Coordinating Council Notes May 14, 2012

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Fitz Ryland

Present: Fitz, Alex, Sam – did we get notes from last week? yes

Old Business / Updates

  • Stumptown Syndicate is leaving
  • we could communicate how that went down a little better
  • They do really great stuff and it would be great to show some support for what they do next.
  • We could communicate the the Coordinating Council better

Revenue surplus – what to do?

  • saving against a potential monthly loss
  • nicer and more equipment
  • marketing – materials, advertisement
  • sponsoring events
  • Staff and services – more hours more $/hr
  • Fitz – if setting an example is a goal it makes sense to pay staff more and to pay founders fee, but people have to know about it in order to set an example
  • investing in other democratic businesses
  • supporting entrepreneurs / starving artists
  • incubator type stuff
  • money back to members
  • stipend to council members
  • Spend, Save, or Invest?
  • fitz – save would be the best for longevity of CA
  • fitz – spend – founders fee works as an example only if people know about it
    • a more holistic proposal would include some promotion/press

Founders Fee

Alex shared the full proposal text with less than 2 full business days notice, so it could not be voted on, but it was discussed in relation to what we do with a surplus overall. He posted on wiki here.

  • Sam – seems very normal founders/shareholders kinda thing
    • If the business can pay rent but not founders fee is the founders fee for that month owed at a later date?
    • alex – if income drops significantly, $6000 for example, everything needs help.
    • founders fee would be owed as back pay
  • where did the $12500 come from? (profit)
  • somewhat arbitrary – a good incentive for MCO to work harder
  • alex – see it as being paid for work being done and a way to set an example as a way to make money.
  • incentivize the starting of other places like this -> more than growing this larger
  • sam – wouldn’t it make sense to spread profits across other positions -> Main Community Organizer?
    • the hardest thing was starting it -> there is about a six months layover in work done that can keep it going -> thats how it did after Souk
  • sam – currently staff is considered as a similar category as rent – would a precent of revenue for independent contractors over all be better?

Ways of earning more

  • more members
  • more meetings
  • conditional loans for CA
  • other/new services -> job board
  • Programing (paid educational events) – paid events put on by CA
  • what are the core services? (what is the goal of the government?)
  • the limits need to be very clearly defined
  • practitioners need to understand the general strategy
  • how do we decide?
  • sam – upfront cost + potential money vs. potential cost – if money is the determinate…
    • cost to start
    • cost to maintain
    • min/max revenue
  • fitz – strengthening community and acquiring more members is the most important for CA overall in the next 3-6 months
  • Sam – programing might be a good way to make some money and show the diversity of people here
  • alex – weigh any new revenue venture against time/effort of acquiring a new member.
  • alex – how much would it cost in time, money, materials to have 100 people here and make $2000?
  • sam – maybe $300 in stuff and gauge cost of event planning by hiring an event planner – potentially 160 hrs of work – > you either have to charge a lot or bring in a lot of people
  • alex – whats our business? rent for members. rent for meetings (seasonally). anything outside of that is starting a new business and is a risk.

To Bring up at Civics Meeting

  • Can members barter meeting passes like they do guest passes?
  • if so are there limits? can members put together several chunks of conference room time?
  • maximum loss of revenue would be a few thousand dollars/month
  • this could be a really good way for people to interact
  • could be good for building community!
Posted in Democratic Meetings, Updates | Leave a comment

May 2012 Elections Results

Posted on May 15, 2012 by alexlinsker

Election results: The next main community organizer, elected by members, starting June 15th 2012 is Fitz Ryland.

The coordinating council members starting June 15th 2012 are: Dietrich Ayala, Emanuel Costache, Jim Blandy, Sam Balter. (With 4 nominees for 4 council positions, all 4 are elected without voting.) We have many other ways for members to be involved, especially the Tuesday civics meetings, Lightning Talks, going to lunch, and other activities.

Thanks to our election structure team, led by Molly Danielsson and Jeffrey Sens, with oversight by Tom Boeker. Robbie Kraft did the mathematics on the preferential voting.

* * *

Here are statistics and data visualization of the results.

Ranking:

1st place: Fitz Ryland
2nd place: Don Park
3rd place: Aimee Samara Krouskop
4th place: Jacob Greer
5th place: Ahjamu Umi
6th place: Will Lewis

(Mathematics on the preferential voting method: Robbie writes that if there are any mistakes on the graphics, it is totally unrelated to the voting outcome. Intrigued by this diagram? You can view the math and graphs here: Election-2012-Results)

Directed Graph:

  • Numbers represent the number of times one candidate was preferred over the other
  • Arrowheads travel from winner to non-winner
  • Absent arrowheads indicate tie

15 members voted. Some wrote supportive comments with their vote; those statements are at the end of this post.

You can see the votes: only the votes on lines 3-17 count; any others are after the deadline and do not count.

