ABCT Fireside Chat | March 12, 2026 with Dr. Carolyn Becker

As part of ABCT’s commitment to transparency and accountability, we will hold several member-engagement virtual meetings with the president throughout this year. These online meetings will be open to the entire membership and will see the president responding to questions from a moderator as well as the audience, on matters of organizational importance.

This first meeting focused largely on ABCT Bylaws updates and Board expansion. Past ABCT President Steven Safren spoke with current President Carolyn Becker with additional information provided by ABCT CEO Courtney White.

See the timestamps for each question below.

02:25: Why expand the ABCT Board Size?
04:46: Did you want to say anything about why we’re choosing to make this change now?
05:30: Did you want to say anything else about challenges and opportunities in regards to this proposed board expansion?
06:32: Is this change related to a new strategic plan or growth initiative?
09:42: What about legal council and legal issues related to this change?
10:21: Discussion of ABCT insurance and liability
11:20: What is the timeframe for implementing these changes?
12:37: I’m used to bylaws changes in other organizations being posted as markup of the existing bylaws so [the organization’s members] can see the changes and facilitate voting. Will ABCT do something similar?
15:14: Will these changes incur new costs to the organization?
16:11: What are non-voting Board members?
21:46: How are non-voting board members nominated? Could a member suggest someone [to the board]?
22:40: What about other existing committees, such as Fellows, Membership, or the SIG Committee?
29:27: We’ve seen a lot of discussion about the executive committee. Executive Committee Members are referred to as “ex-officio” in the bylaws, aren’t they also not elected?
32:40: What happens if a member of the board is unable or unwilling to continue serve, and we have a vacancy?
35:20: The proposed expansion from 7 to 13 is intended to broaden representation and perspectives — what are the strategies that ABCT will employ and follow to make sure that [broader representation] happens?
39:25: Discussion about the upcoming WCCBT, June 25–28th, 2026, in San Francisco, CA
41:08: What is the plan to stagger and maintain the stability and attrition of board members?
44:04: The location of ABCT’s 2029 Convention
48:26: An update on the Volunteer Me portal

Don’t miss Fireside Chat #2 – Thursday, May 14, 2:00-3:30 PM ET. Register at the link below!

For further information about the 2026 Presidential Fireside Chats, contact us at [email protected].