Audra Atkins-Reeves- Q&A

[awindowacrossall]

This is the thread for Audra to introduce herself, take questions, and the like. 

[heartofthetardis]

I'm answering these in the order in which they were posted. My responses are long but please bear with me as I feel the questions deserved proper care.
 I will follow this post up tomorrow with more commentary on what I see for the order moving forward this term.


Do you see any particular goals for the group to work towards in the next year? If so, what?





This one is going to be long so bear with me because these are the reasons I’m running.

My main goal right now is to figure out why such a small amount of our membership (805 members not counting those who are only members of their sector pages so it’s probably closer to 900) is engaged with the club. Personally I think this next year as a club needs to be one of introspection as officers where we ask the hard questions of what do our members expect from us? What need are we filling in the lives of whovian cosplayers? Are we filling any need? What needs aren’t we filling? It needs to be full of questions and discussions if we are to move forward as an active relevant group in the whovian cosplay community. We have a great foundation but if for every 10 people that join 20 people quietly become inactive we won’t have the bright future that we aspire to.

To put this all in perspective - The FB group has 805 members. 147 of them have joined the forum.



Of that 147:

- 11 visited today (11/8/16)

- 47 visited sometime in 2016

- 67 visited sometime in 2015

- 26 people visited sometime in 2014



Out of those 11 today 10 are people running for office! Even less have asked questions! I appreciated Brian’s attempt to engage the membership on the main page because it means I’m not the only one who sees this issue. The most engaged people in our club are the officers and we are supposed to be here serving our membership. We aren’t even getting engagement for the elections. Whether that’s due to elections being on a message board I don’t know but it’s something that needs to be investigated so we know how to tweak things for the future.



This means leg work, contacting members especially ones who haven’t been active and engaging them to find what it is that is holding them back. What needs aren’t we filling for them as a cosplayer and a whovian? This means work for non-officers



I already have questions in mind for an anonymous survey I want to push out to all members active and inactive as well as different polls to run within the group that members can fill out and comment freely about what they feel they are and aren’t getting from The Order so that we can assess how to better serve the needs of the whovian cosplay community. To serve in office is to literally serve our membership and if the majority of our members are not engaged and you see the same people volunteering over and over again you burn out the engaged members and you never pull in the ones sitting on the fence. I would like to reach out to whovian cosplayers who aren’t engaged with the order to get their perspective on it and see what keeps them from engaging with us and helping to unify the whovian cosplay community. I would like to know what people’s expectations were when they joined to see how our recruiting messages are being pushed out and are they accurate and are we fulfilling the promises we make in our recruitment.



While that portion was a long answer I feel it’s the most important if we are to survive in the long run and meet other lofty goals.



Other goals mean working on the opportunity that we have to have our own one day event/convention which is something that has been tossed around for quite a while but a door has potentially opened to facilitate making that a reality.



I also would like to help support the smaller sectors in growing their membership and engagement as well, which goes hand in hand with the first part of my statement. I would like to see smaller functions within the club that have been default given to officers given to non-officer members, which would help encourage engagement. I’d also like to develop a list of skills of our members that they think they can contribute to the group. I’d like to see a focus on how to cosplay in addition to social meetups for those members who just need that extra push to get started. I’d like to have a database of cosplay oriented classes that order members feel comfortable teaching or assistant teaching in order to bring the focus back to cosplay.



I really want to see the order move into the future with a strong and active base that is passionate about whovian cosplay. If we do that I think we build ourselves a solid foundation for future growth.



If you are not elected to this office, will you continue to participate as a member of this club?



If that was my attitude I wouldn’t be running. I have to admit I laughed because really what kind of question is that? I have a passion for making this group a better place and if I’m not around then how can I help do that? If I’m not elected I’m still going to push for all of the goals I listed above because I want to see the group succeed and have a solid foundation. So even if I’m not an officer then I’ll just be a really vocal active member participating as I always have and pushing for us to keep growing and changing and meeting the needs of our members. I’m not sure much more needs to be said on that one.



As I have learned to my chagrin, this job is always tinged with drama, no matter how much one may strive to avoid it. What would you do to avoid drama and politics so that you can do your job.



