ASK The Candidates: 2020 Edition

DMS General
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With the cancellation of Meet The Candidates (because DMS is closed), it’s time to pose some questions for our growing field of candidates.

Secretary’s Questions

  1. Please introduce yourself and explain why you feel you are qualified to be on the Dallas Makerspace Board of Directors
  2. What do you feel the greatest challenge that the Makerspace will face during the 2020-2021 Board term?
  3. What are your goals for the 2020-2021 Board term?
  4. DMS politics are contentious as of late - how do you intend to work with those with whom you disagree?
  5. DMS has been shut under the order of local officials and may still be shut by the time of the election - how would you proceed so as to maintain member engagement until we can reopen?

Other Questions

  1. Marshall Blatz (poll re: Kris Anderson’t expulsion)
  2. Raffi (stress tolerance)
  3. Ken Purcell (which expulsions to reverse)
  4. Lara Rosenblith (Red cups)
  5. Lordrook (Board members as Officers)
  6. jswilson64 (use of Space assets for personal profit)
  7. Luke Olsen (Impact of COVID-19)
  8. Kevin Patel (Contributions to the member base)
  9. jswilson64 (Other qualified candidates)
  10. Mark Dittenber (Regaining the trust of the membership)
  11. Chris Marlow (The importance of Committee Chairs)
  12. Bill (Re-opening DMS under social distancing mandate)\
  13. James Henningson (Assisting other makerspaces)

Candidates

  • Please answer the questions posed in this thread independently of other candidates’ responses
  • Please do not post in response to other candidates’ answers

Members

  • Feel free to ask some questions of your own
  • I request that you keep your lists of questions - and expected responses - as short and concise as possible
  • Please limit posts in this thread to asking of questions
  • If you want to ask questions of individual candidates, please do so elsewhere - such as their SOI posts linked here whenever I discover them
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My name is James Henningson. I am currently a board member. In the past year the board has accomplished a number of great things for the makerspace. The thing the board did that I am most proud of is getting the makerspace on a fiscally responsible budget that will allow us to survive this covid-19 situation.

Recovery from the current mandated shutdown will be our biggest challenge. We will need to organize a coordinated membership drive to bring our numbers up to a level that will support the expanded business.

  1. Finish the last phase of expansion
  2. Build a sustainable membership system that attracts and retains members

I do this already with the current board, we often disagree, and through negotiation and active listening we are able to find a common ground and come to agreement on the issues presented to us.

At the committee level it works the same way. For example I often disagree with Kevin, but I still have a good relationship with him, voted for the new goPro’s, attend digital media meetings as a member and take digital media classes. Reasonable people should be able to disagree and still get along.

As a board member right now I am in talks with online class providers to get us access to good online classes we can use from home. Additionally we are testing our Google meet tools to allow teachers to teach from home if they want to host classes.

I am also working with two local hospitals and a few of the members to get a plan in place that will allow us to contribute PPE to local medical professionals in a way that doesn’t violate the shelter in place order and will not expose members, their families or the doctors to potential risks.

Additionally to support engagement we are hosting committee meetings and meet ups on our makerspace Google meet so we can share ideas and keep up the personal connections that are so important to having a strong healthy community.

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To start with the first questions in ASK the Candidates

  1. Please introduce yourself and explain why you feel you are qualified to be on the Dallas Makerspace Board of Directors

Hello, my name is Justin. For details, please see the Wiki SOI. In general, I believe I have the skills, experience, and temperment to help. From my experience in IT management to leading various social groups and founding a makerspace in Cleveland, OH, I have gained skills that allow me to serve others. I am willing to expound on any of this if desired.

  1. What do you feel the greatest challenge that the Makerspace will face during the 2020-2021 Board term?

Our current worldwide crisis will become a great challenge over time. Beyond this, running through our expansion and making sure our community both understands what’s going on and feels listened to.

