January / February 2021 Volume 20, No. 1

Therapeutic Activism

The year 2020 was an anomaly. We shared collective grief, fear, loss, and uncertainty as we faced two deadly pandemics, COVID-19 and systemic racism. COVID-19 spotlit record unemployment, lack of consistent healthcare, food insecurity, chasms in education, and technologies. The pandemic exacerbated the disparities of systemic racism on Black, Latino/a, and Native American lives. Even [...]

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January / February 2021 Volume 20, No. 1

Harvesting Hope for 2021

2020 was a year like no other in our history. Global pandemic, political upheaval, and racial injustice have marred the view of the world in even the most hopeful and resilient of people. Since March 2020, many of us have been largely confined to our homes, carefully venturing out masked and keeping our distance from [...]

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November / December 2020 Volume 19, No. 6

Giving Associations Voice

Associations are unique business entities in that they have three unique parts that create the whole: 1) the elected Board of Directors which sets the strategic vision for the association and holds fiduciary responsibility for the entity; 2) members who advance the field through their work and provide input and direction to the association; and [...]

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November / December 2020 Volume 19, No. 6

Recording Meeting Minutes

The Rules for AAMFT Assemblies are adapted from Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised, 11th Edition (Robert, Honemann, Balch, Seabold, & Gerger, 2011). The secretary (or designated other) records the proceedings of meetings of the board, committees, and task forces for future reference. These minutes are the legal record of the meeting, and serve to [...]

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November / December 2020 Volume 19, No. 6

The Roles of President and President-Elect

The AAMFT governance policies provide for a developmental mentor leadership process when it comes to the roles of the president and president-elect and the past president. Altogether, it is a five-year journey with a multigenerational process support function. If we jump into the middle of that journey, at the three-year mark, the president is just [...]

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November / December 2020 Volume 19, No. 6

The Executive Committee and AAMFT

The Executive Committee is specifically mentioned in the AAMFT Bylaws: “5.04. The committees of the board are the Executive Committee and such other committees of the board as shall be authorized by the board. The Executive Committee shall consist of the president, president-elect, secretary, and treasurer of the association. The CEO serves as an ex [...]

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November / December 2020 Volume 19, No. 6

How Does the Board Get So Much Work Done?

New board member: What you mean the board book is 700+ pages long? Is it always so big? The AAMFT Board of Directors meets four times a year, yet our work is never ceasing. Between meetings, we are busy reading reports, having discussions within our Network, and addressing current and future issues for our association. [...]

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November / December 2020 Volume 19, No. 6

Flexing with Change? Or Bent by Change?

At the time of this writing, the entire world is responding to the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). Change is upon us. Worldwide. Throughout all our systems. Most of us have been months in our homes, sheltering in place. We are individually and collectively being challenged as to whether we will flex—like steel or iron—or be bent [...]

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November / December 2020 Volume 19, No. 6

Board Ready Materials and the Charge

Perhaps you have wondered how the AAMFT Board of Directors does its work, makes its decisions, and what informs the board in that important process. While most people have a general idea of how a board functions, every board and association has features that are unique to them. This association is no exception. To unpack [...]

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November / December 2020 Volume 19, No. 6

Diversity and Inclusivity Policy

Emerging from recommendations of the Diversity and Inclusivity Steering Committee (DISC) in 2018 and board approved policies in early 2019, there are two essential aspects of this policy. One is related to our D&I commitment, the second is our D&I accountability. Our explicit commitment to D&I is that the AAMFT Board of Directors will govern [...]

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