Military Spouse JD Network
Board Meeting Minutes
June 5, 2014
8:00-9:30 PM EST
Meeting called to order at 8:05 PM.
Board Members Present: Rachel Winkler, Eleanor Vuono, Ashley Donahue, Thea Pitzen, Reda Hicks, Josie
Beets, Natalie Wilson, Libby Jamison, Amy Apostol, Erin Hennessey, Tara Gaston
Additional Attendees Included: Jennifer Talley (Committee Chair), Lindsey Savage (Committee Chair)
Welcome:




Rachel Winkler welcomed everyone to the 2014–2015 Board, asked Board members to give brief
introductions. Each Board member gave a brief introduction, including name, military affiliation,
career information, and history of involvement with MSJDN.
Robert’s Rules of Order – Rachel requested that everyone familiarize themselves with Robert’s Rules
of Order, which will be used for all Board meetings.
Committee Reports – Committees are asked to update the Board, ideally monthly, using these
committee reports. Rachel attached a rule change report to the Agenda as a sample.
One on Ones – Rachel and Eleanor Vuono will be reaching out to each Board member individually to
discuss new roles and vision for the organization.
Old Business:
 Do not have meeting minutes. This is tabled until the next meeting.

Reimbursements:
o Ashley Donahue reviewed the reimbursements on the spreadsheet distributed prior to the
meeting.
o Rachel Winkler noted that the Board only needs to approve reimbursements if they have not
previously approved the action AND it is over $500. Currently, this only applies to the
reimbursements for Mary Reding.
o Ashley Donahue moved to approve reimbursements to Mary Reding. Josie Beets seconded the
motion. Board unanimously approved the motion.
Updates:
 Foundation
o Josie Beets explained that through the Foundation we are running our pro bono program, Justice
for Military Families, which currently consists of referrals from TAPS. Tara Gaston is serving as
Josie’s co-chair, and our placement rate is about 70%. Josie reported that our working
relationship with TAPS is going very well and that we may soon reach out to another
organization for more referrals. There is also a plan for MSJDN to have a section of the website
where military affiliated individuals can ask questions of MSJDN members and receive pro bono
responses/assistance.
o
o
Council of Foundations meeting will occur on June 10 in DC. Mary Reding and some other Board
members will attend. Stephanie Powers (head of Council of Foundations) came to our May 7
event and invited us to the June 10 breakfast.
Eleanor Vuono reported that American Bar Association facilitated a day-long conference among
organizations providing veterans services, which Eleanor and Mary Reding attended. Eleanor
was only in attendance for the introductions, but reported that it was a high profile group of
people. Rachel Winkler spoke with Mary Reding prior to the Board meeting, and Mary reported
that the conversation focused on veterans. Mary emphasized the need for a holistic approach
including the veterans and their families.

Rules Change
o Rachel Winkler reported that the Virginia rule change passed.
o Jennifer Talley reported that we are closing in on the end of our efforts in New Jersey and will be
submitting a final letter to the Supreme Court there detailing specific numbers and statistic
requested by the Court. Jennifer noted that in rules change efforts, the question always arises:
“how many spouses will this impact?” Last year’s survey data has been the biggest help so far.
o Katie McDonough and Jennifer have extrapolated the numbers of spouses for active duty
military to put together a comprehensive chart estimating how many military spouse attorneys
are in NJ. Jennifer reported that those numbers support the anecdotal evidence provided to the
Court. They have also expanded the chart to incorporate other states so that all state directors
will be able to use it going forward.
o Jennifer would also like to start tracking the number of our members who utilize rules currently
in effect. There is a working chart on that as well. Current numbers are: 1 in Idaho, 3 in TX, 1 in
NC, 1 in Illinois (and 1 pending), 1 in Massachusetts.

Governance
o Reda Hicks reported that the Board put together a Policies & Procedures Manual over the
summer, which has been through several revisions and will soon go on the website along with a
copy of the by-laws.
o The Governance Committee also recognized need for policies on other issues – for example,
candidate endorsements. A candidate endorsement policy has been approved and is final.
o There has also been an effort to identify awards that we can nominate members for, and the
Committee realized that needs a formal policy as well. Reda is currently working on a draft of
this to present to the Board.

