Today's Letter to the AMC

Dear Members of the American Mensa Board of Directors,

This is not yet another “Save Howard” appeal. What is done is done, and I’m confident you all are more than aware of my opinions on the matter.

Nor is this another “Replace the Executive Director” request.

I know that you’ve gotten many emails, phone calls, and other messages expressing members’ thoughts and wishes. I know that at least the Treasurer has been given a number of questionable activities to look into. I know that you’ve been conducting an investigation into the workings of the National Office and soliciting input from current and former staff with which to base your decisions and actions going forward. Were I on the Board, I would fully endorse a full investigation.

I also know that you have chosen not to interview former staff members who left more than six months ago (and I suspect that not all of those who left in the last six months were asked to complete your survey). This, of course, strikes me as a great failing with your investigation, since I and many others firmly believe that the problems in the Office are not a recent development but started several years ago, involving a larger number of past staff.

I am also skeptical of the objectivity of this investigation, since you’re interviewing current staff members who may be less than candid, what with their livelihoods on the line, and considering rumors of recent raises and promotions.  Surely you can explain away members’ concerns that staff silence and collusion are being bought.

Be that as it may, I have a couple questions.

I believe that the Executive Director’s employment contract is up for review in the spring of each year. Did you, as a body charged with this responsibility, review and actively choose to renew her contract, or did you take no action at all, allowing the contract to simply roll over due to other considerations or simply neglect, both results, of course, being that there is no way you could, even if you wanted to give into the members’ wishes, replace her?

Assuming that your hands are legally tied by her contract, when is the next opportunity you (or the next Board) will have to review and choose to extend or not extend her employment, and will this fall directly at the beginning of Mensa’s election season where some may be reluctant to take action, positively or negatively?

I am quite sure the upcoming election will hinge greatly on this matter, and it would help members make sound voting choices if they have facts instead of rumors to base their decisions on.

Thank you in advance for your time and answers to my two questions.

Robin Crawford
Chicago Area Mensa

Politics and Proctoring

I’ve been a proctor for oh, maybe ten years or so. I forget exactly. It’s generally a joy to do—talking up Mensa, answering questions, promoting activities and participation, being the  welcoming face to new members.

But about a month and a half ago, I decided that I was no longer comfortable rah-rahing for an organization that was becoming, in my opinion, less and less welcoming. It was the whole AM Facebook meltdown that was the final straw—I could not in good conscience tell people that Mensa was this happy, accepting family they were looking for. I’ve ranted about that in previous posts; no need to repeat myself here.

Then came the Howard/Executive Director/National Office/AMC storm.  I’m angry and despondent and disgusted... and really really don’t want to do any more testing for Mensa. I was intending to notify our local Proctor Coordinator this coming week, and arrange to get him all my unused testing supplies.

So here I was this afternoon, relaxing after a long day dropping off the boy child at college and looking forward to a night without kids in the house for the first time in what feels like forever. Then the phone rang. Our LocSec was frantic—she had seven people show up for the testing session and no proctor. Since I live only 20 minutes away, could I please come over and do the test session?

I was torn.

On one hand, I was weary and disinclined to do any more testing. On the other hand, I harbor no displeasure with our Local Group, and certainly had nothing against the people who had driven far to take the test. To say “no” would have been just... well… shitty. So I changed my shirt, grabbed my testing supplies, and headed over. The session went smoothly. The Local Group was relieved and thankful.

I only hope the AMC feels the same way.

Actions to Take & a Lesson on Calumny

Many people have asked what they should do to right the wrongs they see at the National Office. It is a fact, and one I still support, that the Executive Director has the authority to hire and fire staff as she sees fit, without consulting the AMC.

There is NOTHING members or the AMC can do to reverse her decision regarding Howard Prince.  Chanting “Bring back Howard” is useless and makes us all look like whiney petulant children.

The actions that will turn Mensa back into the organization the members want are fairly simple. Pressure on the elected officers should be applied, respectfully, so they act in a manner pleasing to the members they serve.

The AMC, and the ExComm in particular, need to be inundated with concrete actionable reasons to dismiss Pam as the Executive Director of American Mensa. 

Only after the AMC has hired a new Executive Director, who will presumably act more in accordance with the ASIE, Bylaws, Constitution, and wishes of the membership, can specific staff changes occur. 

