Board of Directors
The Board of Access is composed of artists, arts workers, and art-interested community members who bring a broad range of skills and experiences, including design, fundraising, governance, and financial literacy, as well as their social and professional networks, and knowledge of artistic and curatorial practice. No prior board experience or skills are needed to join the Board, but by definition the board of an artist-run centre must maintain 50% artists to ensure our by-laws.
Access’ Board comes together on a monthly and committee basis to plan and execute goals and projects that shape and support Access Gallery. This can include but is not limited to policy creation, supporting + hiring gallery staff, ensuring the mandate/mission of the gallery, investing in board education, professional development, and member management, and fundraising projects and campaigns.
Members who wish to join the board should expect a time commitment of 1-2 hours per week, it’s up to Board Members to manage their time and remain accountable to their commitments and in communication with their peers. Serving on the Access board is a volunteer position that offers access to a platform that can change and develop Access as an organisation and influence and support emerging artists in the city, it can also lend to your own skill building and professional development.
Two questions members should ask themselves before they commit to the board are:
“What would I like to give the community by participating in this work?”
“What do I want to get from the community by participating in this work?”
The first question can serve as inspiration for what committees to join or create, and what projects you vision for Access. The second question can serve as a way to ensure you can ask for and receive the support from your peers on the board and make connections you are interested in making.
Further, we have published an Anti-Racism Commitment which we continue to update as we move through deconstruction of prior systems, update our policies, and continue to pursue our goals to continue Anti-Racist work at Access and ensure it is embedded into the design of our community.
Our current Board of Directors can be found here.
Committees & Roles
On the board we have several active committees and Executive Roles which help structure our governance. Committees meet separately from monthly board meetings to design and accomplish their own goals within the board's established strategy. They have access to pre-determined budgets, and can invite volunteers from the community to help or participate in their projects. Committees report their progress and research to the rest of the board and ask for help, input, and guidance when needed.
In this section we will:
→ Outline Executive Roles
→ Outline Active Committees
→ List Current Members and Recruiting Status
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Composed of the Board President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary, the Executive Committee (EC) is responsible for supporting the Director/Curator in day-to-day matters, ensuring and organising monthly meetings for the board, reviewing and supporting the gallery’s financial management, and creating and operating Board administrative processes. This is a standing Board Committee.
People attracted to roles on this committee are often interested in leadership, planning, and administration. This team is important as they lay the groundwork for communication and collaboration between Staff and Board. It’s important to note that the Executive team does not make any decisions on behalf of the board.
Our Board President:
- Organises monthly meeting schedule
- Leads internal communication
- Assists in financial management and is a signatory on accounts
- Gathers Executive Committee around Strategic Planning, Infrastructure, + Reports progress to Board
- Supports deliverables of Committees
- Does annual 1:1 check-ins with Board Members
Our Board Vice-President:
- Checks in regularly with the D/C in between meetings
- Gathers Committee Reports, action item updates
- Participates in Strategic Planning + Infrastructure
- Signatory
Our Board Secretary:
- Prepares and Distributes Meeting Agendas
- Takes minutes + records motions and voting tallies
- Delivers status updates of members action items to VP
- Participates in Strategic Planning + Infrastructure
Our Board Treasurer:
- Assist DC in preparing Quarterly Financials
- Facilitates Board Financial Literacy
- Advises on Financial Management and Operations
- Attends Quarterly Meetings
Access’ current Executive Committee is:
Jennifer Dickieson (President)
vacancy (Vice-President)
Rebecca Wang 王晨釔 (Secretary)
Gloria Han (Treasurer)
PERSONNEL COMMITTEE
The purpose of the Personnel Committee is to ensure that the board fulfils its legal, ethical, and functional responsibilities through adequate governance related to the staffing needs of Access. These include and are not limited to: recruitment and hiring; contracts; grievances; professional development; monitoring of Director/Curator’s overtime, leave and vacation; annual evaluation of Director/Curator’s performance; and research into human resource practices and policies. This committee is also implicated as a contact point and reviewer of codes of conduct and safer space policies for Access. This is a standing Board Committee.
People who do well in this role on the board are often interested in workplace safety, both physical and emotional. They listen to others with care, prioritise health, act with discretion, and communicate with clarity.