A summary of the votes is visible to the public here:

Ahjamu Umi (main community organizer)
1st choice 0 0%
2nd choice 1 6%
3rd choice 1 6%
4th choice 3 19%
5th choice 1 6%
6th choice 2 13%
Aimee Samara Krouskop (main community organizer)
1st choice 3 19%
2nd choice 4 25%
3rd choice 4 25%
4th choice 0 0%
5th choice 2 13%
6th choice 0 0%
Don Park (main community organizer)
1st choice 5 31%
2nd choice 3 19%
3rd choice 2 13%
4th choice 1 6%
5th choice 1 6%
6th choice 2 13%
Fitz Ryland (main community organizer)
1st choice 9 56%
2nd choice 2 13%
3rd choice 3 19%
4th choice 0 0%
5th choice 0 0%
6th choice 0 0%
Jacob Greer (main community organizer)
1st choice 0 0%
2nd choice 1 6%
3rd choice 1 6%
4th choice 3 19%
5th choice 3 19%
6th choice 2 13%
Will Lewis (main community organizer)
1st choice 0 0%
2nd choice 1 6%
3rd choice 1 6%
4th choice 3 19%
5th choice 1 6%
6th choice 2 13%
Number of daily responses
* * * Supportive comments by members:
“I am voting for Fitz because I believe that he as contributed a great deal to CA, he has changed it for the better with his work & he has the skill + dedication to continue doing even more. Also, his style of interaction with the CA community management is a major positive asset the space.”
* * *
“As a CA member for several years, I want to endorse Fitz for the Community Organizer position. He has a real “members / community first” attitude and never fails to be responsive when a need arises. He’s made a great contribution to CA and I’d like to see him continue to do so in this new role.”
* * *
“I’d like two people to do this job, not one.”
* * *
“I’d really like Fitz to continue to be the part time community organizer at 20ish hours per week for this next year. Both because of his web skills and to provide some continuity.”
* * *
“I am confident that each of these three candidates will do a great job if elected.

I hope that more than one of these candidates is elected over time here, and I hope that they do work and grow together somehow: “Collective Agency” is literally our ability to act together.

I know that the Coordinating Council nominees: Dietrich, Emanuel, Jim, Sam, will assist in good governance through the knowledge that Council members gain over time, and that members overall will continue to grow their involvement, relationships, and bring in results together.

I am thankful to be a member here.”

Posted in Elections | 2 Comments

Press in the past year

Posted on May 11, 2012 by alexlinsker

“The goal is for people to be inspired by those around them, even if they are working on completely different tasks. In a town where traditional office life is not the norm, Collective Agency is a perfect fit.”

-Neighborhood Notes

More press here: http://collectiveagency.co/press/

Posted in Press Releases, What do you want here, What do you want to make here? | Leave a comment

Why We Exist

Posted on May 11, 2012 by alexlinsker

What do people (with a variety of interests/ backgrounds/ perspectives) want “Collective Agency” to be?

We have a one-time sign in form that members and visitors/non-members are asked to fill out. Member profiles go up on the wall here and, if members opt-in, onto our website. I tallied up the results, which are open to the public below, and compared.

This is the first comparison of how members are different from non-members.

The biggest difference is that compared with non-members, members are 60% more likely to want to learn about groups and events around Portland.

I think that means that “Collective Agency” is more than what happens here: our identity is related to the groups and events that happen around Portland. Here are the full statistics.

  • Members are 25% more likely to want to work around people doing a variety of work, and 20% more likely to want to be around people doing similar work.
  • Members are 60% more likely to want to learn about groups and events around Portland.
  • 1 in 4 members are paying for any kind of social experiment, and 1 in 3 non-members want this to be any kind of social experiment.
  • Non-members are: 70% more likely than members to want mentoring/skill-sharing/role models, 70% more likely to want job referrals/hiring/resources for a project, and 20% more likely want this to be a place for groups to meet.
  • Members are 80% more likely than non-members to want business incubator/startup funding.

What are the top priorities for members overall?

38 members (out of 55 total) filled out the form: ”What are your main goals for participating in “Collective Agency”? What would you like it to be?”

