Candidates for 2019-20 OhioSMART Volunteer Board
We want to thank everyone who has sent in an application to run for the OhioSMART Board of Directors for the 2019-20 year. This post includes information on the elections process and all candidate bio forms so you can learn more about your fellow SMART members who are ready to step up and serve our community.
Candidates have the option of running for an Officer position, an At-Large position, or both. Candidates running for either or both positions will have their names placed on both pre-printed ballots for election night.
Voting is allowed by any member currently in good standing who is in attendance at the annual meeting on May 18, 2019. Membership must be current by May 13, 2019. Please message a board member, or email us at board@ohiosmart.org if you need to renew before then. We will not be accepting membership renewals until after the annual meeting is over on the 18th. All voting ballots will be anonymous. At the time of voting, all members present at the meeting will be given two ballots.
Ballots will first be cast for Officer positions. Once those have been tallied and announced, those elected whose names were also placed on an at-large ballot will no longer be eligible for an at-large position. The at-large ballot will be cast second.
On the officer ballot, each member can vote for up to three candidates. On the at-large ballot, each member can vote for up to two candidates. Additionally, there will be space for any member to write in another candidate not listed on either ballot, should a member want to cast a vote for another member in good standing who is not listed on the ballot. Any ballots with more than the allowed number of votes will be invalid and not tabulated in the final voting results, as there is no way to determine the intended votes.
During the next week, candidates will be available in this online forum to answer your questions. In the interest of transparency, we ask that if you have a question for one or several of the candidates, you ask your questions in this forum so other members can see their responses.
Below are the candidates for election and the position(s) for which they would like to be considered. You can read each candidate bio form in this forum post as well.
NotTodaySatan
1. List your first name and/or screen name, however you are known in our BDSM Community.
Not Today Satan
2. List your history in the BDSM Community, including participation/leadership in special interest groups, volunteering experience, etc. Be sure to note any current BDSM leadership positions held.
I have been a board member for the 2018-2019 period
I Co lead Smart Ties.
3. List any other experience you have with non-profit organizations.
No work directly on the board of any nonprofits but have volunteered and fostered for animal rescues, as well as help set up fundraising campaigns.
4. List any other leadership experience, in any setting.
In my employment I am a subject matter expert and am responsible for onboarding and training processes. I have managed people in other positions in my personal life. I am an expert level Excel user, have strong access database skills as well as experience using Eventbrite. I'm also experienced in using social media platforms for advertising and follower building activities.
5. List the top three areas you would like to devote your time and energy to in order to improve OhioSMART.
Membership retention
Continuing to develop consent policies and incident tracking
Continuing to build internal/SIG policy
6. What specific goals do you have for your time in OhioSMART leadership?
Understanding the bylaws and working to redefine them to meet new community standards in regards to consent and education as well as the general shift in how Kink
communities exist these days.
NotTodaySatan is running for an Officer or an At Large position
Chimera
1. List your first name and/or screen name, however you are known in our BDSM Community.
Chimera
2. List your history in the BDSM Community, including participation/leadership in special interest groups, volunteering experience, etc. Be sure to note any current BDSM leadership positions held.
I have volunteered for OhioSMART as a PSM off and on for five years, I attended Purple Rose in Akron for a couple years then and before that and volunteered there as well with PSMing and setup/teardown. I have helped with Fetish Flea for the last three years, this previous year I was in charge of the "Brute Squad". I have also worked CLAW for the past two years in a similar capacity-setup/teardown, load-in etc. I am the current PSM trainer/coordinator for OhioSMART and also an at large board member.
3. List any other experience you have with non-profit organizations.
None that is relevant.
4. List any other leadership experience, in any setting.
Given my extensive history with volunteering for the local kink and leather communities, I wish to keep my professional life private.
5. List the top three areas you would like to devote your time and energy to in order to improve OhioSMART.
I would like to help keep the community safe by insuring that consent violations are taken seriously and handled in a professional and considerate manner.
I want to continue to ensure that OhioSMART is a safe and welcoming place for gender minorities.
I want to expand and develop our outreach and cooperation with the Cleveland Leather community.
6. What specific goals do you have for your time in OhioSMART leadership?
I hope to continue working on outreach with the Leather community, as well as continuing my liason work with the new SMART Pound SIG. I also want to make it clear to the region that OhioSMART is a safe educational space for kinksters regardless of race, age, gender, orientation or disability and do what work I can to make that true.
Chimera is running for an Officer or an At Large position
Col_Chestbridge
1. List your first name and/or screen name, however you are known in our BDSM Community.
Col_Chestbridge
2. List your history in the BDSM Community, including participation/leadership in special interest groups, volunteering experience, etc. Be sure to note any current BDSM leadership positions held.
