount of information about being a staff person in a student led non-profit organization. Aside from the trainings, I spent many hours in conversation with staff from more established SSAs and trainers from the USSA, Student Empowerment Trainings (SET), the Midwest Academy, and the Center for Campus Free Speech. The relationships I've established with other SSAs are priceless because they give the WSL resources that can't be found elsewhere. The organizational structure of the SSAs from Minnesota, Wisconsin, California, Oregon, and Arizona provide blueprints of possibilities for the WSL that I hope to communicate to the board to help them make decisions about our future. I have thorough notes from each of the trainings I attended, as well as training materials, presentations, and framing documents from the other SSAs in attendance. Here are some highlights:
Overview of SSAs across the country - WSL is just one type of SSA among many, some are funded by statute, some are independent coalitions of campus governments, like the WSL, some get broad support from students by initiating referenda on each of the member campuses for a per student fee. Many states don't have SSAs, but the movement is growing. Aside from the six in attendance, at least twelve other states have some semblance of an organized body. The SSAs in attendance shared some of there recent victories.
Power & Strategy - Jackie Kendall, the Executive Director of the Midwest Academy, led an intensive training on planning a campaign. She described a method of developing strategies that could be employed by a small group like the WSL or expanded to initiate a larger grassroots organizing. The planning chart she employed is now on my corkboard, where I can see it.
Organizing - Melissa Unger, the former Executive Director of our giant SSA neighbor to the south, the Oregon Student Association, dove deeper into organizing at a grassroots student level. In a later discussion it was revealed that the OSA and similar student organizations can get more votes mobilized for less money than any other organization.
Executive Director Training - Sarita Gupta, former President of the USSA and director of the non-profit Jobs with Justice led an incredible training. Aside from learning many planning tools, techniques on running good meetings, and fundraising options, we developed a network of executive directors that will keep in contact on a regular basis. One major focus of the conversation was transition. I gained many ideas about how to maintain and strengthen the WSL as the student board turns over.
Working with a student board - Melissa Unger led this workshop on how to keep a student board apprised of what they are a part of, building on the theme of transition that began in Sarita's workshop. I hope that, as I learn about the history of the WSL I can compile a document and present to the new board members a sense of where the WSL has been and where it might go. This workshop gave me a sense of how that might look.
Leadership development - Although much of this workshop was in the context of SSAs that have a stronger focus on grassroots organizing, it inspired me to find ways to enlist the help of more students to make the WSL stronger. The idea of leadership development is that when you ask someone to help, you are also offering them something: skills, experience, and the chance to act in their own self-interest.
This week I continued to converse with Steve Lindstrom, particularly about to whom I should introduce myself at the HECB meeting in Cheney. I coordinated some conversation about the childcare stakeholder meeting between Camille Andersen and Bryce McKibben. Unfortunately we did not manage to schedule the meeting because we were unable to get a commitment from a legislator. Most of my time was spent traveling to and from and attending the HECB meeting in Cheney.
HECB Meeting
My attendance of the HECB meeting was informative and gave me a chance to meet Sasha Sleiman the student HECB member, Camille Andersen our VP of leg. Affairs, Christopher Thompson, the Director of Gov't, College and University Relations at the HECB, John Klacik, the HECB Director of Financial Assistance, and Madeline Thompson from the Workforce Training and Education Coordinatng Board (WTECB). I was also able to introduce myself to Rodolfo Arevalo, the President of Eastern Washington University, Bill Grinstein, the Chair of the HECB, Sam Smith, HECB member and Loretta Seppanen the Director of Education Services at the SBCTC.
Accomplishments
- During my travels I also coordinated with Abe Scarr of SET and Bill Shiebler of the USSA and arranged for the USSA to pay for my travel to and attendance of the National SSA staff training in Berkeley.
- On Monday I participated in a web dialogue about access to higher ed sponsored by the house committee on higher ed.
- Ordered printer cartridge.
- Spoke with Dan Shafar about the website and email.
- Worked on setting up Outlook in the office (needed to upgrade from 2003 version).
- Contacted some members of Evergreen's Geoduck Union.
The largest blocks of time during my first week as administrator were spent in conversation/training with Steve Lindstrom and taking care of basic needs around the office. By the end of the week I had a basic idea of some of my immediate tasks and a list of things I needed to know.
Accomplishments
- Researched HECB.
- Began organizing office.
- Began gathering tax information.
- Researched and ordered cell phone.
- Researched web hosting and ways to allow WSL executives to easily edit content.
- Designed and ordered business cards.
- Discussed getting cheaper (and faster) internet service with TSS, the broadband provider in the office beneath ours.
- Purchased a refrigerator and procured a free microwave for the office.
- Began studying QuickBooks documentation.
- Updated and repaired Norton Anti-virus software.
- Wrote "blurb" for press release.
- Gathered contact info for stakeholders concerned with childcare in higher ed.