# of members % Chose:
32 84% Being around people doing a variety of work
27 71% Inexpensive rent in beautiful workspace
22 58% Being around people doing similar work
22 58% Learn about groups and events in Portland
21 55% Deep conversations to explore ideas and learn new perspectives
19 50% Going to lunch
19 50% A symbol of community in Portland
11 29% Mentoring/skill-sharing/role models
11 29% A place for groups to meet
10 26% Social experiment
7 18% Job referrals, hiring, resources for a project
7 18% A place to meet and work with clients and on projects within a company
7 18% Business incubator/startup funding

49 non-members filled out the form:

# of non-members % Chose:
33 67% Being around people doing a variety of work
30 61% Inexpensive rent in beautiful workspace
28 57% Deep conversations to explore ideas and learn new perspectives
24 49% Being around people doing similar work
18 37% Learn about groups and events in Portland
17 35% A place for groups to meet
17 35% Social experiment
24 49% Mentoring/skill-sharing/role models
23 47% Going to lunch
22 45% A symbol of community in Portland
15 31% Job referrals, hiring, resources for a project
12 24% A place to meet and work with clients and on projects within a company
5 10% Business incubator/startup funding

All the other reasons that people wrote in are here:

Non-members wrote:
“a place of acceptance”
“Cheap space that’s managed. The tables could be cinderblocks, but if you keep out the bums and have a decent temperature in here, I’m down.”
“proximity to train station and ground kontrol”

Members wrote:
“less isolated than my basement!” and “working out of the house!”
“Because we can”

What else? What do you think about this? Please comment.

Posted in Updates, What do you want here, What do you want to make here? | Leave a comment

Civics Meeting May 8, 2012 notes

Posted on May 8, 2012 by alexlinsker

1. Welcome. Roles, and who’s here: Tom B (timekeeper), Dave C, Alex L (agenda chair), Aimee K (visiting), Fitz R (notes), Molly D. All: asked to be aware of facilitating relationships. Go around, what we’d each like to happen in the next hour, what we’re appreciative of in the past week:

  • Tom: productive meeting.
  • Dave: something good, nice weather.
  • Alex: move things along, Don and Fitz for leading lunch, Aimee for visiting.
  • Aimee: inspired by what’s going on here, going to lunch.
  • Fitz: creating democracy and being here which wouldn’t normally happen. Excited to share vision.
  • Molly: resolving any issues to make sure everyone’s needs are met, a quiet zone & space to get things done.

2. Notes received by everyone? Alex will check and email Molly an invite to the Google Group.

3. Reports/Standing Teams:

Elections

  • Four votes in
  • Members, please vote!

Alex: “Some members want to know how to play within the rules when voting. It is okay to vote for as many or as few people as you like. 4 people have voted already.”

Molly: “The preferential voting method shows genuine preferences, it’s hard to game.”

Membership

One new member signed up for June at regular rate. We have a lot more capacity for all levels of membership. Please refer regular members and scholarship candidates.

Gentle Reminders

The front door and elevator was left unlocked one night this week after a group but members locked up before leaving. Please be sure to lock up after you host an event.

4. Old Business/Proposal updates.

what can we do to make the civics meetings better?
Tom – I think they go pretty well - getting a common understanding is a part of the process: worthwhile.
Aimee – we spent some time last week clarifying policy – could go better
Tom – a general overview of finances would be good – rough overview

5. New Business/Proposals

A. “Discussion of civics meeting reminders and minutes.”

Tom: “Going really well. People approach this from a lot of different places, understanding of terminology and intent and focus is part of the process.”
Aimee: “Lack of clarity in terms of policy.”
Tom: “Was alluding to that. Some people are less or more familiar than others, bring their own background in, learning what’s been here.”
Alex: “I like when the first time I go to a new meeting, I listen and am quiet unless called on, to learn how things are done. Then next time I might contribute.”
Fitz:  ”Implemented agendas, calendar, the wiki.”
Fitz will create a wiki explaining how members can use the calendar to book meetings.
Molly: “I think things are going really smoothly.”
Tom: Disclosure of finances, verbal summary of finances, might affect bottom-line decisions. Good to have available for overview.
Alex: “Financial numbers in insta-charts and graphs are recently available, will make it even more available, and just ask if anything specific.”

B. “Abolish Monday Night Civics Meetings”
how many people go to those meetings? – about three people have ever shown up, once each, other than Coordinating Council members, only once couldn’t someone make the Tuesday meeting the next day.
Tom – maybe we should indefinitely suspend them
Fitz – mostly a way of showing an example of using the wiki to propose
votes – molly yes, tom yes, dave yes – Passes (This is vote 2 of 2, it becomes real).

C. What else? Discussion of “Build Projects”.
Molly: Art on the walls. Tom: semi-annual or quarterly social event. on irregular kind of basis. Molly: office holiday party. Aimee: open house? coordinated with social open house? August 1st open house, kegger, first thursday, get on calendars. 1 year anniversary. Holiday party. Let’s do it. Art on the walls. First Thursday: Artists working out of homes, maybe. Aimee will contact artist friend.

Tom and Molly will volunteer.

New old business:

Summary: Concerns re: Group Membership proposal.

How can the proposers be here? Membership & meetings. Currently the proposers are members.

Is it about the bottom line? No it’s not. A concern is that multiple members in the group do not have a single point of contact in the group, whereas all other companies and groups here do.