Volunteer, "brute squad" for Fetish Flea/Summer School, Member of SMART for 4 years
3. List any other experience you have with non-profit organizations.
N/A
4. List any other leadership experience, in any setting.
N/A
5. List the top three areas you would like to devote your time and energy to in order to improve OhioSMART.
I would like to help with outreach to more vulnerable communities - we do a great job with trans folk and I would love to see that continue. But we can and should do more for POC, people with mental illness and I'm interested in helping sex workers in some way. I am here first and foremost for education and I want to make sure we continue to prioritize that. And last, but not least I want to continue our focus on consent, as I believe that's our strongest asset.
6. What specific goals do you have for your time in OhioSMART leadership?
I would love to see more classes and events specifically targeted at some of the cross sections of interests we have. Gamers is a great start for this, throwing some support to Flaming River Con is another. I've seen and heard some things that suggest maybe we could do some things on mental illness, or addiction. Or teaching people how to safely use the internet for various purposes (Creating sex toys, buying toys/clothes, cam modeling, dating, meetup, etc.).
Col_Chestbridge is running for an Officer or an At Large position
_sandals_
1. List your first name and/or screen name, however you are known in our BDSM Community.
_sandals_
2. List your history in the BDSM Community, including participation/leadership in special interest groups, volunteering experience, etc. Be sure to note any current BDSM leadership positions held.
I have been a member of SMART since 2013, and attended The Purple Rose Society for several years until it closed. I have attended large events in Pittsburgh, Columbus and Baltimore, and groups in the Cleveland area like MAsT, OPEN, and ORRS. In the past, I have organized and lead activities at SMART including the Lego Firewalk, Littles’ Coloring Night, and Littles’ Birthday Party. I have also organized and lead two polyamory panels at Oddmall events. Currently I am the leader of the Cleveland area OPEN (Ohio Pansexual Ethical Non-Monogamy) group, moderate an online polyamory forum with 1,800 members, and hold the officer position of Secretary on the OhioSMART Board of Directors.
3. List any other experience you have with non-profit organizations.
I was the chairperson on a steering committee for a non-profit organization for three years, during which time I managed a team of 8 people and ran bi-monthly events for a group with 110 members. As the chairperson, I oversaw the budget, lead the steering committee meetings, planned group meetings, made yearly calendars, and organized and executed four yearly fundraisers. When I was a member of that steering committee, our whole team went once a year to a leadership conference.
4. List any other leadership experience, in any setting.
Professionally, I was previously an assistant manager in a retail setting. Currently I run a small business with a partner and handle duties daily such as customer service, marketing, purchasing, budget and networking.
5. List the top three areas you would like to devote your time and energy to in order to improve OhioSMART.
My top priorities for OhioSMART at this point are continuing to provide quality education that centers on the values of our organization, expanding our volunteer team to give more members the opportunity to serve their community to their best abilities, and continuing to work on strengthening relationships with other local organizations and leaders.
6. What specific goals do you have for your time in OhioSMART leadership?
This past year we added a new position to our volunteer team, the Board Alternates. This was a coordinated effort to prepare a pathway to leadership for those in our community who are excited about volunteering. I would like to spend some time expanding upon the definition of that position, as well as making sure we have well documented procedures to keep bringing up leaders in our organization.
I would also like to continue to grow and strengthen our relationships with local organizations, educators, and resources. We made some great connections in the past year, and I would like to see those expanded on to include more marginalized groups, including working with the LGBT Center, more college based kink groups, and groups in the area that focus on POC, such as Onyx.
As we move into a more secure financial situation, I look forward to bringing back intensives and workshops that will give our members and community the opportunity to learn more about the subjects they're interested in.
_sandals_ is running for an Officer or an At Large position
-Kasey-
1. List your first name and/or screen name, however you are known in our BDSM Community.
-Kasey-
2. List your history in the BDSM Community, including participation/leadership in special interest groups, volunteering experience, etc. Be sure to note any current BDSM leadership positions held.
4 Years in the scene
2 Years OhioSMART TNG leader
1 Year OhioSMART Board Treasurer
3. List any other experience you have with non-profit organizations.
N/A
4. List any other leadership experience, in any setting.
Management experience
5. List the top three areas you would like to devote your time and energy to in order to improve OhioSMART.
-Further promoting safe education and consent in the community and beyond
-Building relationships with the greater LGBTQ+ community and other minority groups
-Creating the most safe, inclusive space possible
6. What specific goals do you have for your time in OhioSMART leadership?
Continue doing outreach to the greater Cleveland area as well as bring in more diverse presenters while protecting members of OhioSMART. To continue to reach out to local organizations to promote safe, explicit consent and the organization as a whole.
-Kasey- is running for an Officer or an At Large position