  1. What are your goals for the 2020-2021 Board term?

The next few months are in flux and this makes it hard to plan for the immediate future. I’ve posted what my priorities would be, and my first goals would involve reopening and stablizing us, determining expansion timelines/priorities, and determining committee and member priorities – essentially take a pulse to help determine DMS’s goals as we reopen.

  1. DMS politics are contentious as of late - how do you intend to work with those with whom you disagree?

I have had numerous disagreements, and have even had it out with C-Level folks at times in the course of my career. It is not about disagreements, but finding a kernel of common ground and coming to something we can live with, if not both agree on and doing so in a way that doesn’t inflame. I don’t promise that everyone will agree with me all the time, but I will promise to listen and attempt to explain my positions and even change them with new information or perspectives.

  1. DMS has been shut under the order of local officials and may still be shut by the time of the election - how would you proceed so as to maintain member engagement until we can reopen?

Current members have been great so far! Kevin, Jim, and Pearce have had online collaborations, and there are others about to happen with the Hackerspace committee and various other social groups have been meeting virtually (fiber frolic, DnD, and probably others I’m not aware of). I’ve also been impressed with everyone’s desire to try to help those around them in this time.

I would continue along this virtual path, both with classes and social gatherings. We have the technology to help us through, and should continue to use it.

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With the cancellation of Meet The Candidates (because DMS is closed) , it’s time to pose some questions for our growing field of candidates .

I’ll start with some basics:

  1. Please introduce yourself and explain why you feel you are qualified to be on the Dallas Makerspace Board of Directors

My name is Joe King. I am originally from Knoxville, TN but have been living in Dallas for the past 2+ years. Like many at DMS, I am an IT professional with experience with small businesses, corporate clients, state/federal government, and several non-profits.

  1. What do you feel the greatest challenge that the Makerspace will face during the 2020-2021 Board term?

Trust… I think that many members are spreading rumors- some true, some not; but few are helping the membership trust the leadership. Trust is earned… doing what you say and in our case, being very clear about it. The current Board has made decisions which I agree with and others which I have not, but I do not feel that there rationale and/or criteria has been well communicated.

Communication is the second step, the first being action.

  1. What are your goals for the 2020-2021 Board term?

I outlined several of these in my SOI, but my biggest single goal is to promote stronger committee leadership and foster a sense of community at DMS which has been lost over the past few years. It used to be that almost every ‘regular’ member recognized everyone else- we are now too large for that, but I would like to foster that ‘family/ community’ within our committees.

  1. DMS politics are contentious as of late - how do you intend to work with those with whom you disagree?

Be specific… I work on projects daily where I disagree with others. Some arguments I am successful with making my argument, and other I fail but I remain professional. Answering questions in written form is often helpful to keep from being misquoted, and being specific.

Once I make my argument, a decision gets made and it’s on the next issue. There is no place in the workplace for grudges and/or anger; and I believe that a more professional level of conversation is called for at DMS.

Another factor is to actually listen. In work (and at DMS) we generally have the same goals, so many of the arguments are simply a difference in how to address a common goal. As frustrations have risen, I believe that the amount of listening and/or discussion have decreased.

  1. DMS has been shut under the order of local officials and may still be shut by the time of the election - how would you proceed so as to maintain member engagement until we can reopen?

This is a tough one. Certainly we will need to follow the advice of local authorities. I may also be wise to evaluate the procedures that local gyms, churches, and other organizations are adopting. This would be a good time to enhance our online learning, but for some committees there is less ‘DMS specific’ instruction than with others. I hesitate to mention DMS Talk, as it has been a ‘mixed’ bag of encouragement, bickering, and drama; however, hopefully this emergency may bring some needed focus to Talk.

I would hope that if DMS is still closed, that the Board would make regular posts on Talk giving updates on expansion, updated estimates on opening, and other information to keep member engaged. Communication has been one of the most requested items in the past- (some) people who don’t have information tend simply to make $%#W% up and start rumors. Firsthand knowledge would be highly welcome.