2 members were concerned that not passing the group proposal would cause Stumptown Syndicate to leave. With 4 members currently, they have 8 hours/month of conference room time from the recent proposal that was passed. If they want to schedule meetings, it would be done through the new calendar: each member not at the meeting today can be shown how to utilize the calendar.

6. Review.

  • Tom: went well.
  • Molly: great if more people here at the meeting.
  • Alex: covered a lot, a lot of ideas we’re doing stuff about.
  • Fitz: wishes more people here, but generated good ideas today.
Posted in Democratic Meetings | Leave a comment

Coordinating Council Notes May 7, 2012

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Fitz Ryland
Present: 3 out of 4 council members: Alex L., Fitz R., Emanuel C (calling in). Alex chairs, Fitz writes notes.
Goals for this meeting: effectiveness and efficiency are priorities of all of us
Appreciation/Concerns:
  • alex – people have nominated themselves, elections
  • emanuel – concerned about an ‘outsider’ coming in as MCO - maybe should have been done differently
  • alex – a conscious choice by elections team
  • fitz –  im ok with it
did we all get notes from last week’s council and civics meetings? yes.

Reports/Standing Teams

Elections

  • emanuel – needs clarification on how schulze method works
  • wikipedia page could be more clear for non-math people

meeting rates

  • Our rates are indeed lower than market standard and most places rent by the event not by the hour.
  • Conference rooms are usually rented by the day $300-$500 -> ours are $280 for 8hrs.
  • Short events in the main space are the best deal here.
  • Long or all day events in the main space are similar in price to other spaces around town.

Membership

  • 1 new member signed up for June at the regular $320/month rate.

Wiki

  • Fitz set up a wiki for proposals

New Business/Proposals

Group Membership – (for debate and vote by Council: receives 2 no, 1 yes. Does not pass)

  • Fitz – I think the terms are too good, too many hours, but I have faith that groups can be responsible.
  • emanuel – terms are way too good
  • alex – terms are too good, even the proposers admit that the terms are too good
  • constitution specifies that individuals are responsible this gives responsibility to groups
  • Alex: “members and non-members continue to work within the existing policies, see our Membership and Meetings pages.”
  • Votes – Emanuel, No – Alex, No – Fitz, Yes – Proposal Fails to pass

Abolish Monday Night Civics Meetings

for debate and vote by the Council. Receives 3 votes yes, with 3 out of 4 council members, it passes the council and goes to the Civics meeting to be voted on, if 2/3rds majority of members at Civics vote yes, it will go into effect.
  • Emanuel – A great example – easy to understand, good format
  • Alex – Format looks really good
  • Fitz – I would like to use this is as an opportunity to garner greater engagement
  • Votes – Fitz, yes – Emanuel, yes – Alex, yes – Proposal passes CC goes to civics meeting

Starting Democracy Businesses not as Charity but as a Business (for discussion only)

  • Fitz – I like the spirit
  • Emanuel – this looks like something like a partner of an LLC would have
  • Alex – I think it looks more like a deal for an investor
  • Alex – this is the answer to the question “is there a way to make money starting this kind of place?”
  • Fitz – is this an answer to “why would you run this place?”
  • Alex – that is a different question -> much less work/risk
  • fitz – how is this different from you owning the business?
  1. alex – the part that I don’t like about that is when people that are not involved in the business are making the decisions
  • we will all work on this for something next week

Calendar Stuff

  • Events in the event calendar on the website will now be color coded to indicate which room they are in.
  • Soon private events will only show up when you are logged in.
  • The combination of these two features will allow members to start using the events calendar to book their own meetings.
  • Currently we require everyone to pay in order to reserve space. How do we require members to pay before bookings space?
  • Fitz could probably integrate some PayPal functionality requiring payment in order to reserve space. This option might be a good chunk of unnecessary work.
  • The honor system could be good enough.
What did we like? what could be done better?
  • alex – went well!
  • emanuel – I like that we have lots of proposals – people are interested
  • fitz – I like the agendas! – alex seconds
Posted in Democratic Meetings, Updates | Leave a comment

Open for more memberships and meetings

Posted on May 4, 2012 by alexlinsker

“Collective Agency” has more than 50 members and growing. We are profitable and sustainable. We have capacity for at least 50 more members, maybe 100 more members, and the community here will be even more vibrant and engaged.

Please do tell people about us, that is how we grow.

