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Description of document: Meeting Minutes for the Inter-American Foundation (IAF), 2009-2010 Requested date: 17-February-2016 Released date: 29-March-2016 Posted date: 06-June-2016 Source of document: Inter-American Foundation Pennsylvania building 1331 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Suite 1200 North Washington, DC 20004 Email: [email protected] The governmentattic.org web site (“the site”) is noncommercial and free to the public. The site and materials made available on the site, such as this file, are for reference only. The governmentattic.org web site and its principals have made every effort to make this information as complete and as accurate as possible, however, there may be mistakes and omissions, both typographical and in content. The governmentattic.org web site and its principals shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused, or alleged to have been caused, directly or indirectly, by the information provided on the governmentattic.org web site or in this file. The public records published on the site were obtained from government agencies using proper legal channels. Each document is identified as to the source. Any concerns about the contents of the site should be directed to the agency originating the document in question. GovernmentAttic.org is not responsible for the contents of documents published on the website. Inter-American Foundation An Independent Agency of the U.S. Government FOIA IAF-2016-005 March 29, 2016 Via email This letter is in response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) email inquiry, received on February 17, 2016. In that email you submitted the following request, which I quote in its entirety: Pursuant to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, I respectfully request a copy of the meeting minutes for the IAF during the time period January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2010. In response to your FOIA request, attached please find one responsive document of 132 pages being released in full. There is no fee associated with this request. Please let me know if you have any questions, and thank you for your patience. Regards, Paul M. Zimmerman General Counsel 1331 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. I Suite 1200 North I Washington, D.C. 20004 I Tel: (202) 360-4530 I Fax: (202) 803-6124 I www.iaf.gov Minutes of the Meeting of the Board of Directors Inter-American Foundation April 27, 2009 The Board of Directors of the Inter-American Foundation (IAF) met at 901 N. Stuart Street, Arlington, Virginia, on April 27, 2009. Board Members present were John P. Salazar, Chairman; Thomas Dodd, Vice Chair; Thomas Shannon, Member; Jack Vaughn, Member; and Roger Wallace, Member. IAF staff members in attendance were Larry Palmer, President; Linda B. Kolko, Vice President for Operations; Jennifer Hodges, General Counsel; Judith Morrison, Regional Director for South America and Caribbean; Jill Wheeler, Regional Director for Central America and Mexico; Emilia Rodriguez- Stein, Director for Evaluation; Seth Jesse, Representative for El Salvador; and Cindy Soto, Executive Assistant. Call to Order The Chairman called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. Chairman Salazar began by thanking Mr. Wallace and Mr. Vaughn for their service as Chair and Vice Chair of the Board of Directors, respectively. Approval of Minutes Vice President for Operations Linda Kolko requested a correction to the minutes of the December 15, 2008, Board of Directors meeting. On Page 1, the second paragraph of the President’s Report should read “total funding of $17.1 million” [emphasis added]. Board Member Roger Wallace requested a correction on Page 4. The first sentence in the second full paragraph should read “but need larger US corporate foundations and non- corporate foundations”. The amended minutes were unanimously approved. Chairman Salazar highlighted several follow-up items from the December 15, 2008, meeting minutes. Chairman Salazar asked for an update on FUNDEMEX. Chairman Salazar said Amb. Dodd had mentioned the possibility of partnering with Partners of the Americas (POA) and Amb. Palmer had noted the IAF has a great connection there with President and CEO Stephen Vetter. Ms. Morrison noted Mr. Vetter participated in the panel for IAF and RedEAmérica at the VI Inter-American Conference on CSR in Colombia in December 2008. Ms. Kolko said POA is a great organization. However, it has lost its core funding from USAID and they have met with us in the past seeking additional funding. Chairman Salazar agreed we do not need to encourage groups that need money; we need to find people who want to help us. Ms. Kolko said POA has a great network throughout the region and some of its partner organizations have applied for and received grants from the IAF. Chairman Salazar asked Ms. Morrison about the status of working with