Nevus Outreach Board, CEO and Key Constituents Undertake Strategic Planning
October 6-8 was a full weekend for those involved with strategic planning and visioning for Nevus Outreach. The session, led by facilitator Tracye Caughell, was well attended and very productive. “The last time a strategic planning session was held was in 2010,” says Kathy Wright, CEO. “It was indeed past time to again take stock of where we are as an organization and look to the future.” 14 people did just that as they examined the current state of Nevus Outreach and considered future plans.
The weekend began on Friday evening with a re-examination of the mission statement. The 3-pronged focus of the mission hasn’t changed, but the group decided on some important updates to better represent who Nevus Outreach serves and how they are served. The mission statement became, “Nevus Outreach is dedicated to bringing awareness, providing support, and working toward cures for people affected by congenital melanocytic nevi and related disorders.” Awareness, support, and funding research remain at the heart of what we do.
Jennifer King is the moderator of the Neurocutaneous Melanocytosis (NCM) Facebook group and has a son with satellites only, not a typical “giant” nevus. But, her son has symptomatic NCM, a related disorder as described in the mission statement. “We need to make sure that people with NCM know that Nevus Outreach is a resource for them, even if they don’t have a large nevus,” says Jennifer. “NCM is a related disorder. Some of the sickest kids have NCM. We need to make sure we focus some of our resources and our research dollars on NCM.” By including the phrase, working toward cures, we let people know that we intend to focus research projects…and dollars… on related disorders as well as on CMN.
As the board and staff work through the critical issues and develop the plan of action, more information will be available, including how people can help. “It was a jammed packed weekend,” mused Anne Houseal, board chair. “So much was accomplished and we still have lots to do. All will be shared and rolled out in the coming months leading up to the 2018 Conference and 20th anniversary celebration.” Look for regular updates and progress toward the goals. For now, one of the critical issues is funding, so please consider a gift to help support the work of Nevus Outreach.
This planning session was made possible by a grant from the Morgan Family Foundation.