Election 2022

How to nominate someone

• Fill out the Google form, if that fails email the secretary.
• nomination form

Nominees for Board of Directors

• nominations

Board nominee survey

All members are welcome to add any question they feel are relevant

How long have you been a member of i3?

Evan Allen

I have been an official member since January 1st of 2014 (8½ years). Before that I have been around the space since spring break 2013 and all subsequent breaks while I was at college. Before I was a member I was also heavily involved with the space infrastructure (and became the founding Coordinator of that zone).

What is i3?

Evan Allen

i3Detroit is a place where people share knowledge. We are also a place where people make things. Those two are in that order because at the base level i3 is most useful as a place to share knowledge of various things because that is hard to find elsewhere, at least for a group as diverse as ours. We are also a shop where you can come make things, but if that's all it was then TechShop would be an equivalent and it most certainly was not. Everything else that i3 is comes from those two things, but even based only off of those the possibilities are endless.

What types of personal projects do you work on?

Evan Allen

For the last several years I've been focusing on lots of vintage electronics, bringing old computers and the like back to life (brought that to makerfaire previously). I'm also involved with making the new Bridgeport cnc useful because I have some projects at home that could benefit it. Sometimes I ended up using the machine shop for work stuff because the stuff we had at work is a joke in comparison.

Melissa Gilchrist

I created both a business and personal income tax class for i3, which is sort of personal.

What projects have you worked on to improve i3?

Evan Allen

I've been involved in the expansion, ripping down old piping, wiring, and stringing some new stuff. Getting the new half of the building set up for our IoT system. I finally finished replacing all incandescent and fluorescent lights with LEDs so maintenance of those is a thing of the past. Infrastructure is literally one of my titles around here.

Melissa Gilchrist

Created our current accounting system. Spearheaded the MEDC campaign where we raised $50,000 and got a matching grant for $50,000. Still hoping to better integrate the CRM and related systems into the accounting system and also improve our Bylaws and Standing Rules so that we have clear and consistent policies that make it easier for future leadership to maintain our organization.

What qualities do you look for in a fellow board member?

Evan Allen

Board members should, of course, be prepared to not be universally liked and should not try to be. The board is elected to make decisions that keep the space useful to the membership and that's not always popular with everyone. That being said, I would look for a vision of the future and an open mind to tackle problems that we may face without being weighed down by the past. A willingness weigh all the options and make the tough decisions. The ability to not get emotionally involved with situations handled by the board (or the willingness to recuse yourself if you do). To see the decisions through to fruition and, especially, ask for help if it is needed.

Melissa Gilchrist

Want what is best for i3 and be reasonable and willing to compromise.

What qualities do you have to be a board member?

Evan Allen

I can recognize when things need a decision made and make that decision. Anyone who's been a member at i3 can probably think of a thing that needs changing but they don't want to bring it up at a meeting, or they don't want to write a proposal. Maybe there's a person who continues to break the rules and other people have been covering for them or there's a rule that is just ignored most of the time because it's not actually solving anything. I want to help get our bylaws and standing rules into a condition where any prospective member can read them and understand how i3 actually works. I can also get a majority of people to understand the problem at hand and cooperate to come up with a solution. It is important to know that virtually nothing requires unanimity and we shouldn't let the status quo be terrible because one person isn't quite convinced about this particular plan. Deliberate, Vote, act on the majority, what's next.

Melissa Gilchrist

I have a background in legal and financial compliance. I've been using my knowledge for the benefit of i3 for the last couple years. I'd like to continue doing so.

Why are you interested in being a board member?

Evan Allen

I want to help shepherd us through the expansion and into renewed sustainability.

What is the biggest issue at i3 that you hope to address in the next year, whether you serve on the board or not?

Evan Allen

Finish the buildout for expansion. We have lots of people who I'm sure would love to utilize all the space to the fullest, it's just a matter of getting them together with direction to help make it happen.

Melissa Gilchrist

Finish the expansion. Get our legal and financial framework to a point where they can be maintained by new people. Rewrite the Bylaws. Make our policies fair, clear, consistent, and easier to follow, while still keeping us safe. Improve our diversity by reaching out to more diverse communities.

