Vote on WSCA Board Slate

The Board of Directors is asking our owners (WSCA members) to vote to approve the slate of candidates being presented to you.
 
Key components of WSCA’s Policy Governance structure influence the selection of the slate of candidates.

• The board of directors functions as owner representatives and servant leaders. The distinction between directors as occupational experts vs. servant leaders/owner representatives is especially important when it comes to elections.
• Slate candidates are not evaluated based on their school counseling expertise, but rather their ability to serve in the role of a director.

Understanding what qualities make an effective member of the WSCA board is probably most easily accomplished by reviewing our “governing style” as defined in our Board Policy Manual:

• Governing Style: The Board will govern lawfully with an emphasis on:
  • Outward vision rather than internal preoccupation.
  • Encouragement of diversity in viewpoints.
  • Strategic leadership more than administrative detail.
  • Clear distinction of board and chief executive roles.
  • Collective rather than individual decisions.
  • Future rather than past or present.
  • Proactivity rather than reactivity.

This year, the WSCA Board Nominations and Elections subcommittee was faced with a true challenge. We have seen a steady increase in qualified applicants for the WSCA board. In the past four years, we have gone from struggling to find enough candidates to fill our election slate to having seven highly qualified candidates to fill three open positions. The process of determining the best three candidates out of the seven was not easy. The Nominations and Elections sub-committee thanks all of this year's applicants for making our job difficult. It was exactly the type of challenge you would hope your association would face, and it is a great sign of the health of WSCA.
 
The WSCA Board of Directors is excited to present the following slate of candidates to our owners for final approval.
 
Donna Okray is a practicing school counselor at Lincoln Center for the Arts, part of the Milwaukee Public Schools. A graduate of the UW-Milwaukee School Counseling program, she is in her 30th year as a school counselor. As a member of the inaugural cohort of the WSCA Leadership Development Academy, Donna has spent the last year learning about leadership and effective governance. She loves the professional development and leadership opportunities provided by WSCA and is excited at the opportunity to serve on the board of directors. In her own words, “My experience serving on various committees and the completion of an educational leadership degree demonstrates my desire to continually learn, work collaboratively for the good of the whole organization, and serve as an advocate-leader for the school counseling profession.” Donna’s references spoke highly of her ability to understand diverse opinions and navigate conflicts.
 
Megan Williams is a practicing school counselor at Rufus King International High School, part of the Milwaukee Public Schools. A graduate of the Mount Mary School Counseling program, Megan is in her second year as a school counselor. She takes a proactive and future-focused approach to her work and will bring these same qualities to the WSCA board. In the words of one of her references, “Megan has a way of sitting back and listening, formulating her response, and then strategically sharing. She is not reactive but reflective.” Megan’s ability to listen, reflect, and challenge is an essential series of skills for a highly functioning director. She loves that WSCA provides a space to come together and collaborate, support each other and celebrate the work that we do.
 
Steve Schneider is a practicing school counselor at Sheboygan South High School. A graduate of the UW-Milwaukee School Counseling Program, he is in his 23rd year as a school counselor. Steve brings a wealth of knowledge in the area effective association governance and has served as policy governance coach for the WSCA board for the past four years. Over the last 14 years, Steve has served in numerous roles for WSCA and ASCA, including WSCA president, ASCA secondary vice president, and WSCA conference co-chair. He brings a future-focused view to the positions in which he serves. In the words of one of his references, “Steve sees the big picture and advocates for what will be needed for the profession 10 to 15 years down the road. He does not get stuck in the details of the day-to-day operation.”
 
All three of our slate candidates will be wearing a “candidate” ribbon at the annual conference. Please take the time to introduce yourself and ask any questions you might have of them. All active voting WSCA members should have received an email to vote.