Monterrey Tech to create a virtual RedEAmérica training module. Chairman Salazar asked Ms. Wheeler about the North American Development Bank. Chairman Salazar asked Ms. Hodges about the status of the Foreign Assistance Act reform. At the last Board meeting, we had some discussion about how to position the IAF. Mr. Wallace later circulated an article, Foreign Aid: What Works and What Doesn't, by Nicholas Eberstadt and Carol C. Adelman; Development Policy Outlook, AEI Online; October 27, 2008. Ms. Hodges agreed that those types of articles have been very helpful to us, for example, in preparing the Congressional Budget Justification. It is not about revamping what the IAF does, but how we talk about what we do. Chairman Salazar asked Ms. Hodges about the Social Investment and Economic Development Fund for the Americas. Ms. Hodges said it has not been reintroduced in the 111th Congress. Chairman Salazar asked about the status of the agency white paper. Chairman Salazar asked Ms. Kolko about updating the IAF logo and a new tagline. Chairman Salazar asked if there were any developments on Advisory Council Member Wendy Paulson’s question if there was a systematic way for the IAF to be included in CODELS. Chairman Salazar highlighted items that were discussed at the December 15, 2008, Advisory Council meeting. Advisory Council Member Anita Perez Ferguson mentioned a New York Times editorial about Latin America and the new Administration. She had suggested it was a prime time for the IAF to submit a letter or op-ed, from the IAF Board Chair or President, about its accomplishments. Ms. Hodges said we considered and discussed it, and unfortunately did not feel that there was an appropriate, attention- grabbing IAF response at that point. Ms. Kolko said it would be difficult to get something published from the head of an agency; perhaps it could come from somebody else. Chairman Salazar said Ms. Perez Ferguson also suggested a special resolution in the House about the IAF’s 40th anniversary. Ms. Hodges said we are working on that and further details will be provided in the Congressional Affairs update. Mr. Wallace mentioned two follow-up items from the December 15, 2008, Board meeting. He asked for the status of Mais Unidos and FIRJAN, the Federation of Industries of the State of Rio de Janeiro. Mr. Wallace also noted the discussion about how the IAF might end up moving some of our grantees into the carbon sequestration 2 movement. He asked whether there was a point person on the topic, which could ultimately be a significant revenue stream for our grantees. President’s Report Amb. Palmer said it has been quite a dynamic period since the last meeting in December 2008. Much has happened domestically and internationally. One of the most significant events was the Fifth Summit of the Americas in Trinidad & Tobago. Amb. Palmer attended the Private Sector Forum. Ms. Morrison worked closely with Forum Empresa, based in Chile, which was instrumental in organizing a workshop on public-private partnerships and corporate social responsibility. Ms. Kolko said over the past five years, in collaboration with the US Mission to the OAS and the Summit Secretariat, the IAF has been sponsoring the participation of civil society in the Summit process. The IAF supported African descendants and persons with disabilities to attend the Civil Society Forum this year. Ms. Kolko noted that when she attended the OAS General Assembly in Colombia in June 2008, 16 ambassadors acknowledged the importance of combating racism and working to improve the quality of life for persons with disabilities. The civil society organizations are negotiating with their own governments, like we do in the US, and we can be proud of supporting civil society which State Department also feels is very important. Amb. Palmer emphasized that the IAF supported both civil society and the corporate sector at the Summit. A number of CEOs attended the Private Sector Forum. One message that came through was that the corporations, even though they understand finances are tight, said they wanted to keep the corporate sector involved in their social responsibilities. The keynote speaker of the session, “Recommendations for Public/Private Partnerships Summit Implementation”, was scheduled to be the President Martín Torrijos of Panama. However, he could not make it and was replaced by US Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis. Amb. Palmer had a chance to talk with Secretary Solis, who was supportive of the IAF when she was on the Hill. Ms. Hodges added that Secretary Solis was the co-sponsor of our Dear Colleague letter in recent years. Amb. Palmer said Secretary Solis remembered the IAF and what we do. She said if there was anything she could do to help from where she is now, she would be happy to do it. Ms. Hodges noted that Secretary Solis took to her new post her former legislative director, Megan Uzell, with whom we have a great relationship.