Priority: Cohesive Board Governance

Perhaps the sexiest of all my priorities, cohesive board governance is absolutely essential to ensuring OPPD’s successful future.

We all know what it looks like when teams of people don’t work well together. They don’t get anything done. They make bad decisions. They put their personal agendas above those of the organization.

I’m proud to say that OPPD’s current board is very high functioning. We have an excellent governing system that defines our strategic priorities, policies for how we operate, and distinct roles of both the board and OPPD’s executive leadership team.

Having served as the chair of the board in 2020 and the chair of the board’s Governance Committee 2021 to present, I have a particular appreciation for our processes (how issues arise, how they are prioritized, which committees take ownership, how decisions are made, etc.). They help us stay on track. They help us stay in our lanes. And they help us move our work forward.

As we go forward, I aim to help continually improve our governance systems and processes so as to ensure the board is focused on the right work. We must make smart data-driven decisions and we must be responsive to the public.