Now, before you go writing to the AMC with all your thoughts why Pam should be removed, consider this:

"Acts inimical to the society" are defined as "deliberate acts that are harmful to, or result in harm to, Mensa." “Acts inimical” to Mensa shall include (though the definition shall not be limited to) the following:
Threatening, intimidating, coercing, calumniating or otherwise interfering with persons involved in the authorized activities of Mensa including volunteers, appointees, or paid staff members;

(there are other acts listed in the ASIE, but this is the pertinent one)

Calumniating, you may recall, is what Barry Levine did to Dave Remine that led to Barry's banishment from Mensa. So what is calumny? Basically a false and malicious statement designed to injure the reputation of someone or something.

So as long as anyone speaking out against Pam Donahue is willing and able to provide evidence for the veracity of his or her statements, it should not be considered an act inimical.

NOTE: The following examples are for illustrative purposes and ABSOLUTELY UNTRUE.

Calumny:

“Pam sacrifices puppies in the office.”

Not Calumny:

“I observed Pam with the remains of a dead puppy on her desk when I visited the office for the Finance Committee meeting on February 30th, 2010. Furthermore, I noted an increase in the budgetary line item for blood removal cleaning solution.”

Calumny:

“Pam’s a poopy head who believes she doesn't have to answer to the membership.”

Not Calumny:

“Pam said that she wants the AMC to butt out of how she runs the office, and here’s the IM conversation I had with her where she said that.”

Calumny:

“Pam spends Mensa’s money to buy booze for herself and her cronies.”

 Not Calumny:

“On April 31st, 2012, I was at dinner with Pam and observed her using her corporate card to pay for a round of drinks for her friends from ASAE.”

Calumny:

"Pam hires and keeps her friends on staff even if they are incompetent at their jobs."

Not Calumny:

"Pam hired Gilda Rosencrantz, who is tagged in FB pictures indicating that she went to college with Pam's daughter. Gilda was put in charge of making graphics for AML's Mental Games event and misspelled the banner image as 'Menial Games'. Gilda received a 5% raise at her review 6 months later." 

Something Is Rotten In the City of Arlington

Let me start with what I do NOT know:

I don’t know if Howard has signed or will sign any kind of non-disclosure agreement as part of the terms of his dismissal.

I don’t know of legal action he may or may not take against Pam, the AMC, or Mensa in general – and I’m not sure he would as he really does love Mensa. On the other hand, I don’t know if there would be legal action from the AMC.

Here’s what I DO know, based on years of working closely with Howard and other staff, and several years of being Pam’s new best friend – right up until I lost the election, after which I was thrown under the bus and kept out of the loop politically:

The AMC, via the ExComm, hires an Executive Director charged with running a National Office to get stuff done the AMC wants done. They hire and fire ONLY the Exec Dir. The Exec Dir, in turn, has total control over what happens in the office. Pam had her reasons for firing Howard. While I can guess, I cannot fully know what those reasons were. But I firmly believe them to have been trumped up reasons. (Cookie has posited a plausible theory on Facebook which two separate people have told me was the cause given for his dismissal.)

The working environment in the National Office has been increasingly toxic for the last three or four years. We have lost Catherine, Mary, Julies Boone and Clark, Roger, Heather, Bryan, and now Howard. Other staff, such as Paige, have been marginalized (whether it was Paige’s decision or not). New, young, and less experienced people have been hired. Testing is down. Membership remained flat for a third year. Dues are going up. Tasks deemed important enough to be touted in the Bulletin by even the Chairman—namely the Online Compendium and Guides—are not getting done due to staff time not being allocated.  

Two other former employees besides Howard have shared stories with me about her management of the office, despite being given specific directives by Pam to “not get too friendly with Robin.” Howard has been held in high regard by many of his fellow co-workers just as he is by the membership at large. They have shared with him their concerns about Pam’s erratic and abusive management style. Simply put, he knows too much.

Pam has actively worked to keep members and AMC members in the dark. Money is being spent to hire outside consultants to take over tasks formerly done by volunteers, which further limits the exposure members have to the goings on in the National Office. During the week prior to Howard’s dismissal, the Board of Directors were kept in the dark about which staff person was on the firing line. Additionally, even Marc Lederman, Howard’s Board counterpart, was told he may not speak with Howard and threatened with possible legal ramifications if he did.

Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE knows that Howard has long been the clear choice to replace Pam as Exec Director of Mensa. He was a threat to Pam’s job security, and became more and more so as her overall performance continued to spiral downward.