Our regular rate for new members is $320/month. $495/month includes a reserved desk. For new members making up to $35,000/year, we have scholarships at $160/month. For new members making up to $20,000/year, we have scholarships at $50/month. http://collectiveagency.co/membership/

We rent our four conference rooms for non-members and members: each room is only $35/hour. The biggest is good for up to 16 people. Weekly rentals have the reduced rate of $1,100/week. Events in our main loft are only $75/hour for up to 45 people, and only $125/hour for up to 125 people. http://collectiveagency.co/meetings/

Posted in Requests | Leave a comment

Civics May 1: Group membership proposed, election update

Posted on May 3, 2012 by alexlinsker
Collective Agency Civics Meeting
05-01-2012
Attendees: 13
Intros
Jeffrey is out. Alex is subbing.
Notes by Dietrich and Christie on http://piratepad.net/ca-05-01-2012
Alex, Fitz, Christie, Jim, Audrey, Molly, Ben, Don, Tom, Jim, Amy, Dave, Mike, Dietrich
Agenda
Proposals
I. Meeting notes received from last meeting?
  • 4/24/12 Tue Civics Meeting
  • Coordinating Council Notes April 30, 2012
II. Reports & Standing Teams:
  • General business and budget update
  • Proposals 1 results (Member meetings in conference rooms. Passed.)
  • Proposal 2 results (6 hours of free event time per month. Failed to pass.)
III. Proposals / New Business
  • Proposal for group membership
  • Election team update & planning
  • Discussion of meeting reminders and minutes
IV. Announcements
Notes:
* intros
* agenda overview
* procedural overview: christie raises roberts rules question about meaning of no vote
* audrey requests last-call for proposal emails on the list
* donp request clarification on meaning of abstention
* sticking to roberts rules wrt abstention
* abstain votes are not counted in the 2/3 majority, for example
* finance updates: loan repayments ongoing
* $2000 repaid to loans
* $3000 oustanding
* $1000 surplus as of end of april (expenses, including staff)
* expect to be able to pay remainder of loans by end of May
* loans were covering income gap in dec to cover new 5yr lease cost
* Proposal 1 (2 hrs meetings with non-members for each member monthly): passed both membership and coordinating council meeting
* Need to figure out how to utilize wiki to keep track of proposal process and meeting notes.
* Proposal 2: Didn’t pass Council.
New Business–
* Need clarification on what happens after the a proposal is rejected by the council.
* Proposal 2 (“Workgroup proposal”) changes:
** change group usage from unlimited to 30hrs monthly
** clarify details of “internal meeting” use
Vote result: Unanimously passed.
Yes: Tom, Don, Dave, Mike, Dietrich, Christie, Audrey, Jim, Ben
No: None.
Did not vote: Alex and Fitz.
Workgroup proposal:
1. Membership Rate
   * $320
2. Membership Benefits
   * 1 vote in membership decisions
   * use of the business address, mail delivery, storage locker
   * up to five designated reps from the organization can access space and host meetings – reps will be determined in advance, and CA will be notified of any changes (access means key holders who can host meetings)
   * up to 30 hours per month of conference room use for internal meetings
       * included use is during evenings and weekends only (evenings begin 5pm, weekends are Sat and Sun and holidays)
       * internal meetings are those that are for organizational, administrative or planning purposes only
       * user group meetings, workshops and classes are not considered internal meetings and would be billed at the regular member meeting rate.
   * member rate on space rental that’s not included otherwise
3. Membership Responsibilities
   * pay on time each month
   * clean up after using the space
   * contribute to membership decision-making
   * abide by community guidelines, terms of service and constitution
4. Qualification for Membership
   * read and agree to abide by community guidelines, terms of service and constitution
   * limited to 10 active organizations at one time
5. Procedure for Schedule Conflicts
   * Scheduling on first-come, first-serve basis.
   * All meetings should be entered on the CA calendar/scheduling system.
——————————————————–
Elections update:
   Voting format: online. use this link: http://bit.ly/JBjtPQ
   rank people in order your preferences.
   Voting will end on the 14th
   6 candidates for the lead position, 4 for the coordinating council (only 4 openings)
Coordinating council members do not need to be confirmed by 2/3 member vote.
Posted in Democratic Meetings | Leave a comment

Coordinating Council members: 4 candidates for 4 positions

Posted on May 2, 2012 by alexlinsker

Candidates for the Coordinating Council positions are listed alphabetically. 4 candidates nominated themselves in the election for 4 positions. The incoming Council members are: Dietrich Ayala, Emanuel Costache, Jim Blandy, Sam Balter. (To see the 6 candidates for the 1 Main Community Organizer position, then to vote, click here.)

Click to view: Dietrich Ayala, Emanuel Costache, Jim Blandy, Sam Balter

* * *

Name: Dietrich Ayala

Candidate for: Coordinating Council members (4 positions)

Email: autonome@gmail.com

What qualifies you for this position?

I am a serial coworker, working in shared spaces for many years. I have led projects and managed groups of people. I have helped groups build consensus and achieve their goals. I have no other unique qualifications.

What is your greatest contribution or strength that you will bring to “Collective Agency”?

I have many years of experience managing groups and projects. For CA specifically, I can help the coordinating council to ensure it knows the needs of the members and that it’s clearly communicating with them.

What else?

.

What other contact information, if any, would you like voters to have?

