[Chapter-delegates] What is the purpose of the petition process? (Re: Petition filed by Caleb Ogundele to be added to Election Slate)

[Andrew Sullivan]

Dear colleagues,

On Fri, Feb 24, 2023 at 07:26:51PM +0800, Roland Turner via Chapter-delegates wrote:

>I assume (hope) that there is some compelling rationale for the way 
>this process came together

I have no idea why things are named as they are and why the process is like this, but it has been this way for as long as I can remember.  There is, however, a rationale for having a small committee that creates a proposed slate.  Trustees have individual qualifications, of course, but the board also has a collective responsibility for oversight of the legal entities for which it is the board.  This means that certain experience is needed _across_ the set of trustees even if any particular individual may not need that particular expertise.  Having a small commmittee look at that collection of needs across the board allows it to prepare a slate that is likely to offer the sorts of individual capabilities that the baord as a whole needs.  This is a common mechanism in non-profit boards where the board members are selected by the community.

Best regards,

A

-- 
Andrew Sullivan
President & CEO, Internet Society
sullivan at isoc.org
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