Drama is everywhere. It’s at work. It’s at home. It’s on the freeway commute. You can’t control what others do and say you can only control your reaction to it. If you can’t do your job because of drama then I think you should rethink how well you do your job. Anytime someone is in a position there is going to be criticism and snark whether it’s at work or in a social circle. The best thing anyone can do is to stay true to the overall goals that have been set and to never discount a criticism just because you may not like the source. If the devil himself had a valid criticism it doesn’t matter if the devil said it, it only matters that you take the time to look at the message being given and be open to the possibility that it may be valid.

One thing I have to remember at work is that nothing is personal. It means having a thick skin when people may just be difficult for the sake of being difficult. It means putting aside personal feelings and emotions and moving forward doing what is best for the greater good. The reality of life is there always will be drama and conflict in any gathering of people but if you set an example of not taking things personally and keeping an even head then it helps to quell it and you lead by example which is super important for any officer. Be the member of the group you would want others to be. Be the officer that the membership needs you to be.





Assume that a Tribunal has been held and a person has been accused of <insert violation of the Charter/Code of Conduct/Anti-Harassment Clause Here>. Assume that while you feel the person was culpable, the Tribunal feels that the individual was in fact not culpable. Assume that the Castellan advises that he/she agrees with this finding. What do you do?



a) What if the aggrieved party is insisting that the accused person is culpable?

b) What if the aggrieved party could only be proven right by violating the wishes of the aggrieved party?

c) What if the situation is reversed? The Tribunal finds the individual culpable, but you strongly disagree.



Well first off feelings don’t matter. What matters is what kind of reaction do the observed facts demand. Those facts may elicit strong feelings but decisions ultimately have to rest on the facts of what happened and especially in a case where the facts aren’t in dispute the adequacy of any sanctions should go through some checks.

I think it’s the president and the castellan’s right to overrule a tribunal ruling if the the facts show that the safety of the members of the club is at stake or that members would reasonably be taken advantage of. I think ultimately there is a moral obligation to protect the membership as they have put their trust in us. They purchase goods from other members. They bring their children to our events. They rely on us to create that safe and inclusive space for members of all ages and all genders and all abilities and that is something that has to be preserved or the club could fall.

Aggrieved parties’ wishes have to be balanced with the needs of the club. As we often see in the judicial system a victim may forgive and even ask for leniency for a perpetrator as a way of healing and moving on. That doesn’t mean that person should be let loose in society or should escape any deserved punishment that would protect members of society at large. The opposite is also true. Someone who is overly harsh about a situation that is minor or perhaps is aggravated by personal dislike does not have to be upheld if the greater good and sense of fairness and justice would be done a disservice. Balance is what is ultimately needed and not to get too nerdy, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one.



Again the facts have to outweigh any personal feeling. If the tribunal found someone guilty but there is no evidence of it then that needs to be discussed by the castellan and the president to prevent a miscarriage of justice. If personal feeling can’t be put aside I would say that you are unfit for the office as it’s too important to focus on the facts.





I strongly believe that the Officers should be communicating regarding all matters not directly related to logistics and/or too sensitive for some members on public boards. Do you agree? Why or why not?



We have members of all ages, from all backgrounds, and all sorts of personal histories in the group. Some topics, especially as they might relate to judicial matters should not be discussed in the depth of which they require in the main group. That doesn’t mean rulings shouldn’t be made public but to be truly inclusive and to give officers the freedom to openly discuss issues the group is facing in depth and without partiality I think there should be a place for officers to discuss freely before bringing things to membership. All of this should be open to subsequent officers so that way they go into their terms knowing what potential baggage they may face as well as have the benefit of knowing the details of how well something was resolved so that way they can take that experience into their term.
In the event that someone feels an officer has acted unfairly nothing is considered unable to made public unless it endangers the welfare of a member of the group or outs someone who has been a victim of inappropriate conduct. 




