[Chapter-delegates] Application to start an Internet Society Chapter in US Pacific Northwest (PNW): Request for Review and Comments

Kyle Shulman shulman at isoc.org
Tue Sep 5 10:12:10 PDT 2023 

Dear Chapter Leaders,

We recently received an application to start an Internet Society Chapter in the US Pacific Northwest (PNW).   The application was initially circulated with our Chapter Leaders in the North American region, who supported the application strongly.  I kindly invite you to review it and share any feedback by Wednesday, 19 September 2023.

Your comments are highly appreciated and useful for this application's overall review and approval.

Kind regards,

Kyle Shulman

Senior Manager,

Community Engagement

______________________________

Internet Society
Chapter Application

A. Proposed Name Of The Chapter
The Pacific Northwest Chapter Of The Internet Society (PNW-ISOC).
PNW-ISOC respectfully requests to be established as a regional chapter of The Internet Society, serving the Pacific Northwest region of The United States of America. Other examples of regional ISOC chapters include The San Francisco Bay Area Internet Society Chapter and The Pacific Islands Chapter of the Internet Society (PICISOC).
There is consensus among our chapter planning team that using the word Washington in our chapter name will be problematic, likely to cause confusion with the Washington D.C. Chapter. We also decided against using the word Cascadia; a term associated with an anti-government secessionist movement in the Pacific Northwest. There is unanimous support among our planning team members for using the phrase "Pacific Northwest" in our chapter name.
B. Community Of Interest The Chapter Will Serve
The Pacific Northwest region of the United States of America (Washington, Oregon, and Idaho).
C. Purpose And Scope Of Chapter
PNW-ISOC's purpose and scope is to support the Internet Society's vision, mission, and operating principles in the Pacific Northwest region of The United States; to promote local projects in support of the Internet as a beneficial resource and a force for good; to provide a public forum for professional development and community participation; and to provide education and outreach about Internet technology and related issues.
D. Outline Of Key Priorities For The First Year Of Chapter
Planning: Chapter members are invited and encouraged to participate in developing PNW-ISOC’s strategic, tactical and financial plans. PNW-ISOC’s long-term plans and chapter priorities will be reflected in our Chapter’s annual operating plan and budget. We will also be seeking grant funding and donation opportunities to support The Internet Society's vision, mission, and operating principles in the Pacific Northwest.
Chapter Development: Create chapter website and marketing materials adhering to The Internet Society’s Brand Guidelines<https://assets.internetsociety.org/Styleguide/#chapter/D503B449-D84F-424D-B1894956F5CFE544>.
Networking events: Organize and/or participate in public events and meetups that connect people interested in extending the benefits of the Internet to everyone. These events will help us build our membership base while benefiting the local community.
Educational events: Organize and/or participate in events in our community and provide information online about Internet-related issues.
Community programs: Assist community partners providing Internet access to underserved and disadvantaged people to help meet their needs. This includes but is not limited to providing funding, expertise, or equipment in furtherance of expanding access to the Internet.
E. Founding Members Of The Chapter

  1.  RB Tewksbury
  2.  Peter Hill
  3.  Spencer Sevilla
  4.  Fatema Kothari
  5.  Monika Machado
  6.  Edward Crabbe
  7.  Matt Ryanczak
  8.  Shraddha Subhash Tekawade
  9.  Esther Jang
  10. Dominick Ta
  11. Nathan Eisenberg
  12. Shaun Glaze
  13. Cody Harris
  14. Christopher Webb
  15. Kurtis Heimerl
  16. Sudheesh Singanamalla
  17. Paul Thompson
  18. Dan Theisen
  19. Chris Halstead
  20. Brian Tate
  21. Soham Shah
  22. Eric Chou
  23. Timothy Dossey
  24. Brian Hoglan
  25. Kristi Lee
  26. Janet Durnford
  27. Tricia Fisk
  28. Christopher Chew
  29. Sameehita Mohan
  30. Samantha Tapucar
  31. John Jacobs
  32. Ahmet Artu Yildirim

F. List Of Supporters And Partner Organizations
●      Davis Wright Tremaine LLP<https://www.dwt.com/expertise/industries/foundations-nonprofits> Seattle-based Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, an Am Law 100 firm, has generously offered to assist The Pacific Northwest Chapter Of The Internet Society (PNW-ISOC) on a pro bono basis “…in connection with its formation as a Washington nonprofit corporation (including preparing articles of incorporation, bylaws, and other standard initial consent resolutions and policies), initial state registrations with the Secretary of State’s office, and obtaining federal tax exempt status.”
●      Seattle Community Network<https://seattlecommunitynetwork.org/> Local Connectivity Lab<https://seattlecommunitynetwork.org/aboutUs.html>
●     ​The University of Washington<https://www.washington.edu/> College of Engineering<https://www.engr.washington.edu/> G. Membership
PNW-ISOC is currently in startup mode with 32 individual founding members from organizations including Cisco, Cloudflare, IMDB, Meta, Microsoft, Oracle, Starbucks Coffee Company and a strong contingent from The University of Washington.
There is consensus among our Chapter planning team that our Chapter will not charge a membership fee to join PNW-ISOC. We support ISOC’s vision “The Internet Is for Everyone” regardless of a person’s ability to pay. All are welcome to join. People do not need to reside in the Pacific Northwest to be Chapter members.
PNW-ISOC maintains a Discord server<https://discord.com/channels/1092948533105131620/1092949052750041109> to support member engagement and organizational transparency.
To grow membership PNW-ISOC will establish the following communication channels:
●      A website to communicate events, recruit board members, share key information, and raise up the voices of our membership and the ISOC community at-large.
●      A YouTube channel to document events and a LinkedIn group to recruit new members.
●      A newsletter to all members.
H. List Of Requirements
●      The Pacific Northwest Chapter Of The Internet Society will be a Washington- based 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with more than 25 individual members of the Internet Society.
●      PNW-ISOC respectfully requests the list of the founding members<https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1liFYxs2gxTPV7RyB2XPBs0jPocwFsXPLr9K3Sg54DeY/edit?usp=sharing> be included in chapter member information in the Internet Society membership database.
●      PNW-ISOC will establish a bank account in the name of the Chapter to receive and disburse funds, including funding provided by the Internet Society.
●      PNW-ISOC agrees to conduct at least one mission-related activity during every 12-month period.
●      PNW-ISOC agrees to establish and maintain the Chapter’s web presence.
I. Additional Information
Our 32 founding members include three past ISOC chapter board members from other Internet Society chapters.
Once PNW-ISOC is up and running we will be eligible for and seek ISOC Foundation Beyond the Net<https://www.isocfoundation.org/grant-programme/beyond-the-net-large-grants/> grants and Chapter Admin Funding<https://www.internetsociety.org/grants/chapter-admin-funding/> from The Internet Society. As an ISOC chapter in good standing, we will also be eligible for and seek funding from The Internet Society Foundation across multiple funding areas<https://www.isocfoundation.org/funding-areas/>. As a public charity, PNW-ISOC will also be able to seek funding from individuals and organizations that support a free and open Internet for all.
J. Contact Information
Executive Council (Board Of Directors)
●      Chris Halstead
●      Kurtis Heimerl
●      Brian Hoglan
●      Fatema Kothari
●      Monika Machado
●      Spencer Sevilla
●      RB Tewksbury
Thank you for your consideration of our application to become a chapter of The Internet Society.
RB Tewksbury
PNW-ISOC Chapter Organizer

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