May 2024 ABA Board Meeting Minutes

Thursday, May 2, 2024 1:30 – 6:30 pm ET

In Attendance
Danny Caine
Jenny Cohen
Cynthia Compton
Jake Cumsky-Whitlock
Joy Dallanegra-Sanger (ABA COO)
Ray Daniels (ABA CCO)
Kelly Estep
Allison Hill (ABA CEO)
Raquel Roque
PK Sindwani (ABA CFO)
Jessica Stockton Bagnulo
Lisa Swayze
Tegan Tigani
Holly Weinkauf

Christina Pascucci Ciampa attended as a guest until she was officially welcomed to the Board at the end of the meeting.

Absent
Kathy Burnette
Diane Capriola
Jeff Deutsch

Early Departures
Christina left at 5:00 pm ET for a meeting and returned at 5:29 pm ET.
Danny left the meeting at 3:03 pm ET to board a plane.
Raquel left the meeting at 3:05 pm ET to do a security walk through for a large author event.
Jake left at 5:38 pm ET.

Prior to start time:
Attendees were reminded that to prioritize a commitment to antiracism, equity, access, and representation as a Board and in this meeting.

Directors were asked to disclose any potential Dualities of Interest and/or Conflicts of Interest pertaining to the meeting. Kelly noted that she is on the Bookshop Board. Jake noted that he is on the Bookshop Advisory Board. (Visit BookWeb for the full list.)

Directors were reminded to adhere to ABA Board Norms during the meeting.

1:30 pm – 1:45 pm ET: Introduction & Welcome
Tegan reviewed the meeting agenda. Then each Board member introduced themselves and their stores to Christina, the newest Board member.

1:46pm – 1:48 pm ET: April Minutes
Holly moved to approve the April minutes and Lisa seconded the mention. The Board discussed a few minor word changes in the minutes. The Board unanimously approved the minutes with the minor word amendments.

1:48 pm – 2:05 pm ET: Q2 Financials Review
Allison gave an overview of the ABA's 2nd quarter financial reports. The biggest takeaway is that the organization's finances are currently within the budget that was set. Expenses have been managed well by ABA staff.

2:06 pm – 3:05 pm ET: Support for Black Booksellers
Ray, Allison, and Joy hosted a 2.5 hour Black Bookseller Forum and received a lot of feedback and suggestions. Allison shared the things that ABA staff is working on to support Black booksellers and Black-owned bookstores. She is scheduling another forum for the fall.

The Board discussed ways that Board members can support Black booksellers. and came up with actions to implement.

3:05 pm – 3:20 pm ET: Break

3:22 pm – 4:20 pm ET: Community Forum Prep
The Board discussed the structure of the Community Forum and prepared for the upcoming virtual Annual Meeting and Community Forum.

4:30 pm – 4:40 pm ET: Break

4:40 pm – 5:05 pm ET: CEO Report
Allison reviewed her CEO Report which included:

Advocacy updates.

IndieCommerce updates: Staff is addressing AI bots & attacks; Update on store migration to IndieCommerce 2.0

Publisher Meetings updates.

5:07 pm – 5:40 pm ET: Final Discussion and Housekeeping
Final Meeting Discussion and Next Steps: Tegan reviewed items that the Board needs to follow up on: Board survey, Board committees, Children's Institute details, and publisher meetings.

Confirm Nominating Committee: This was moved to the June meeting.

Bookshop Board Member: The Board discussed the appointment of an ABA Board member to the Bookshop Board since Kelly's ABA Board tenure is ending. The Board unanimously agreed that Jake would serve on the Bookshop Board since he has experience as a Bookshop Advisory Council member.

5:30 pm – 5:45 pm ET: Good-bye and Thank you, Kelly!
The Board had a send off celebration for Kelly's last meeting and six years of Board service. Kelly's tenure included serving as Vice President of the Board and serving as the ABA Board member on the Bookshop Board.

5:46 pm ET: Jessica moved to adjourn the meeting and Lisa seconded.

5:47 pm ET: The meeting was called to order and Christina was welcomed as a new Board member.

5:49 pm ET: Holly moved to adjourn the meeting and Christina seconded. Meeting was adjourned.