Above all else I feel any cosplay group needs to be a safe place for all the members in it and the safety and well-being of said members is my top concern. If elected, would you be open to re-investigating rulings from prior administrations if you or another member felt that the ruling could potentially compromise the safety of the members of OoG? Additionally, how would you ensure that the comfort and safety of our membership is your top priority?



If the facts of the case are clear and I felt that the membership was in any danger, physically, emotionally, mentally, or financially then I think there is a moral obligation to revisit it. I think such things need to be discussed amongst the entire body of officers before any decision can be made final. I think it’s important to get the perspective of everyone who holds office and hear out the arguments for or against should there be any. I don’t think any decision should be made singularly and I don’t think the body of officers would ever be against something that clearly endangers our membership to where a unilateral decision should be needed.

The physical, mental, emotional, and financial wellbeing of our membership should be paramount because if we can’t protect them when they have elected us and put their faith in this group being a safe and inclusive space then we don’t deserve to exist because we’d be hypocrites.

As far as how to ensure that, well unfortunately there needs to be some sound policy in place for conduct. We need to make sure members are conducting business with other members with integrity. We need to make sure every member upholds the ideal of cosplay is not consent. We need to make sure when representing our group that standards of inclusivity are upheld. I am not always in favor of more legislation while we have a membership engagement issue; However, I think if we can earn the confidence of our members that we are a safe place for their families no matter their gender, their abilities, their beliefs or orientations, it will help with engagement.

We need to make it clear that people who violate these practices are not sheltered within the community and free to reoffend and that bad actions have no expectation of privacy while still protecting the privacy of those who have been victimized.



I personally believe that the role of President in any organization is one that comes with more scrutiny and perlustration than other offices. How would you as Lady Commander handle criticisms or members disagreeing with your position or asking for clarification on specific Order issues?



Criticism is part of any job. It’s part of life. In many ways it’s necessary for growth and change. There will always be disagreements and in a group of 800 people there are a lot of perspectives. I think it’s important to give ear to the criticism because often times it’s legitimate. Criticism isn’t personal but it is an opportunity for personal growth both in how you handle it and how you respond to it. Do you let it shape you into a better leader or do you rail against it in an effort just to be proven right? If members need clarification then why not clarify? We should not be presumptuous and assume we have communicated so spectacularly that clarification isn’t or shouldn’t be needed. In fact if there is criticism, if there are questions, then that means members are engaged, at least on some level. I would much rather give ear to criticism than have to try to bring back spark and passion to the apathetic. So I guess, bring it on, let’s have a conversation because a criticism is never the concern of only one, it just may be one that has the courage to voice it.



While the Order of Gallifrey has 805 members only 26 people voted for Lord Commander in the 2015 Elections. That means you could effectively win the Presidency with as few as 9 votes or 1.06% of the member base. Why do you think that is and what would you do to increase the activity of our membership base? Additionally, does the group warrant so many elected officials when they end up out numbering the general active membership?



Honestly I think it’s because we’ve focused mostly on recruitment but not on actual membership engagement and follow up once someone joins the group. It means we have a level of apathy in the group that makes the American voters appear engaged (15%). While this may be the reality of this election it’s my goal to make this the last election with this issue at such an overwhelming level. It’s a reminder I will take into my term, should I be elected, that my position doesn’t yet truly represent the needs of our entire membership and how much I need to focus on changing that so that our officers can truly be representatives of the group.

One of the original reasons I heard for pushing officers through so fast was that certain conventions require an organized club in order to be given time of day. I would never want to do anything that hampers our public engagement and membership engagement through meetups, events, and panels at conventions so in that sense the officers are necessary.

In the sense that the officer base is the majority of the active members of the club it might be questionable. However, if we’re going to evolve and grow into an organization that has greater engagement with its members and with the public it does require leadership at the helm. It requires leadership to help combat apathy and help get the ball rolling with activities that will help the whovian cosplay community see us as a valuable resource for them and their friends.



Whichever of you is elected Lady President will have quite a bit of work to do to continue the progress that we are making as a group and to continue achieving our potential. That work will require a lot of time and effort. I know that both of you have very difficult schedules. How will you prioritize and distribute your time to best focus on the demands of the position?