It’s really too bad that many of us struggle to get ‘free’ time to work on projects, and now that we have some time away from work and other commitments, DMS is not available. I agree with the Board’s decision to close, as they had no choice despite what some people have argued.

If we open first for ‘projects’, and do not teach for another 30 days, we could move some of the project tables to the classrooms to further isolate/ distance members from each other and to allow more social distancing.

I anticipate when we first open, members should ‘be smart’. The Board, the members, and/or the cleaning staff can only do so much to protect us; at some stage each member has to take responsibility for their own health. If you have kids at home, you are at ‘higher risk’ and/or you are caring for others; then you have more to risk. As a membership, our first responsibility is do everything possible to prevent the spread of this virus.

I realize that these are just the first of the questions, but I invite additional questions- ideally, the more specific the better…

Thanks,

Joe

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Hello Candidates…thanks for running and taking the time to answer these and all other Qs coming your way…it’s time-intensive!

edit to add: if you are not a candidate, don’t answer! Crikey, folks…

Do you support the lifetime ban recently imposed on Kris Anderson?

This is pretty much a “Yes” or “No” question; I would hope a non-answer (timidity? lack of courage of one’s convictions?), or some sort of “politician’s response” (paltering, dissembling, dodging) would be generally disqualifying for member-voters reading this thread. As should some pretense that “there is not enough information out there,” (there is.) or “I don’t know enough about the whole situation and history” (then you need to get up to speed if you want to be a director.) or “I haven’t had time to read and consider the evidence and come to a conclusion.” (you are running for top office in a pretty large non-profit organization…make the time.)

  • No
  • Yes

0 voters

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Leadership can be stressful. What are some examples of how you’ve made compassionate, rational, and wise decisions under stress in the past? (extra points for explaining why the decisions were wise, compassionate, and rational, especially objective facts)

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Great question! During my time on the board I’ve had to consider a number of serious member complaints. One thing we did right off the bat was to handle these complaints privately rather than hold public hearings. We made this choice because we wanted to deescalate the situation as much as possible. This both protected the person filing the complaint and allowed the person who the complaint was about to present their side without being subject to the court of public opinion. In most cases the complaints were handled amicably, in some cases it was necessary to administer a punishment. In general everyone involved was given the opportunity to retain their dignity.

Another good example would be when you and Doug presented plans for the computer lab. It was a hard sell, but through a few iterations and some negotiating we ended up in a place that got us a great computer lab that will be up and running when we reopen. We were able to do it in a financially responsible way and still meet the needs that you and Doug outlined.

For those that don’t know about the computer lab here is a sneak peek I took right before we had to lock up. This order also included the new 3d fab computers. @hon1nbo, @yashsedai and @skyspook did the bulk of the work getting the hardware speced, ordered and configured. They deserve most of the credit for this work.

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I’m Jim Hartnett. Currently, I’m the Metal Shop Chair, Automotive Chair, and Infrastructure officer. I’ve been volunteering and teaching across several committees in my ~2 years here, helped install critical infrastructure, and develop classes. Having operated in several committees has provided perspective for keeping the space running effectively, and safely. My professional background is in Consulting, including extensive amounts of research and planning for work with some of the largest corporations in the world as well as some of the smallest.

Setting aside the immediately visible issue that Covid-19 closure may extend into the start of the term, I see the largest issue being our current drop in trainings taught, the increased training complexity in certain areas, and the increased cost. When I first joined, one of the proudest statements from tour guides was about how the Dallas Makerspace didn’t like to “nickle and dime” its members. Whilst we had a serious cash flow problem that was sutured with honorarium limits, some committees did not adapt to help mitigate the situation and others have simply suffered. I’ve long been pushing to make training expedient for the simple items, including self-training and online classes where possible, and removing the barriers to teaching in certain areas.

