Participatory Governance is Underway

A core tenet of the OneFPA Network plan and vision was the elevation of stakeholder voices in the direction-setting of the association through greater participatory governance. By bringing more voices to the table to provide guidance to the Board of Directors on issues central to FPA and the greater financial planning profession, the Board will be better positioned to make informed decisions. This is where the OneFPA Advisory Council will play a critical role.

The OneFPA Advisory Council, which is a body comprised of a representative from each FPA chapter and NexGen leadership, held its first meeting on November 15 just a day before the 2019 OneFPA Chapter Leaders Conference in Denver. At this four-hour meeting, 55 chapter representatives, NexGen leaders and FPA Board members gathered to begin an in-depth exploration of a few key issues that are important for FPA to address in the coming months, including the future of the FPA Annual Conference, the relationship between FPA and CFP Board, and FPA’s overarching advocacy strategy.

At the meeting, members of the OneFPA Advisory Council received a download on these three areas from FPA leaders and staff and were engaged in table discussions to explore the Council’s thoughts and concerns on these issues and the potential actions the association could take moving forward. The discussions were vibrant, insightful and proved that that diversity of opinion is alive and well in FPA. All table discussions will be summarized in a report that will be shared with the OneFPA Advisory Council and discussions will continue on these and other issues in the future. Specifically, the Council will also discuss the potential for an amicus brief from FPA in response to the lawsuits that have been filed against the SEC over their ‘Regulation Best Interest’ rulemaking, which was outlined in a member communication on November 22.

OneFPA Advisory Council Governance

The Council will be overseen by an Executive Committee composed of Council representatives who were elected by their peers at the November 15 meeting and a representative from the FPA Board of Directors. The Executive Committee will be led by three leaders representing large FPA chapters (defined as 400+ members), two leaders representing medium FPA chapters (defined as 150-399 members), one leader representing small FPA chapters (defined as less than 150 members), one leader representing the FPA NexGen community and one representative from the FPA Board of Directors.

The volunteer leaders on the OneFPA Advisory Council Executive Committee are:

• Chris Boyd, CFP® from the FPA of Massachusetts (large chapter representative)
• Catherine Seeber, CFP® from the FPA of the Philadelphia Tri-State Area (large chapter representative)
• Kris Tower, CFP® from the FPA of Colorado (large chapter representative)
• William Cerynik from the FPA of Greater Phoenix (medium chapter representative)
• Byrke Sestok, CFP® from the FPA of the Greater Hudson Valley (medium chapter representative)
• Craig Carnick, CFP® from the FPA of Southern Colorado (small chapter representative)
• Autumn Campbell, CFP® from FPA NexGen (FPA NexGen representative)

Skip Schweiss from the FPA of Colorado and 2020 FPA President-elect will serve as the FPA Board of Directors’ representative to the Council’s Executive Committee. As a liaison between the Board of Directors and the Council’s Executive Committee, Skip will provide ongoing insight that will help the Executive Committee in their important work.

These eight outstanding leaders will gather in the coming weeks to plan for the OneFPA Advisory Council’s work for the next year, including topics to be explored and the Council’s meeting schedule. Updates on future Council meetings will be shared right here on the OneFPA Beta Blog!