Well fortunately I only work 4 days a week and I work graveyard which is a slower shift during which I’m accessible by message. While this does mean I have to prioritize my convention appearances as I work on Friday and Saturday nights, it does mean that it frees me up to work on my non-convention oriented goals of which I’ve outlined some in the first question I answered. It also means I’m more available to membership in other time zones as some hours I am around do match up more with them and others on my days off match up more with membership in my own time zone. I think that gives me a good amount of flexibility to do the membership outreach that I think our group really needs moving forward.

I had to take a day before accepting the nomination because it is a commitment especially to accomplish what I feel needs to be accomplished in the coming term. I had to make sure my family was on board with my taking on that level of responsibility. I wouldn’t have accepted the nomination if I didn’t feel I couldn’t do our membership justice as well as move us forward to a more positive place. There is so much we can accomplish if we all are willing to put in the time and effort and I really want to help motivate the officers and the membership to do just that. I wouldn’t be able to do that if I didn’t have the time to put into the office. I think I’m in a position where I feel I can do the best moving forward this term and help solidify our footing as a unified group.



And one fun one for the road…



If you could only do one of your cosplays for the rest of your life – which would it be and why?



Probably the Tardis because I love interpretive cosplay and quite frankly I have so many great ideas on how to do it that I could probably do nothing but the Tardis for a lifetime and never get bored. Besides, who doesn’t love the Tardis!

[heartofthetardis]

Since both candidates are from California, what will you do to engage members in the rest of the organization?



That’s a tough one because honestly I believe in some ways we’ve put barriers in front of ourselves that are now difficult to overcome. The fact that we are so fragmented on Facebook and we have forums that are only used for elections have created an issue. I want to look at what means of communication our membership base really wants and parse that down into something functional. I also want to start a monthly order newsletter and I’ve found several services by which we can email that out free to our member base each month. I’d like to have cosplayer spotlights that members can vote on for inclusion as well as a run-down of events that have happened as well as upcoming events in each sector and larger overall events that people would be likely to travel for. I’d also like to see an official membership welcoming process by which the officers reach out to welcome that person, get them signed up for the newsletters and formally welcome them into the group. This could also happen monthly as a lets welcome (list of people) who joined us this month. This along with moving large to moderate event planning to the main discussion area will help with engagement with all officers and members no matter which area they reside.


Some of our sectors are active, but they do not actively communicate or participate with many of the rest of our sectors. One of the solutions to this has been to ask them to promote events that they are doing on our main page, and this has made some inroads, but there is still some work to go. What would you to do address sectors that are active, but non-communicative?



Well unlike with message boards you can’t just move discussion threads into the appropriate Facebook group. However, I think having a solid policy of large group events being discussed on the main page is appropriate. Obviously this wouldn’t apply to small local meetups for dinner or a movie because that could get rather confusing but I’d like to see more discussions and ideas for events brought up on the main page because we can benefit from what other sectors are doing and right now all planning takes place in the sector page. I would also like to see for each event a designated “PR” person if you will that would be responsible for the follow up event post with the report back of how it went and they would also be responsible for getting any pictures to someone who could post them on the public facing order Facebook page which is severely lacking in any kind of public engagement. It takes a while to form these habits so having event leaders would help as well as making sure the sector leadership makes a comment when a post is made in the wrong area so the OP (original poster) knows to relocate it.



Second... While the demand for local chapters has been high, some Sectors remain relatively small. Under what circumstances do you feel Sectors should be defined as "Sectors" and under what circumstances do you feel they should be defined as "Outposts"? In keeping with that, the Charter says that if an officer is not elected to fill a position, the Lady President has the authority to appoint a local leader until such time as an election can be held. How would you make such a decision?



Honestly unless an area has the active membership to sustain itself for local events it would be beneficial for them be part of a larger sector. I don’t see the need to drill down to the outpost level at this time. We’ve already received feedback as officers that the names and designations are confusing to new members and I want to avoid doing anything needlessly off-putting or convoluted that creates barriers to engagement. If there aren’t enough people to sustain leadership positions and have a member base then they can either be part of a nearby sector until which time they are ready to split off, which will happen naturally in sectors that cover large populous areas, or if there is no nearby sector then the term sector in progress or sector in formation should be enough of a designation.


