Abstract
T
At the beginning of 2014, the ABM Board decided that the bylaws should be reviewed and updated. The most recent bylaw revision was conducted in 2012, with only minor changes being undertaken. However, over the past several years, many positive changes in the growth and development of the organization, such as employing an Executive Director and having a journal, had occurred, although these changes had not been incorporated into the bylaws. The overarching goal of this revision was to ensure the bylaws reflected and guided our current practice.
To begin, a five-person Subcommittee of the Governance Committee was constituted under the direction of the Governance Committee Co-chairs (Drs. Julie Taylor and Ann Kellams) to draft the revised bylaws. Members of the subcommittee (Debra Bogen, MD, FAAP, FABM, Gerald Calnen, MD, FABM, Cynthia Howard, MD, MPH, FABM, Ann Kellams, MD, FABM, and Julie Taylor, MD, MSc, FABM) were past or present ABM Board members with experience in governance issues and with an in-depth understanding of ABM.
The main content changes suggested by the committee were as follows:
• Article 5: Membership Membership categories were revised and updated with input from the Membership Committee. For example, Physician-in-Training membership was clarified to include residents and postdoctoral physician fellows. • Article 6: Powers and duties of the Board of Directors Clarification of the Board of Directors membership and processes was undertaken. While no substantive changes were made, the new bylaws are more explicit in detailing the number of voting and non-voting Board members. • Article 9: Powers and duties of the Executive Director A new section was added about the role and responsibilities of the Executive Director. • Article 10: Committees There were updates to reflect ABM's current committee structure. • Article 13: Journal of the ABM A new section on the journal Breastfeeding Medicine was added. • Entire document: Internal consistency with respect to policies and procedures and formatting was undertaken.
After the Subcommittee reviewed and revised the bylaws in detail, they were presented to and reviewed by the 10-person Governance Committee and then presented to and discussed by the entire Board of Directors twice. The Membership Committee was asked to consider and evaluate certain sections. Finally, the bylaws underwent a formal legal review during July 2014.
In accordance with the bylaws, the final version of the revised document was presented to the ABM Board of Directors 30 days prior to the September 18th Board meeting, where the changes were passed unanimously.
It is important to note that not everything about the running of an organization has to go in the bylaws! In fact, one of the overarching considerations was how to keep the bylaws as streamlined and functional as possible. For example, each ABM committee has its own procedures and protocols that do not need to be included in the bylaws and would, in fact, impede progress if they were.
Be sure to review at www.bfmed.org/About/Mission.aspx the ABM's newest bylaws. They are always freely available for ABM members to provide transparency about the governance structure and functioning of the organization. We hope that this update will also inspire members to seek leadership positions on committees and to run for a position on the Board.