Episode 34: Board Structures outside Cohousing - Interview with Jane Schmitt

In Episode 34  Kelli Soika & Lynn Morstead interview Jane Schmitt as part of their quest to gather more perspectives on board structures and sizes. Jane has no cohousing experience other than what she has read about in the Houston press and heard about from two of the founding members of CoHousing Houston, Lynn & Kip.

Jane's background:
Jane was a VP of Cooper Cameron before retiring and becoming President of the Stages Theatre board in Houston. She also lives in a large high-rise condo, where her husband serves on the board.  In addition to overseeing a $30M new build construction of the theater during her tenure, Jane attended courses at Rice's Center for Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership on board formation and hired a board consultant to help restructure the theater board.

This interview covers:

The board structures for the theater and home owner's association.

How does a board handle difficult situations such as:Confidentiality Sensitive topicsConflict between membersLawsuitsBoard liabilityWorking with outside groups such as the neighborhoodHow would she expect us to organize our board based on what she knows about our community.

Let us know if you have any questions by emailing us at [email protected].

For more information go to: www.cohousinghouston.com.