Decisions for someone to hold office in such an event should be made based on the level of engagement and availability of the person. The person should have a history of participation within the order and have set a good example of member engagement at a level that is reasonable for that person’s particular circumstances. They should have a record of engaging with leadership in a manner that shows they have the best interests of the entire membership at heart and not have a record of disciplinary actions.



I am having a bit of a hard time formulating this into a question, my apologies. I am a member for less than a year, but I joined enthusiastically and with an intent of active participation. However, the first time I was able to attend an event with the Order presence was LBCC. I was not wearing a Whovian cosplay on either day, but I came up to the table to drop off our fundraising donation and to meet people. The dropping off was fine, the meeting people was not. Could be my own awkwardness, but my several attempts to indicate that I am a member and want to know people/be part of things did not make me feel welcome or wanted. No one there seemed to care who I was. This was my first-ever fan group table experience, so maybe that is how it goes. I offered to help with the table on Sunday, but that was received very vaguely so I did not think it was needed. My Who Con experience, where I was involved with two Order panels, was better yet similarly left me feeling like an outsider. So, Respected Candidates for the office of Lady President, what are you going to do to make sure that new members actually feel included and welcome, in actual reality and not just in words on Facebook or here? I am also going to address this question to local leadership candidates.



First off let me say I’m so sorry you had this experience. It’s a horrible feeling to be excluded. While I wasn’t at LBCC and my time at Who Con was limited due to personal issues I have had this same experience at pretty much every Star Wars club table I’ve been to at most conventions. With the exception of one club who I’ve found to always be engaging. In the past we’ve gotten positive feedback about this, specifically at Wondercon, and I think it’s because you can fit less people at the booth than you can at LBCC so it becomes less of a gathering place. I also think this is becoming more of an issue because as more friendships are formed people tend to put blinders on to newcomers or people who aren’t members.

I come from a customer service background that includes Disney and we used to call this phenomenon “grouping”. You get engrossed with people you know and you forget why you are there. I think setting some good ground rules for table behavior would be good. Unfortunately the table can turn into a hang-out with friends rather than an engagement session and I’d like to see the number of people who are at a table capped especially at LBCC where the booth space is huge. If we have more volunteers for a particular time slot then they should be walking around and handing out cards or flyers and directing them to the booth rather than chatting blindly to new people who approach. The focus should always be on speaking to someone you don’t know rather than someone you do know. The latter is what the post con dinner is for and smaller meetups. When there is an official order presence at an event the focus for those representing the order should be on being approachable to others and having an eye for those who may be shy and lurking around.

I think prior to every event a reminder should go out to the attendees as well as anyone manning a table at an event that these are the ground rules and expectations. I’d prefer not to have to have people keep a record of how many new people or unfamiliar faces they talked to as that can turn into the attitude of filling a quota but I’d like to definitely have an outline of expectations and standards and have a post-convention follow up chat with those that worked and attendees for feedback so we can monitor how we are doing. This isn’t a unique phenomenon but it’s definitely one that plagues the nerd world and it takes vigilance on the part of everyone to combat it.

Other things that will help are some of the things I outlined in my answer to the first question above. I think having an official welcoming process for each member will help them feel included from day one and finding out what their interests are and how they'd like to participate in the order and then utilizing them as soon as possible.  I loved your part on our Who Con panels, you were so engaging to listen to and I could tell the audience really connected with you.  You brought a unique perspective to approaching cosplay and I think how you engaged with your audience is an example for us and how we can structure our tables and panels in the future as well as could set a foundation for a great class to offer within the order.  Unfortunately it shouldn't have taken you volunteering for a panel for all of this to come out so it really shows the need for us to engage and get to know our new members because they are our greatest assets.  Leadership is there to help and provide a framework by which we get into events and sign up for conventions but our members are our lifeblood and right now we don't know enough about all of them.
Thank you so much for bringing this to our attention as I know it's a sensitive issue but it's one that we need to know about and monitor so it doesn't happen again in the future.