Donna Hengeveld

I’m a life-long believer in grocery co-ops, joining my first one over 35 years ago. The Food Co-op is a valuable community resource and I want to do my part to help it flourish. Giving back to my community is a personal value. I have the commitment to put in the time, energy and care and am capable of learning what it takes to be an effective board member for a food co-op.

Skills: systems thinker, organized, analytical, problem-solver, experienced in reading financial accounts and understanding data
Person qualities: hard-working, good listener, calm under pressure, team player, optimistic

The board has a fiduciary role – meaning it is entrusted by member-owners to act in their best interests for the preservation and growth of the co-op.

The board writes policies to set the direction of the co-op, keep it strong and upholding our values. It monitors to ensure the policies are followed. The board evaluates and supports the general manager, who runs the Co-op and reports to the board. The board engages with members to learn their needs and report on the board’s work.

I served as president and vice president on the board of a 177-unit Home Owners Association in Seattle. We employed 9 staff / 7 FTE and worked with a professional management company to manage finances and reserve studies.
I am currently on the board of AAUW as co-VP of programs.
I also have experience serving on board committees. I was on the international relations and professional development committees of my professional association for 10 years.
I have demonstrated strategic leadership in my management positions, conveying a vision and managing employees strategically to achieve long term goals. For example, I opened a new 125-staff office for an organization, instructed to establish a new model of culture and performance. I joined NZ revenue when they were going through a major reorganization, joining the senior leaders team developing a new strategic plan for the organization which then was cascaded through the newly formed business groups including mine.

My commitment is to The Food Co-op and its member-owners. I will act solely in the best interests of the Co-op and member-owners. My conduct as a director must be free of any conflict of interest or appearance thereof. Should an issue come before the board where I could have a conflict, I must disclose it immediately and recuse myself.

I will seek out, listen to and respect opinions of member-owners. As part of the decision-making process, I will check my decisions for bias.

I have years of experience working as a team. Building trust and demonstrating respect within the team goes a long way to dealing with mistakes. When differences of opinions – or what looks like mistakes - arise, I remind myself that I am likely missing something the other person knows, feels or sees. The way questions are asked can foster conversation or shut it down. If possible, raising the issue privately with the person first is respectful and less threatening. For example, someone drafted a memo to send on behalf of the team that included statements that seemed likely to offend. I contacted the person to share how I felt when I read the statements. The person agreed it would be better to reword those statements.

Working in the public sector has given me a lot of experience practicing this since actions and decisions must be applied uniformly according to law, regulation or policy. Where there is ambiguity, it’s important to explore in sufficient detail to define the limit. I am a good listener and willing to share what I think is important to the decision-making. I want to hear what others think as well. What I find challenging is when the group is rushed to a decision – or wants to make a decision - without sufficient discussion or input by outside experts where appropriate.
I worked on a team with a leader who tended to cut off discussion to reach a decision. The team struggled to work together as members didn’t feel like their input was valuable.

Having sufficient understanding of the issue and adequate information to make a good decision is critical. The group can’t succumb to “group think” or be controlled by a strong voice or personality. Materials for board review should be distributed enough in advance for all members to be prepared for discussion and decision-making if additional information isn’t required. If this process is followed, with each member contributing to the discussion, there is a good chance the decision will be the correct one – that is, beneficial. Even if I were in the minority, I need to support the decision reached by the majority. Undermining the board will not help the co-op.
A board I was on hired a team lead without completing a thorough hiring process because the majority voted to do so in the interest of filling the position quickly. I voted against, stating my concerns. To support the decision of the board, I made numerous attempts to coach the lead but eventually the board agreed it was not working and dismissed the employee.

Policy Governance defines and guides the relationship between the board and the general manager. The board is responsible for defining the benefits to be produced by the co-op and writing policies to ensure the co-op is strong and upholds the co-op values. The general manager is responsible for strategic and operational plans, taking action and day-to-day operations. The board monitors for compliance with the policies to evaluate and support the general manager.
Should a general manager need to be hired, the board knows it is looking for the candidate best qualified and experienced to manage the co-op to deliver the stated benefits in line with the co-op’s values.