Donna Carey's Way or the Highway

The first half of the meeting? Smooth sailing. Goals, priorities, real discussion - people were actually listening to each other.

Then we hit the policy motion.

That’s when Board President Donna Carey shifted gears. Suddenly, the open exchange of ideas became a race to the finish line - her finish line.

Nick Demsak spoke up, reminding everyone that he’d followed the process, submitted feedback, asked his questions… and gotten nothing back. No answers. No acknowledgment. Just silence. You’d think that would prompt a little discussion, right? Not with Donna.

Instead, she gave what felt like a verbal shrug: “If we want to change it later, we can. But let’s vote now.”

Translation? We’re done here. Pass it now.

It was clear - painfully clear - that if your feedback didn’t match Donna’s plan, it wasn’t getting oxygen. Different viewpoints weren’t part of the process; they were obstacles to rush past.

And the irony? This was the moment where the board could have modeled collaboration. Instead, it felt like a pre-scripted ending, with the “discussion” part just there to tick a box.

So here’s the takeaway: healthy governance means listening to every perspective, even the ones that make you rethink your position. Last night, it was obvious that if your perspective didn’t align with Donna Carey’s, it wasn’t going anywhere - except under the wheels of the vote she wanted.