Twitter: dietrich

Blog: http://autonome.wordpress.com

Why do you want this position?

I want to help the space meet the needs of its members.

Click to view: Dietrich Ayala, Emanuel Costache, Jim Blandy, Sam Balter

* * *

Name: Emanuel Costache

Candidate for: Coordinating Council members (4 positions)

Email: ecostache@gmail.com

What qualifies you for this position?

I’ve had the pleasure of serving on the Coordinating Council since December, re-shaping and re-thinking our policies from the ground up in order to ensure the long-term financial stability of our beloved coworking space while fostering the growth of a budding community.

What is your greatest contribution or strength that you will bring to “Collective Agency”?

In addition to six months of experience on the Council, I’ve been developing sustainable models for organizations and cooperatives for nearly a decade.

What else?

When I joined the Council six months ago, it was my goal to meet all the lovely people who share our space. I haven’t even come close. And I would cherish the opportunity to try and try again.

What other contact information, if any, would you like voters to have?

Twitter: @ecostache

Why do you want this position?

As Collective Agency enters its sophomore year, we will be greeted by a host of new and interesting problems. Happily assured of our ability to survive the dark/cold/rainy months of fiscal minimalism, we’ll tackle new policy challenges, like scaling to capacity for both members and meetings, as we strive to build a lasting, meaningful, and friendly community. Different from our start-up issues, these new challenges are, to me, an opportunity to do real, permanent good in building a community we can be proud of.

Click to view: Dietrich Ayala, Emanuel Costache, Jim Blandy, Sam Balter

* * *

Name: Jim Blandy

Candidate for: Coordinating Council members (4 positions)

Email: jimb@red-bean.com

What qualifies you for this position?

I’ve worked as a co-op treasurer and computer coordinator for OSCA, the Oberlin (College) Students’ Co-operative Association, and I ran a small consulting business called Cyclic Software. I’ve participated in Free/open source software development communities since 1990.

What is your greatest contribution or strength that you will bring to “Collective Agency”?

I hope my experience with co-operatives, Free/open source communities, and business will be valuable.

What else?

At present I work for Mozilla; since Mozilla has a lot of people working at Collective Agency, we should step up and take some responsibility for keeping it healthy.

 What other contact information, if any, would you like voters to have?

+1 812 345 9402

Why do you want this position?

From the beginning, Collective Agency has struck me as a kind-hearted place, with an unusual appreciation for what makes people feel welcome and comfortable. Such places are fragile; their health depends on the care of the people who enjoy them. I’d like to help out with that.

Click to view: Dietrich Ayala, Emanuel Costache, Jim Blandy, Sam Balter

* * *

Name: Sam Balter

Candidate for: Coordinating Council members (4 positions)

Email: sambalter@gmail.com

What qualifies you for this position?

I have been working at a start-up as a research analyst for the last two years and have experience in business development.

Also, I have been a member of the coordinating council since its inception and have been involved with the issues surrounding the Collective Agency

What is your greatest contribution or strength that you will bring to “Collective Agency”?

My best strength is that I am a relatively rational and level headed thinker who can take a step back from issues to come up with logical solutions.

Research, analysis, and an understanding of basic cogs of a start-up will allow me to contribute a opinion that is different from other members of the Coordinating Council.

What else?

I like to run, cook, garden and generally stay active. I hope that as a member of the Coordinating Council I can bring out new ways for the Collective Agency to provide services, not just to its own members, but the Portland Community as a whole while fostering a community that makes the Collective Agency more then just another co-op work space.

What other contact information, if any, would you like voters to have?

My phone number is 503-310-2076

Why do you want this position?

I have really enjoyed my work on the coordinating council and would like to continue providing an outside perspective to all of the issues that Collective Agency encounters. I would like to continue in this position because it feels great to work to enhance a productive and thoughtful community.

Click to view: Dietrich Ayala, Emanuel Costache, Jim Blandy, Sam Balter

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To see the 6 candidates for the 1 Main Community Organizer position, then to vote, click here.

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Voting open May 1-14 for Main Community Organizer: 6 candidates

Posted on May 2, 2012 by alexlinsker

Candidates for the Main Community Organizer position are listed alphabetically. They are:
Ahjamu Umi, Aimee Samara Krouskop, Don Park, Fitz Ryland, Jacob Greer, Will Lewis.
***Members: vote May 1-14 at: http://bit.ly/JBjtPQ ***

Click to view: Ahjamu, Aimee, Don, Fitz, Jacob, Will

* * *

Name: Ahjamu Umi

Candidate for: Main Community Organizer (1 position)

Email: umifam@gmail.com

What qualifies you for this position?

I possess outstanding and extensive experience developing community organizations and in carrying out professional project management assignments.

I’m flexible, able to understand and work with diverse team members, and highly motivated to help people meet their full potential, especially when the goals are collective and community oriented.

