In Art Sieben’s wonderful song, the lyrics were: “Amanda, twelve great years; years full of laughter, now a few tears.” Amanda’s final platform on June 28 was an emotional reliving of her many years with us as Senior Leader. She thanked WES for its bravery and courage and for inviting her just to be herself, eliciting her best, just as members will continue to do for each other. 

At that June 28th platform, we installed the 2020-2021 Board of Trustees. We welcomed new trustees: Abi Daken, Vincent Tyler, and Rajesh Vidyasagar. Returning board members are Lauren Strange (President), Josh Blinder, Trang Duong and Doug Miller. 

The 2020-2021 Board of Trustees began its work on June 23rd, meeting for the first part of the new Trustee Orientation Session. The orientation included a discussion of roles and responsibilities, an introduction to consent-based decision-making, and an overview of family systems thinking. We were fortunate that Amanda was present to share her experience as Senior Leader. (See photo of Trustees at the 6/23 orientation.) The second half of the Orientation session is scheduled for August 22nd, and will include the Interim Leader, Lyn Cox, who starts as WES’s Interim Leader on August 1st. She has been meeting with Amanda in the past few weeks to transfer knowledge and assist the Trustees in this transition. 

As a part of best practice, Lyn has requested and the Board has agreed to assemble a Transition Team. This team will consist of WES members who will be her thought partners and help her navigate in the early days of her leadership. The team will not include Trustees (or members’ partners) and should be diverse.

If you are interested in being on this Transition Team, please email the Board by July 22nd at emailtoboard@ethicalsociety.org for consideration.
During July, the staff will continue to provide support as usual, so please reach out if you need anything. Tom Hutton will serve as the Head of Staff until Lyn comes on board. Laura Solomon, our former WES intern, will work with the Pastoral Team to provide pastoral care during this month; and of course the Board is here for members, to listen and offer assistance.
We remain vibrant and strong. As Amanda shared with the Trustees, in her usual enthusiastic way, our ability to say good-bye (in the many emails she got, the Zoom open houses, and the words shared at the farewell parade), reflects how healthy and strong we are as a community. We have a lot to look forward to.

-The 2020-2021 Board of Trustees

Josh Blinder, Abi Daken, Trang Duong, Doug Miller, Lauren Strange, Vincent Tyler, Rajesh Vidyasagar