Finance
o Ashley Donahue informed the Board that we have checks and debit cards, and we have the
ability to accept credit card payments. Ashley is currently working on a more thorough Policy &
Procedure for finance.
o Budget: Ashley explained that we have a Foundation budget, including money from the
Newman’s Own grant, and a Network budget, which will have money coming in from dues.
Ashley is calculating how much money we anticipate through July and putting together the
formal budget. If Board members anticipate anything coming out of their Committees, Ashley
requests notice of those amounts.
o Malpractice (D&O) insurance is being obtained for the Board, and we are working on insurance
(PLI) for the Foundation for pro bono work.
o Ashley will distribute the Budget to the Board to vote prior to our next meeting.

Membership
o Dues opened on April 7, and 130 people signed up within 24 hours. Current total is at around
200 paid accounts. Total of 600 people have registered for the website, and we have 1,100
people on our email list. Members will start being charged on June 7, so there will be an influx
of money for the Network.
o MSJDN received significant money from the Newman’s Own Foundation last year, and the Board
approved using it to build out the membership and pro bono sections of our website. We have
put together a request for proposals, and we have received 3 from different website
management companies. We are waiting to get back a couple of other proposals. Looking to
make a decision this summer.
o We are also looking at how to build out a CLE or webinar program for members and are also
considering creating an Awards Nomination Committee.

Government Affairs
o Reda Hicks is now leading this team and will be reaching out to make sure the team remains
fully staffed.
o MSJDN as an organization can empower our members if we have a strong policy statement of
MSJDN’s core beliefs about what makes career continuity possible for a military spouse
attorney. We are working on a policy statement for what we have identified as the 3 pillars: (1)
ability to work (get a license), (2) ability to find a job (networking, jobs boards, educating
employers, etc.), (3) ability to keep the job (telework, relocating, childcare, etc.).
o When to reach out to Government Affairs Committee: (1) if a state leader reaches out to you
wanting a formal opinion on a piece of legislation, (2) same thing on a national level, and (3)
requests for endorsements from MSJDN.

Communications
o Libby Jamison reported that we currently have the website, including the members’ only area,
the Facebook site (both public and private pages), the LinkedIn group that primarily functions as
a job board, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest. MSJDN is looking for people to add to the
Communications team – specifically, a webmaster, someone to run the blog, and people to join
Writers’ Corps.

Homefront Rising
o Next event is June 19 in Tampa. Planning session will be held on June 18 regarding the future of
the program. Rachel Winkler and Libby Jamison will be attending.

Events
o AAFMAA event – Ashley Donahue reported that they do significant military spouse hiring,
though it is non-legal. Ashley will be attending the event on Monday evening.
o SCOTUS swearing in – happening in October. Evelyn Guevara is coordinating.
o Founder’s Day happy hours – June 14, 2011 is MSJDN Founder’s Day, and happy hours are
occurring around the country.
o Lunch and Learn with Rosa Brooks – in the works, and Erin Hennessey is assisting.
o NCBP/ABA Annual Meeting
o Making the Right Moves – scheduled for San Diego in October; first one was in DC in May 2013
o MSJDN Moot Court program planned – Ashley Donahue and Lauren Rogan are working to put
this together

Homefront to Hired: employment initiative to employ military spouses – working on connecting with
employers and truly forming a partnership
New Business:
 Save the Dates: We want to hold a strategic planning session with our new Board and our prior
Board to determine what the future of the organization will look like. Currently considering July 2627 or July 19-20 – Board members should email Rachel Winkler with which dates work best for a
meeting in Washington, DC
 We are also interested in the possibility of building an MSJDN Law Journal – like the Moot Court, it
will provide an opportunity for members to develop writing skills and have a published writing
piece. Rachel has been talking to Lexis and Westlaw about how to start this and how to get
published pieces on Westlaw and Lexis.
Meeting adjourned at 9:34 PM.