I’ve facilitated a wide spectrum of work assignments from corporate system conversions to gang treaty negotiations in California.  I understand what’s required to guide people together towards specific objectives.

What is your greatest contribution or strength that you will bring to “Collective Agency”?

Strong facilitation skills that focus on helping people connect to the objectives and learn how to function within a team environment.  I’m also highly disciplined and a strong role model in terms of demonstrating hard work, patience, collective work and responsibility, and strong leadership capabilities.

What else?

I have strong vision and dedication and I’m able to communicate ideas effectively in a written and/or oral format. Plus, my passion for life is infectious.  As a result, people connect strongly with me and trust my vision and direction.  This is evidenced by the organizations I’ve helped shape and the people who’s lives I’ve impacted through my work.

What other contact information, if any, would you like voters to have?

360-980-1409

Why do you want this position?

I am able to contribute my passion and skills in an organization that has a collective focus e.g. working with people for people oriented goals and objectives.  This is my life’s work and passion and would permit me to combine my desire to make concrete contributions to the community with earning a living.  Being able to do so would be the fulfillment of an objective I’ve sought for quite some time now.

Click to view: Ahjamu, Aimee, Don, Fitz, Jacob, Will

* * *

Name: Aimee Samara Krouskop

Candidate for: Main Community Organizer (1 position)

Email: saysamara7@gmail.com

What qualifies you for this position?

I have almost ten years of experience facilitating the coordination of shared goals across diverse interests, stakeholders and visions. I have developed a sound ability to incorporate both relational and practical strategies to do this. My experience is with small to large organizations, in a variety of cultures, from cooperative to corporate. It includes:

*Jump-starting a collaborative, group-run learning environment for employees who shared professional goals.

*Facilitating multiple gatherings, cooperation, and data sharing, among UN, NGO and governmental agency representatives to create a more coordinated response to the 2006 earthquake in Peru. I designed this program to be handed over to a local Peruvian at the end of my contract. We used Google tools!

*Re-designing and managing an online training program affecting hundreds of employees across multiple departments, maximizing educational access and student longevity

*Problem-solving between at-risk and displaced communities in Colombia and human rights workers in the field.

*Volunteer recruitment, pubic relations, and board – staff liaison work for the first Fair Trade Organization in the U.S. I tripled the number of our volunteers while streamlining this program to allow me to add public relations work to my role.

What is your greatest contribution or strength that you will bring to “Collective Agency”?

1) My sense of organization as an art. I have a keen eye for the design of systems that create smooth and enjoyable operations for the real needs and endeavors of the people occupying a place.

2) My keen ability to escort groups through a conversation that illuminates shared visions, and establishes collective agreement, with tangible steps to allow us to head into action. Among other things, I do this by establishing relationships that foster creative collaboration, and by advocating for a culture that values the same.

What else?

1) I’m at my ultimate ‘best’ in an emergency, and where I’m asked to think on my feet. I’ve honed this skill in many roles, such as:

* Working backstage at Pickathon

* Serving as an unarmed bodyguard/protective accompanier in the war zone in Colombia. See: http://www.peacebrigades.org/about-pbi/about-protective-accompaniment/

2) I’m now completing a year-long facilitation course, which has further developed my skills in creative and powerful process design. See: http://treegroup.info/services/

3) I have studied the art of Hosting through:

* Receiving the public, conducting tours, and promoting a Fair Trade nonprofit

* Organizing educational tours to Guatemala

* Leading human rights delegations throughout Colombia

What other contact information, if any, would you like voters to have?

360-319-8339. I’m happy to receive calls from individual members.

Skype: saysamara7

http://www.linkedin.com/in/aimeesamarakrouskop

Why do you want this position?

My most satisfying work projects are those that challenge me to creatively design new systems for an organization to thrive without me; where upon my departure, my efforts reveal sustainable accomplishments. I am also motivated by, and stand for, new models of doing business that support the emerging new culture of work and income generation. I feel the Main Community Organizer position, and the worldview of Collective Agency offer an opportunity to be creative and contribute to both of these endeavors.

Click to view: Ahjamu, Aimee, Don, Fitz, Jacob, Will

* * *

Name: Don Park

Candidate for: Main Community Organizer (1 position)

Email: don.park@gmail.com

What qualifies you for this position?

I’ve been involved in adhoc co-working inPortlandfrom the start. I was helping the Personal Telco Project install cafe wifi that helped enable the cafe/coworking revolution. I’ve seen the ebbs and flows of working in a third space and working from home and I can relate the benefits of each.

What is your greatest contribution or strength that you will bring to “Collective Agency”?

I’m a fairly good at keeping track of organisational finances, so the space will be well maintained in that regard. I believe in organisational transparency, especially with finances.

What else?