What are your long-term (5+ years) goals for i3?

Evan Allen

In 5 years I would like to see us moving toward owning our own building at least as big as we are now to have more space for more diverse zones. Partnership with the community, specifically our local government and big businesses that we can leverage to ease the burden on our members. I would like the positions of responsibility to all be held by motivated and active members with little to no overlap. I would like to see us do more things that add capability to the space that benefit the surrounding community.

Melissa Gilchrist

I want to financially position us so that we will be able to secure a mortgage or be in a much better bargaining position the next time we have to negotiate a lease. A side of effect of this will be better documentation for our own purposes, as well.

What makes i3 great? Why did you join/why do you keep coming back?

Evan Allen

What makes i3Detroit great is the diversity of membership. Sure you get differing points of view that may be contentious, but you get so many cross-disciplinary ideas and projects that allow people out of their comfort zones. I joined because thanks to everyone here I can learn whatever skills I need in almost any subject simply by finding the person who's passionate about it and letting them know I am too. Similarly I take great benefit from teaching other members things they are interested in that I happen to know.

What isn't i3 for?

Evan Allen

i3 isn't a job shop, although I have gotten a contract job and two full-time jobs just by hanging around here. i3 isn't a place where seniority trumps sense, experience is always useful but this is one of those places where age isn't a factor in intelligence. i3 is the place where you do things yourself, if all you have is suggestions for how someone else should do something don't be surprised when they do it their way.

What will you do if the board or members pass a decision you disagree with? Will you enforce it?

Evan Allen

If a decision has already been passed then my time for discussion of the subject is over and it is important to adhere to the will of the membership. If it turns out I was right then there will probably be a backlash anyway and I can get behind the repeal of an unjust policy (but if I'm consistently the outlier, maybe there isn't a problem).

Melissa Gilchrist

I will either enforce the will of the majority, or, if I believe the decision to be too unethical to enforce, I will resign my position on the board.

What changes do you feel need to be made in i3 policy?

Evan Allen

Anyone who's been a member at i3 can probably think of a thing that needs changing but they don't want to bring it up at a meeting, or they don't want to write a proposal. Maybe there's a person who continues to break the rules and other people have been covering for them or there's a rule that is just ignored most of the time because it's not actually solving anything. I want to help get our bylaws and standing rules into a condition where any prospective member can read them and understand how i3 actually works.

Melissa Gilchrist

I would like to see better documentation that allows us to be more consistent and transparent. In addition I'd like to see us continue to refine our processes to make them easier to follow to make it easier for people to do the right thing and to have their voices be heard.

It is my experience that our consensus model works best if all people in the decision making group gives feedback in a timely manner. Otherwise, we are left hanging for significant periods waiting to hear if everyone is just silently agreeing or actually hasn't responded yet. Can you commit to responding to direct questions in a reasonable (48-72 hour) time frame?

Evan Allen

Yes.

Melissa Gilchrist

Absolutely.

Will you participate in solving uncomfortable discipline problems, or will you just do nothing and hope they fade away?

We have a really bad history of taking forever because uncomfortable discussions are uncomfortable.

Evan Allen

I have always pushed to get people to respond in a timely manner when discipline issues happened.

Melissa Gilchrist

Absolutely.

Are you comfortable committing to a 2-year term?

Evan Allen

Yes.

Melissa Gilchrist

I would prefer taking the one year term that will be open, but if I have to, I'll serve two years. But I'd really like to see some new perspectives on the board.

What do you plan to do to help transition i3 from covid pandemic mode to covid endemic mode? What do you think i3 should look like/How do you think i3 should operate in a covid endemic world?

Evan Allen

I want to see us reaching out to the community to get more involvement. We have previously had HUGE parties and relied on big events to coincidentally drive membership but that's either not happening or not reasonable to expect people to want to attend these days. We need outreach and actual recruiting as well as streamlining the member joining process to ensure people who are literally asking to pay us money can do so as easily as is reasonable.