By: Karen McGee
I am Karen McGee, newly elected to the ADA Board beginning in 2025. For those of you that had a chance to review my short bio during the Board elections, you may already know that I am originally from the Bay Area in California, have lived in Arizona since 2010 (with a short stint in San Diego from 2013 – 2015) and train with Missy Gilliland at Bar A. I have competed with multiple horses here in Arizona and most recently purchased a Westfalen gelding, Kasch is King, who I hope to debut later this summer or fall.
I have been a practicing attorney since 1997 (!) and currently work as the Chief Privacy Officer for Levi Strauss & Co., the iconic denim brand based in San Francisco. Most of my legal roles have been working inside companies supporting their ethics, compliance and data protection programs. I have always viewed myself as the voice of the customer so that my legal advice could help the companies I worked for achieve their business objectives while also living up to the expectations and best interests of the public.
Given my background, when I joined the Board, I was asked to chair the Nominating & Governance Committee, and we thought it might be useful to explain a little bit about what this Committee does and why it is important for the long-term success of the ADA.
There are two distinct responsibilities of this Committee. First, it is tasked with helping identify and recommend possible candidates for available seats on the Board as well as facilitating the election and new Board Member onboarding process. This includes setting policy around Board Member terms and responsibilities.
The second area of responsibility falls under the pillar of Governance – a somewhat ambiguous term. Essential elements of Governance include making sure that the Board lives up to the expectations of the Members in several key areas:
Transparency & Accountability: Establishing formal structures and processes for access so that essential information is available to members on how the ADA is run and managed.
Financial Oversight: In partnership with the Finance Committee and Treasurer, making sure that ADA funds are used appropriately and effectively. This includes advising on contractual processes and undertakings.
Long Term Planning: Working with the Board to help position the ADA for long term sustainability and growth.
Legal Compliance & Risk Management: Identifying legal requirements that apply to the ADA and potential risks to its standing or mission.
Building Trust: This includes promoting ethical behavior within the Board and membership and developing relationships with members, donors, volunteers and the community.
Personally, the importance of transparency in the ADA is my number one priority. I strongly believe that ADA members must be at the core of our priorities and efforts and that everything we do should be in the best interest of our sport, our equine partners and our members. If we prioritize this kind of openness, I believe our membership will grow and thrive and everyone will feel welcome and valued.
Before I share a few examples of projects that the Nominating & Governance Committee has been working on this year, I would also like to emphasize that this work can’t be done by only one person. Other members of this Committee include Ann Damiano, Rebecca Bruening, and Leslie Sherlin and they each bring an essential set of skills and perspectives to this work. There is still much to do, but in the first half of 2025 we have updated the standard contract forms that the ADA uses to retain judges, clinicians and other vendors and developed a working contract repository, worked with all the Board Committees to establish and approve Committee Charters that define the scope and expectations associated with all Board Committees, helping identify new leadership for our Awards Committee, Schooling Shows, and Volunteer Coordinator teams and working on a formal signature and authority matrix to clarify who is authorized to commit the ADA to legal and financial undertakings along with an approval process. Projects still underway include updating our library of policies and procedures and formalizing our Board Member nomination and election process.
For a non-profit organization like the ADA, the tasks of the N&G Committee are as essential as the pieces of your riding equipment. Not as sparkly as a browband or prominent as the saddle, but more like a tried-and-true girth that works with any saddle or horse you put it on. Good governance provides security and peace of mind, a method of connection and stability. Like the stitching or buckles on your girth, if governance begins to fail an organization may feel unpredictable and unreliable with increasingly uncertain odds for success.
I hope this gives you a bit of insight into some of the work that the ADA Board does on an ongoing basis. You might not see it day to day, but its work we are committed to doing – and doing right. If you have questions about the responsibilities or functions of the Nominating and Governance Committee, or interest in the ADA Board please feel free to reach out!