=== Advisory Committee === Below are some suggestions for how the advisory committee should be formed and how it should operate. Please feel free to comment and modify! '''How many members are on the Advisory committee?''' Approximately 10 - 15 members drawn from May First/People Link membership '''How often does it meet?''' The advisory committee meets in person 2 - 3 times per year, exchanges 5 - 10 messages per week via an email list, and individual members are periodically polled by phone. '''What are the expectations of the members?''' The members of the advisory committee include the co directors. Members are expected to participate in the meetings as described above. Members are expected to operate based on the statement of unity (http://mayfirst.org/unity). Members are expected to work together in good faith with the goal of building consensus when differences emerge. '''What are the expectations of the co-directors?''' The co-directors are expected to make decisions and take actions for the organization based on the concerns and issues raised by the advisory committee. '''How is consensus reached?''' Sometimes it is reached, sometimes it is not reached. The advisory committee is not a formal decision making body, so consensus is not required, although it is the goal. '''How is this group selected''' The co-directors will propose candidates to the existing leadership/roles committee and will invite members to participate based on the feedback and suggestions. '''What power does this group have''' The relationship between the co-directors and the advisory committee will depend on how each party lives up to their expectations. If each party lives up to their expections, it will be a powerful body. If one party or the other does not live up to their expections, we'll have to try something else. '''What's the time frame for this advisory committee?''' The advisory committee should re-evaluate itself after 6 months so we don't keep something alive that is clearly not working. If it does work during the first 6 months, it should nonetheless be considered a transitional model with a one year lifetime. One of the charges of the advisory committee should be to determine the next leadership model for the organization.