  • Finish expansion is the highest on my list; with the electrical work being done currently in 102 (which, as I write this, contractors were still able to work on it) I forsee making the north warehouse usable within a month or two after we reopen. Once the warehouse electrical is complete, focus can turn to other areas such as the automotive fire engineer assessment, woodshop migration, and eventually laser and the metal shop
  • Push the development of better documentation within committees and the organization as a whole. Right now our documentation is atrocious. Our wiki is barely up to date in most areas outside of the rules and board minutes, and committees currently do not have an incentive to update their pages. MediaWiki is additionally cumbersome for the types of updates many want to do. With the expansion solving the power in the server room, I’ve been evaluating options for alternative documentation services such as Confluence, which will allow for flows in creating content within DMS. Additionally, intend to ensure that documentation generated is either a living form, to prevent stagnant pages of outdated information, and easy to understand including instructional videos where appropriate.
  • Foster the development of more online and self-study classes: As I’ve already touched upon, enabling self-studies and online classes is a big deal for me. Metal shop has cut down on most abuse of the bench grinders using a self-study quiz with a QR code on the unit, and Automotive is developing a similar process for the code scanner. Fancier tools that, whilst not requiring special training are easier to break / abuse, have been surviving using simpler techniques such as talking with a committee member before being given access to the cabinet. Metal shop and automotive have used this technique, after I originally observed it used in Laser for accessing the Cermark. For example, in the nearly one year that we have had the Portaband, it has needed exactly 3 blades replaced and that includes some heavy use. Simple solutions such as this allow for faster access to tools, a sense of accountability by members, and will work for many cases around the space.

I come from a consulting background, and I focus on the data and evidence to make a decision. When we do not have data to backup an idea, but it has prospects, I’ll work with the relevant stakeholders (committee members, specific tool SIGs, concerned members, et al) to find a solution. Historically at DMS I’ve already been put into situations that challenged that integrity to stick to the evidence and facts, and I have no intention of that changing.

Online classes and events. As I’ve stated already this has been a goal of mine at DMS for some time, and now more than ever we have a large incentive to push it. I started offering the metal shop hot process class via Google Meet this past weekend since the closure started last week. I’m additionally preparing other options so that when we re-open, members can hit the ground running in other areas.
To help preserve community, I propose some online gathering events where we can just get on a video conference, talk shop, enjoy some drinks collectively (we’re not in a workshop now after all… unless you are at home, be safe!). When the space re-opens, depending on the timing I think some kind of festivities would be in order.

I’m always open for conversation, and I’ll hear anyone out on almost anything. I can be reached via any of the following:

Cheers,
-Jim

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Kevin Patel

Currently Digital Media Chair. I have lot’s of experience in environments such as this. In addition I’m around all the time. I’m not affraid or below just rolling up my sleeves, getting my hands dirty and just getting stuff done when need be. In addition I consider myself to be very resourceful with little to no resources in accomplishing goals and do no get discouraged or give up when road blocked. I generally just get innovative and find an alternative route. Time does not discourage me even when the goals require months or years which I have a consistent track record of long term accomplishments even without any instant gratification.

Predicting the macro effects of issues with the internal and external forces acting upon it is very much how I think.

Letting things go, letting the next day be a new and not having long term animosity towards people or issues is something I stay conscientious of & practice.

For the record: I believe being a Board member is a horrible job that I wish upon no one but yet some people must do. It’s the people that don’t want the job but answer the call anyways that are very often the best for it. Honestly, not wanting the job is a good qualification.

