Sep 19, 2026 | J-KOA National Board Meeting September 2026

Attendees: Koya, Toni, Danielle, Eric, Andrea

Excused: Alex

Notes

• Ice breaker: beyond the fall foliage and changing weather, what does fall mean to you? (10-20 min)

  • Eric: Feeling alright, have lab meeting this week; Fall isn’t a thing here (San Diego) so I don’t feel the passage of time BUT usually Fall is big for family time and travel; would like to see some foliage!!

  • Danielle: Fall was always skipped here lol; Fall is a time for tying up loose ends, planning for the holidays, winding down, etc. Merry Christmas all (:

  • Andrea: Fall is like New Years for me.  Kind of chilly and feels like a good time to connect and take care of yourself

    • Hill we’re all dying on: Apple should be THEEEEE Fall flavor; 

  • Toni: FALL IS LIFE; Fall is my favorite thing; fall is an opportunity to start again

  • Koya: Fall is when everything starts again; Fall is the beginning of the school year so it’s always felt like a beginning

• Member updates (up to 10 min/member) in the following order:

  • National President

    • Reached out to meet with all the Presidents to check in with all of them/their boards

    • Using these meetings to plan for the rest of the year!

    • Koya will verify what legal changes in Colorado has occured

  • National Historian

    • Website Costs

      • Wix Core Plan, which is currently on sale (benefits: free domain for the first year, up to 5 collaborators, 50 GB storage, Basic marketing suite and eCommerce, can accept payments):

        • $312 upfront, covers costs for the next two years excluding domain costs on year 2

        • $423 upfront, covers the cost of the website for the next 3 years excluding domain costs on year 2 & 3

      • If we wanted to go to the Light plan (benefits: free domain for the first year, 2 collaborators, 2 GB Storage, basic marketing suite):

        • $372 upfront, covers the cost for the next 2 years excluding domain costs on year 2

        • $504 upfront, covers the cost of the website for the next 3 years excluding domain costs on year 2 & 3

    • Google Workspace

      • Should be free with our nonprofit status + domain ownership

      • Can make individualized accounts per branch, role, etc. to get everyone off of personal emails when conducting J-KOA business

    • Canva for Nonprofits

      • Free to the org so 

    • Website Update Deadline: October 4 (Sunday)

      • Update boards + pictures

      • Add blog pages

  • National Treasurer

    • Storage issue: so difficult to get in contact with the storage unit company to transfer ownership

      • Koya to call on Monday to follow up

    • Budget (will talk on it at allotted time!)

  • Branch presidents

    • Aurora KOA

      • Block party went great

        • We’ve got a good number of people who left emails to add to the list

        • People took flyers too, so hopefully they’ll reach out! 

      • Budget: the one I proposed was voted on by my local branch. 

        • Need to figure out how to buy things since it seems the cards we have aren’t usable 

      • Science Fair Recruitment 

        • Katlynn and I have been able to speak to AST in a homeroom setting to recruit

        • Speaking in a similar setting to Boston on Monday morning

        • The issue with ast was that Sam will be out soon because of a new kid (congrats!) and Boston was having communication issues. 

        • Those communication issues, however, did keep Christian from organizing a pre-teks outreach event. He’s pivoted to looking at other schools, including at the elementary level

      • AKOA Recruitment-wise

        • We’ve got some flyers that will be put up around campus

        • I’ve spoken to CANB, and the board was asked to speak to their respective programs. 

        • Ask: I would like help with the program admin’s names for those programs that the board doesn’t overlap with. I will speak to immuno and maybe two others if Koya is willing to help with “leftover”. If Koya also has contacts with the other schools that would be helpful! 

        • Board and I will also be reaching out to BGSA and SACNAS.

    • Bay Area KOA

      • Incoming newsletter!!

      • Another article to submit for the website

      • Board retreat went lovely! Went to a marine hospital

      • Thomas is our new historian!

      • Lots of events coming up: october, november and january

        • October 20: Tabling event at seminar with a Nobel Laureate Carolyn Bertozzi 

        • November: New Demo event with the Library 

        • January: Tabling event with this Physics Show Partner

  • National Director

    • Defending this week (go Koya!! We believe in you!!) Will be leaving Colorado in three weeks

    • Last day at Anschutz lab is October 5, starts at new lab in Oahu November 2!

    • Will start check in meetings again

    • Regularly scheduled meetings will be first Saturday of the month moving forward

    • Meeting with compliance officers about updates in CO law about working with minors

    • Address Change: working to get space in office; potentially can use ACC if needed, if not will need another backup!  Preferred before October 12!

• Budget overview (20 min)

  • Budget proposal document here: Final_jkoa-budget-proposal.pdf

  • Budget proposal subject to change! Still sorting out background check costs in relation to school requirements, etc.

  • Vote: Unanimous vote in favor (6-0)

• Background check process review (20 min)

  • Unanimous vote (5-0): The proposed background check framework was approved provisionally, pending Toni’s confirmation on workload and a final review by the compliance officer

  • Framework Details

    • Email list addition: Does not require a background check (to be confirmed)

    • One-time/single outreach events: Background check likely not required — training module sufficient (to be confirmed; may be conditional).

    • Consistent/recurring school engagement (e.g., TEX mentorship): Background check required.

      • Schools may conduct their own background checks, which could satisfy J-KOA’s requirement since the school bears liability — Koya will confirm with insurance agent.

    • Process flow:

      • Regional director identifies volunteers needing checks → notifies Eric (National President)

      • Eric compiles a master list → sends to Toni (National Historian)

      • Toni conducts background checks → results returned as “cleared” or “not cleared”

        • Cleared volunteers: National Historian notifies regional historian for recordkeeping

        • Not cleared: National Historian communicates back to National President

    • Cost: ~$8 per background check in CO, California is ~$25; may increase if additional forms for working with minors are required. 

      • Cost allocation: Background checks fall under the national budget, not regional budgets, since one national person conducts all checks.

• Items that need our compliance officer's approval/review (10 min)

  • Background check + protocol

  • Safety policy plans for materials and events (asking if that needs to be discussed with compliance officer) → Do we need a safety officer?