Our CS community has recently passed its 200,000 members mark. Congratulations to everyone one of you for helping CS make a difference in the lives of people all over the world! More couches in more places and more people exploring the world, yet feeling at home wherever they go, making friendships that bridge cultures and continents. As CouchSurfing continues to grow, so does the way the organization operates. We have had several successful collectives now, and have learned a lot over the last four years. In the beginning, the Founders and a few Admins (trusted volunteers brought on board by Casey) maintained all the day-to-day business needed to run the project. This worked fine while CS was smaller, but the time has come for a more formalized organization structure with clear, transparent leadership and accountability, just like any other successful non-profit company.
Our purpose first and foremost is to serve the mission of CouchSurfing. In creating this structure, we are committing to excellent service to the community, effective and regular communication, a transparent decision-making process, quality operations management, and accountability to our mission and membership. To achieve this goal, we have established a Leadership Team comprised of Founders, Admins and a few dedicated, long-term volunteers. The core values of the team are:
Focus. Our top priority is to achieve the mission of CouchSurfing and serve the volunteers and members. Focus on the mission means that CS resources (workforce, finances, etc.) are dedicated to projects that directly serve to achieve the mission. The mission serves as the main criterion for determining which undertakings to support.
Service. Leadership is dedication to the mission, the members and the project, and is inclusive in nature. We strive to bring people together. We are representatives from the community and are open to voices from within the community. Leaders work closely with Ambassadors and volunteers to ensure that the needs of the members and the project are being met.
Structure. CS is a non-profit company that must operate with effective leadership whose purpose is to achieve the mission. The leaders serve as navigators determining the course of the company and making the strategic decisions about the future of CS, taking into consideration input from Ambassadors and the community as a whole. We have defined a clear policy for the Leadership Team, which includes the requirements for membership, a consensus decision-making process, policy for removal from the team, emergency provisions, public records and accountability. For more information on this policy, please see: www.couchsurfing.com/wiki/Leadership_Team
Quality. We have defined the attributes and qualifications for leaders that will best serve the CouchSurfing organization. We are creating a peer-review system to insure leaders and volunteers meet high standards, are accountable for their actions, and are constantly challenged to grow and improve. For more information on this please see: www.couchsurfing.com/wiki/Leadership_Qualities
Communication. We strive for transparency in the organization. Decision making processes and the operation of the Leadership Team is open record, including: - Leadership Team members and area of focus - New appointments to the Leadership Team, including selection process - Regular communication about operations process, including quarterly leadership progress reports - Financial Records - Policies and guideline
The Leadership Team members and area of focus are:
Casey Fenton: President and Visionary Leader, Founder
Dan Hoffer: Operations Leader, Founder
Aldo Golja: Policy Development, Member Safety
Chris Burley: Tech Team Coordinator
Duke: Community Building, Translations
Heather O'Brien: Public Relations, Content Writing (Newsletter, Internal/External Communications), TV/Documentary/Media Projects
Jesse Fenton: Finances, Documentation, Verifications
Jim Stone: Volunteer Coordination, Verifications
Promitheus: Ambassador Coordination
Rachel diCerbo: Member Disputes and Safety, Chat Room Coordination
MrRico: Media Coordinator
Mattthew Brauer: Homepage News, Member Projects, Internal Communications
Many members of the Leadership Team (we wish everyone could make it!) will gather in North America at the end of May to refine the structure and policies. Those who can't be in attendance will still participate remotely. One goal of this conference is to solidify CS's leadership model and implement a solid, stable organizational structure. This structure will be more like a traditional non-profit company than the looser "ad-hocracy" model used in the past. However, the new structure will create a way for any volunteer to eventually take on as much responsibility as he or she desires and to participate in the decision-making corresponding to that level of responsibility.
New volunteers may join by gaining ambassadorship and proving their ability to handle the responsibilities and tasks of ambassadorship. Ambassadors may then take on a specific volunteer role with more responsibility by joining a working team, such as tech development or communications. As these volunteers responsibility and trust grows, they will become the pool from which new leadership team members are selected. We need more committed, hardworking, mission-dedicated people on the Leadership Team! Like a traditional management team, the existing leadership will make decisions to "promote" trusted volunteers, using the process outlined in the Leadership Team Policy. CouchSurfing grows and changes at a rapid pace. This leadership structure is sturdy, yet flexible, and can best adapt to our growing and evolving community. We have a large responsibility to guard the safety and privacy of our members as well as the stability of the organization. This structure ensures that a team of long-term volunteers are responsible and accountable for meeting the needs of the CouchSurfing's mission: facilitating a way to experience intercultural understanding via hosting and surfing couches.
Leadership can only be effective by listening to the needs of the community. With so many active participants, it is impossible come up with a system that is optimal for all members -- you just can't please everyone! That said, we are open to feedback and improvements before presenting the new organizational structure to the community at large within the next two months. This is an exciting time for CS! CouchSurfing is stronger everyday thanks to the hard work and dedication of the Ambassadors and volunteers. We are constantly impressed by and grateful for the contributions to the CouchSurfing Project and it's mission of making a difference not only in the way we travel but in how we relate to the world.
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