Solvancy, Yesterday Subway’s bankruptcy law firm for franchisees had a group call for guidance and lets just say things are going to get real, real quick & walked away with a couple forms that might be of interest to DMS and are at least worth looking at

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Quoted from SOI

  • Systematically addressing the large attrition rate of members over 500 delta this year for ~2300 - currently ~1850 & sustain positive member growth
  • Finish expanding into warehouse
  • Finding innovative solutions to issues that are well thought out
  • Increasing and supporting teaching of classes
  • Return to being awesome to one another
  • Being more of a benefit to the local community
  • Being a fluid dynamically changing organization that can respond to changes quickly & survive this upcoming years virus challenges
  • Listen to people and to be polite when agreeing to disagree
  • Staying open minded
  • Promoting a culture allowing DMS to be whatever people are currently interested in
  • Transparency
  • Leading by example and not force whenever possible
  • Not to micro manage committees within their own domain
  • Respect Makers
  • Keeping a system of checks and balances
  • Try to twirl my hair less

As a team, pushing the ball in the same direction which ever direction it may be accomplish it well. Once the majority has decided it’s direction. As long as it’s in accordance with by-laws and obligations to higher level governments.

Full 3rd party elections company via electronic and mail means. I have not researched heavily but a quick Google search shows many companies in this playing field.

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My SOI is here. I think that sums it up.

Recovery from the current global heath crisis. That said, it’s not an insurmountable challenge, but it is one that will require teamwork and discipline. I think I can help with that.

I have a good relationship with most of the folks at DMS, regardless of whether we disagree on some issues. I think courteousness and a willingness to listen go a long way.

It’s a challenge, no doubt about it, and hopefully, it wont last too long. We are currently working on some online classes and affiliations with other online services that will hopefully help fill the void. After it’s over, it’ll be time to roll up the sleeves and get busy but we are a strong group. We’ll get through this.

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Who would you unban and why?

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Looking at the current 86 list, I wouldn’t unban anyone but I would consider something like allowing Eric Hirzel back early from suspension with a probationary period.

A repeat offense of the incident, however, would be immediate expulsion.

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Hello! My name is Patrick Thompson. I have been a member of DMS for 4 years now. I have been involved with many things at the space throughout the years. I’m willing to answer questions and respond to ones already posed here.

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26 posts were split to a new topic: “Debates” and Semi-on Topic Back & Forth with the 2020 BoD Candidates

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There is no one on the list I would unban. For people that have fixed term bans they are welcome to return at the end of their sentence and rejoin the community. During my term we had a few shorter bans, some of which have rejoined and are productively making again.

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I feel I would be a good fit for the board because my experience is vast in leadership positions. I was the head of maintenance for a large group of nursing facilities. Where budgeting, overcoming unique challenges, and fielding queries was a daily task.

I believe since the shutdown and membership has weaned due to this, the biggest hurdle will be rebuilding our numbers for future sustainability.

My goals for DMS, if elected, include community outreach, and also giving the general membership better outlets to voice concerns, opinions, and suggestions to the board as a whole.

When it comes down to it, almost every opinion matters at an organization such as DMS. But, the biggest thing to keep in mind, is that we are all adults. No one will ever get their way 100 percent. Compromise, understanding, and listening are an important part of a leadership role. Just because your opinion doesn’t match everyone else’s, doesn’t mean that either side is right or wrong. It’s times like this where you layout the pros and cons of all available options. From there you build a solution that encompasses parts from all of the ideas.

Online meetups, digital outreach, conference calls, even online classes. These options ensure our personal safety and responsibility to one another to stay safe during these times.

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One of the biggest infestations of bed bugs I’ve seen at the nursing facility I managed as a maintenance director. The nursing home director, staff, and residents didn’t know what was going to happen(we had to relocate 6 rooms). I devised the plan to terminate the pests, relocate the residents in an orderly manner, and put everyone at ease. I also put preventive measures in place so that the infestation wouldn’t happen again. My decisions were based on what would keep the residents from getting rambunctious and what would be long term. A lot of the residents at this particular facility were Alzheimer’s and Dementia patients. They are the type that absolutely do not like change. So it was challenging to make sure calm was still in place.

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No one, I believe the board, past and present has been fair in their decisions. To the members currently suspended, when they return, I hope that they have learned why that decision happened.

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I have a very serious question. Who is running on the bring solo cups back platform?

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I think this issue kind of fixed itself. Generous members have brought them in. I myself have also brought some in.

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