Howard is a member of Intertel, thus, he clearly qualifies to join Mensa. Already, a number of members have asked him to. He has always expressed a firm intention to join when he is no longer a staff member. He continues to express publicly that he loves Mensa in general.

Pam did consult with the ExComm, and a majority (of the five people ruling Mensa—the rest of the AMC was kept in the dark) backed her decision to dismiss Howard. All but one of the current ExComm members are running for re-election. If you don’t like that they supported Pam’s decision, then don’t vote for them, and spread the word to encourage other members to vote accordingly. Heck, start the process for recalling them.

As I said before, like it or not, Pam did have the authority to let Howard go. The only solution to reversing this action is for the ExComm to fire Pam and to replace her with a new Executive Director who will act more in line with the wishes of the membership, which in my opinion would include rehiring Howard. Of course, an even better solution would be for the ExComm to hire Howard back as Executive Director.

Blushing

I'm touched and honored and pleased to know that despite how it feels sometimes, my hard work has not gone unnoticed.

IMO: Mensa's Unresolved Essential Problem

American Mensa's strategic plan

 VISION: 
Create a stimulating intellectual and social environment for the most intelligent people.

MISSION
: Identify and foster human intelligence for the benefit of humanity by encouraging research in the nature, characteristics and uses of intelligence and by providing a stimulating intellectual and social environment for its members.

CORE VALUES:
 (Core values are essential and enduring tenets of the organization — a small set of timeless guiding principles.)

Intelligence benefiting humanity:
   Demonstrated by support of initiatives that advance the use of intelligence in solving problems and seizing opportunities.

Intellectual integrity:
   Demonstrated by organizational dedication to ethical, truthful and evidence-based decision-making with an appropriate balance between openness and privacy, and between transparency and confidentiality. 

Valuing ideas and individualism:
   Demonstrated by celebration of the power of differing views, admiration for independent thought, and appreciation of well-intentioned and informed criticism.

Connection:
   Demonstrated by commitment to providing opportunities for fellowship among a global community of common interests.

BIG GOAL: To be widely recognized as the premier community for intelligent people seeking intellectual challenge, respect for intelligence and the opportunity to join with others to benefit humanity.

................................................................

I agree with and support all of the vision/mission/core values/goals. I really truly do.

But Mensa is heading the way of dinosaurs, and when that happens, none of these lofty goals will be met or remembered. Here’s what I consider to be a essential unresolved problem: We are utterly aggressively inclusive. As a result, all the smart misfits of the world have a place to congregate and socialize. Sounds wonderful.

However, for every 100 adequately-socialized smarty who join, there will be two or three I would classify as unrepentant, irredeemable “jerks.” You know them:

Revolting Ralph, who hovers at the food table, eats with his hands, coughs without covering his mouth, and sticks his fingers in the chip dip.

Dirty Old Monty, who leers at the 20 and 30-year old women, makes lewd remarks, and gives tight pelvic-grinding hugs without permission.

Snotty Sara, who criticizes everyone in a snarky tone, bitches in a 500-person hospitality line about how “real” turkey should be hand carved from a whole bird instead of served pre-sliced in warming trays, and writes condescending letters to the editor when events are not planned in places and times convenient for her.

Tommy Troll, who purposely floods online venues with rude, racist, hate-filled or obscene posts and then proudly boasts about how many thin-skinned members block him.

There are more, of course, and we all know them.

BUT… people like me, and most of my readers have been around long enough to have met and befriended 100s of brilliant and colorful people who are really awesome, and we know that it’s easy enough to sidestep the jerks and find the intellectual camaraderie and acceptance we joined for.

However, we wise and seasoned members… will fade away. Until Mensa develops and distributes affordable immortality pills, there will be fewer of us. Ah, but, you say, we get new members, younger members, and they will replace older members. Circle of life and all that.

The problem is… incoming members do not have our experience. They encounter the jerks and then quietly mutter “Wow, this is sooo not what I expected or need in my life. I’m outta here.”

The new jerks, having found acceptance, stay.

Consequently, the number of jerks swells over time, which hastens the exit of more and more new members. As we gray-hairs fade away, the jerk-to-awesome ratio tilts in a very bad direction more and more.

Where is Mensa heading by virtue of its unwillingness to stop tolerating and supporting the activities and participation of the jerks? 

Is this the “stimulating intellectual and social environment for the most intelligent people” we want?