I am aware of what I consider to be CoAg’s single greatest risk (its dependency on a single customer). I think attracting new coworkers is CoAg’s greatest challenge. While I dont have an easy answer for that, I have the technical ability to create new services for members both on the site and in the space.

What other contact information, if any, would you like voters to have?

@donpdonp

http://donpark.org

Why do you want this position?

I’d like a chance to provide new services in the space that can only be reasonably done if I were on staff to implement them.

Click to view: Ahjamu, Aimee, Don, Fitz, Jacob, Will

* * *

Name: Fitz Ryland

Candidate for: Main Community Organizer (1 position)

Email: fitzryland@gmail.com

What qualifies you for this position?

My greatest qualification for this position is my demonstrated commitment to maintaining our trajectory towards democracy and community. I think of Collective Agency as an elaborate web of relationships. This web is strongest with a catalyst to help things grow. Good communication skills are an important aspect of being an effective catalyst here. I am well spoken and effectively communicate what Collective Agency is. I maintain my email almost obsessively and write clearly. I do not miss emails. I have lots of very practical skills. For instance, I made all of the PayPal forms on the website and have plans for lots more web things. I also have a high tolerance for the very low level tasks that make up this job. I don’t mind taking out the trash or doing dishes sometimes. Practical skills come in handy, but delegation can be much more effective. I love asking for advice, and I love finding people that are better at something than I am and want to help.

What is your greatest contribution or strength that you will bring to “Collective Agency”?

My greatest strength here and more broadly is my eagerness to listen to and interpret disparate positions in order to ask synthesizing questions.

What else?

I am interested in this place. By this I mean that I care about what happens to this community, and what happens to this community effect me.

What other contact information, if any, would you like voters to have?

@fitzhuge

Why do you want this position?

I want this position because I genuinely care about Collective Agency and I want to do everything I can to make it even better. I want to be a catalyst of connection within our community of strongly independent and interconnected people. I think of people here as dividual, and that is really exiting to me.

Click to view: Ahjamu, Aimee, Don, Fitz, Jacob, Will

* * *

Name: Jacob Greer

Candidate for: Main Community Organizer (1 position)

[Info is offline.]

Click to view: Ahjamu, Aimee, Don, Fitz, Jacob, Will

* * *

Name: Will Lewis

Candidate for: Main Community Organizer (1 position)

Email: scartheatre@gmail.com

What qualifies you for this position?

Over the past two years, I’ve founded and facilitated two community groups dedicated to providing educational development, networking opportunities, events, and other resources for creatives inPortland. This has lead me to experience numerous instances of coordinating and supporting group members, allowing me to participate in activities such as curating large art or music exhibition events, working with teams of game developers to reach a group consensus or final product, counsel film crews with budgets and time restrictions, and schedule related meetings and alternative events. I’m so happy to have helped so many artists grow in their skills and confidence, and I’m very excited to bring my communication abilities to the Collective Agency!

These activities originated from my experiences atPortlandStateUniversity, from which I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Film.

What is your greatest contribution or strength that you will bring to “Collective Agency”?

My past real-world experiences with coordination and delegation are the greatest contributions that I will bring to the Collective Agency. These experiences have greatly influenced my abilities in organization, improvisation, teamwork, and project completion, leaving me with strengths and practices that allow me to find solutions and create positive experiences in the process.

What else?

In April of 2011, I founded the Portland Indie Game Squad, a community dedicated to providing events, networking opportunities, and resources to the game development and game enthusiast population inPortland. I have acted as the head organizer for the past year, hosting monthly meetings, educational presentations at OMSI, game development workshops, game development challenges at the Art Institute of Portland, and videogame music showcases. We are currently preparing for another game development challenge (or “Game Jam”) at the Art Institute, constructing the website for our music composition competition, and building an arcade machine to host members’ games.  As of April, PIGSquad supports 191 members.

In August of 2010, I co-founded the PDX Film Collective, a community dedicated to providing events, networking opportunities, resources, and education to the film production population in Portland. I act as the Event Coordinator and Public Relations Manager, governing the group with a council of two other leading members. Through this nonprofit association, we have worked to assist members with film productions, event coordination, networking meetups, educational lectures, and screenings. We are currently working to expand the PDXFC to a nonprofit corporation. As of April, the PDXFC supports 763 members.

What other contact information, if any, would you like voters to have?

Phone: 503-860-9840

Why do you want this position?

I enjoy exercising my skills in organization, active support, communicative coordination, and progressive forecasting. I want to be able to find my career by creating a solution through working with people and constantly expanding my knowledge of how to do so. An organization like the Collective Agency would be able to teach me so much, and I feel that I will develop lifelong relationships both with the people who I help and with the people who help me.

Click to view: Ahjamu, Aimee, Don, Fitz, Jacob, Will

Members: vote May 1-14 at: http://bit.ly/JBjtPQ

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