INAUGURAL MEETING
Opening Session
As part of the opening session for our inaugural meeting Mr. Craig Standing Bear, an elder in the Mohawk Indian Nation, provided a blessing. The blessing involved some non-denominational prayers and readings, the smudging ceremony where each participant embraced the cleansing smoke of sage to clear away negative energy and attract positive energy and a closing with traditional Native American flute music.
The meeting was facilitated by Clay Starlin and Sue Foo, who are faculty members in the Department of Education at Worcester State University, Worcester, MA USA.
Small Group Work
Four small groups worked to create the new organization. Each group addressed the name and mission of the organization. Then the groups considered the following organizational components:
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GROUP 1: Constitution & Legal Structure
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Facilitator/ Recorder Team: Pam Young and Shauna Adams
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Planning Committee Member: Jean Benton
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Member: Hasan Aksoy
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Member: Victor Fang
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Member: Larry Hufford
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Member: Ntshila Luabeya
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Member: Indira Shanmugam
GROUP 2: Communications & Connections
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Facilitator/ Recorder Team: Sunita Major and Roger Wiemers
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Planning Committee Member: Anjali Shanmugam
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Member: Rudhi Julianto
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Member: Hale Künüçen
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Member: Erin Parkes
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Member: Vincent Shieh
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Member: Virginia Swain
GROUP 3: Organizational Identifiers (I.e. logo)
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Facilitator/ Recorder Team: David Powell and Simin Cwick
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Planning Committee Member: Clay Starlin
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Member: Migdalia Garcia
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Member: Grace Horng
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Member: Syamak Moattari
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Member: Sue Ann Powell
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Member: Tammy Shutt
GROUP 4: Funding
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Facilitator/ Recorder Team: Kamala Louvelle and Sue Foo
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Planning Committee Member: Elaine Tarlinski
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Member: Basma Alkahtani
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Member: Joseph Barrata
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Member: Abdellatif El Moncef
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Member: Angela Lo
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Member: Carlos Lopez
Reporting Out​