What is Cabinet and its purpose at Washington Women’s Foundation (WaWF)? The purpose is to coordinate committee activities and programs guided by the goals of the strategic plan. Cabinet fosters cross-committee collaboration, discusses issues and solves problems related to committee work, makes recommendations on policies to the board and/or acts as a sounding board for policy recommendations made by committees and/or board. But Cabinet is much more than just its purpose. It’s a time for the committee chairs of all our operating committees to come together and share and support each other in what they are working on, looking for any cross connections to help create the best experiences for our members. Every committee has been working toward the realization of our strategic plan and is committed to continuing to put the Foundation’s values into action through their work.
The Cabinet meets four times each year with the Board Chair (Ann Kumasaka) and our President & CEO (Maria Kolby-Wolfe) joining each meeting to give the Cabinet leaders updates on Board and Foundation activity. In turn, the Cabinet Chair reports to the Board at each Board meeting the activities of each of the active committees. The position of Cabinet Chair comes with a seat on the Board.
The grant committees and their leadership for 2020-21 were: Capacity Building-Kris Kaminishi; Impact Assessment -Ginny Trethewey & Ellen Look; Membership Engagement- Betty Drumheller & Nancy Elliot; Intersect- Janet Frohnmayer, Susan Barley & Page Pless; Pooled Fund Grants- Lorraine del Prado, Aru Chandorkar & Nicole Stellner.
Impact Assessment Committee Co-Chair Ellen Look shares her thoughts on Cabinet:
“Being a member of the Cabinet has provided me with the opportunity to build relationships with committee leaders. During our meetings, we’ve engaged in meaningful conversations about the Foundation’s challenges and how we can work together to better serve our grantees.”
Pooled Fund Grant Committee Chair, Aru Chandorkar added:
“The Cabinet meetings offer a cross committee vantage point and a forum for dialog that furthers awareness and appreciation of the whole gamut of what we do at WaWF. This year, I truly appreciated the active participation from the Board and Maria. These meetings make for more effective and thoughtful application of our mission.”
Aviva Stampfer and Isabelle Shively have been the staff partners for Cabinet this year and they both have been wonderful to work with and we, the Cabinet members, appreciate all you do for Cabinet and all the committees.
Cabinet would also like to thank CEO & President Maria Kolby-Wolfe for all her work in leading WaWF forward with implementing the strategic plan and taking the time to participate in the Cabinet meetings.
If you’re curious about what’s happening at Cabinet, I encourage you to ask your committee chair, or you can contact me anytime.
Have a wonderful summer!