Ibulliance: Getting on Board
During the Tudor period of Europe, a dining table was really just a set of legs and an unattached plank set up as needed. In a landowner's Great Hall, this long table—called a board because, well, it is one—would serve a midday meal to the laborers working all day in the fields. That is, unless you had agreed to stay the night, in which case you'd receive room and board, meaning a bed and a seat at the table. While most perched on benches at either side of the board, the landowner sat at the head of the table and dispensed the daily wages. Paid honestly, it would be an above board transaction, as opposed to a devious dealing under the table. Even mothers' manners which insist no elbows lean on the table stem from this era when doing so might have upended the whole board!
The Norse word, børd, meaning plank, bloomed over time to spawn board games, boarding schools (think Harry Potter meals in the Great hall), boards of directors, and from that chair at the end, Chairman of the Board. I remember this as I sit down with the Ibu Board of Directors, that we are gathering around a simple plank, one where we share nourishing meals, where we transact in all things above board, where no one has the weight to upend the strength of the whole, where we hold seats for women all over the world to join us.
I've recently moved to that chair at the end where, together with the Board, we decided I might best use my time and abilities for the growing work of Ibu—spreading the word to allies, holding the vision, strategizing bold moves forward, gathering friends and supporters, overseeing the whole. With me at this world atable is a small group of committed and fearless leaders.
Ibu Board members Sandra Smith, Dayanne Danier, Amanda Flynn
Sandra Smith, whose years of life and work in Singapore as well as non-profit experience in Cambodia shape her worldview; Dayanne Danier, whose family background and artisan work ground her in the challenging creative life of Haiti; and Amanda Flynn, who heard a call in Africa when an Ibu Adventure turned her head and heart toward this work with women there. We're joined by two new Board members, Jacque Mayfield, formerly Board President at the Aspen Institute Artisan Alliance, who led artisan trips to Laos and Thailand and continues to bring the world to Ibu; and Christy Durbin, who travels, magician-like, through the world of online commerce building a fair and profitable world there for women.
The Board has welcomed our brilliant Operations Officer, Beth Lin, to lead the Ibu Team as Chief Executive Officer. In her past year at Ibu, Beth has brought her global background—Director of Sales for over 100 L'Occitane stores in her native Brazil, positions in Sales, Trade Marketing, and Finance through brands like NIVEA in Germany, MontBlanc in New York, and Proctor & Gamble.
Her parents immigrated from Taiwan to Brazil, meaning that not only her language skills but her cultural skills and sensitivities span the globe, just like Ibu. I could not be more delighted to work alongside Beth whose strengths brings to mine a certain completion, offering competencies in areas I can not. I am thrilled about this alignment, this wholeness I feel as we work together. As I watch her strengthen internal processes and oversee the organization while setting her sights high for our global partners, I am right there with her, Creative Director, Founder, and President of the Board. You have to bring the poetry, she says, smiling.
Whether I am gathered around the board with directors, or with Beth and the bright lights of our team, I know one thing. This endless table gathers women from all over this world, laborers, all of us, giving our better selves to each other and to the work of re-enchanting the world. It starts with sitting down together, leaning in, and breaking bread—brown bread and bánh mì, challah and chapati, injera and lavash and naan and roti, tortilla and Texas toast and all manner of nourishment, made by hand, of course. This is the board where I want to serve. This is the table where I want to gather. With directors and Beth and team, with women of the world, and you. This is how change happens—when we all get on board.
All the Best, SHW Creative Director + Founder
We offer our deepest thanks to two stalwart and generous members of the Ibu Foundation Board who are rotating off after luminous contributions and significant leadership. Their legacy endures!
Monica Seeger
Ibu Foundation Board member and Treasurer | 2019 - 2024
Monica Seeger began traveling the globe with our founder, Susan, in the earliest days of Ibu, and hasn't stopped. One of our earliest Board members, Monica brought effervescence to every event, business acumen to her role as Treasurer; hospitality to artisans in her home, and shaped Ibu into a movement of joy, humor, goodness, and bold delight.
Austin Walker
Ibu Foundation Board Chairman and member | 2021 - 2024
Austin Walker was an instrumental in founding Ibu in 2013, guiding the business of the burgeoning Movement. He agreed to return in 2021 to serve on the Board, and lead as Chairman, overseeing the gift of Ibu, LLC to the non-profit and its restructuring. His imprint is lasting, part of the Ibu DNA, marking our work with efficiency, kindness, respect, and his always generous spirit.
I am grateful beyond telling for these two human beings and the good fortune I have had to walk, travel, and work side by side with them in the grand adventure of Ibu. Their presence in the history of this movement is legend!
~ Susan Hull Walker