The Personnel Committee is an active Board Committee, composed of the President or Vice President, and at least two Board members. The Committee will meet twice annually (for a performance evaluation of the Director/Curator, and for a review of the Code of Conduct), and otherwise according to need as determined by the Board and/or Director/Curator.
Our Current Personnel Committee is:
Jennifer Dickieson
April dela Noche Milne
Jocelyne Junker
JEDI (JUSTICE, EQUITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION) COMMITTEE
Our newly established JEDI committee will focus on ensuring that Access’ developing systems uphold our anti-racist values. The committee budget will support research and PD for members. The committee will always be involved in passing policies and overseeing messaging and communications that come out of the gallery. This is a standing Board Committee.
People who join the JEDI committee will have an interest in social justice and activism, and identify as BIPOC/2SLGBTQIA+, often they have goals to hold organisations accountable and are practiced in thinking critically about how current systems uphold white supremacy and enact systemic discrimination.
Our Current JEDI Committee is:
Jocelyne Junker
*Currently Recruiting, and the entire BOD is serving in this capacity*
GOVERNANCE + STRATEGIC INITIATIVES COMMITTEE
The Governance Committee takes an active role in working with the Executive to ensure the performance of the Director/Curator and facilitate transition and onboarding plans for staff and board roles. This is a standing Board Committee.
- To recommend the selection of new Board Members to the Board
- lead Board assessment initiatives
- Succession planning for the Board and Staff — ie. the creation of this handbook
- Research and propose new policies
- Accountability towards our stakeholders through the development of policies and procedures for the organisation.
- Long-term strategy and visioning
People interested in governance are often attracted to and pay attention to organisational operations and structures and how they are effective or ineffective. This committee should strive to improve working conditions of gallery staff, and lay down or augment policies which help in guiding members through organisational processes. The Governance committee researches effective and lasting ways to ensure the gallery runs in alignment with the established Vision, Values and Mission and Anti-Racist Values.
This committee may also engage external consultants and the Advisory Board to research long-term strategies for organisational and fund development, recommend strategic priorities for the organisation and ensure that gallery staff are executing on those priorities through strategic initiatives.
Our Current Governance + Strategic Initiatives Committee is:
Jennifer Dickieson
Gloria Han
Jonathan Alfaro
*Currently Recruiting*
FUNDRAISING + COMMUNITY BUILDING COMMITTEE
The fundraising committee helps to ensure adequate financial resources to the gallery through initiatives that include, but are not limited to, fundraising events, mail campaigns, membership recruitment/retention, donor prospecting and cultivation. This is a standing Public Committee.
Our fundraising ethos at access is:
- To build and cultivate an engaged community centred around our mission and vision
- To regularly engage our community through email, social, and in-person/virtual events that celebrate emergent artists within our community
- To prioritise the sustainable development and execution of long-term fundraising goals and practices aligned with our organisations’ values and directives.
We are looking to develop:
- A highly engaged list of email followers and subscribers with regular valuable content
- A sustainable and repeatable strategy and plan for regular gallery events and community building
- Where possible a list of regular donors contributing, however nominally, to the gallery operations and efforts
- A steady and growing list of organisation members
Members who are attracted to this kind of work are often good at community organising, social event planning, project and budget management. While some if the work of the committee is constant, for example, maintaining membership communication, because of the project based nature of this work, this Committee may have times of inactivity that ramp up.
Our Current Fundraising & Community Building Committee is:
April dela Noche Milne
Aaniya Asrani
*Currently Recruiting*
FACILITIES COMMITTEE
The Facilities Committee ensures the physical space of the gallery is functioning as effectively as possible through initiatives that include, but are not limited to: assessing the use of the space by the society and tenants, negotiating the lease, assessing real estate trends, and assessing gallery current and future needs. This committee may also be engaged in repairs, advising on space and layouts, helping with maintenance jobs and visioning accessibility. This is a standing Board Committee.
Members who are attracted to this committee are handy and like completing clear tasks around the gallery space. They also may have an interest in building/space safety and thinking/rethinking accessibility and disability justice.
Our Current Facilities Committee is:
Rebecca Wang 王晨釔
Jocelyne Junker
Gloria Han
*Currently Recruiting*
PROGRAMMING COMMITTEE
This is a standing Public Committee, currently in development, and will be responsible primarily for developing calls for submissions and special projects, assisting with the first stage of jurying applications, and working collectively with the Director/Curator to imagine new programming structures and ideas.