By Sue Shinomiya

The SIETAR USA Board of Directors and leadership team held a productive and inspiring retreat in Portland, Oregon, in March 2025! What happens at a Board Retreat? Some members have asked that question, so we provide you with a glimpse into our time together, the activities, discussions, who was there, and some conclusions.

One of the benefits of being on the Board is our opportunity to collaborate in person at our annual retreat. During our weekend in downtown Portland, we reflected on SIETAR USA’s current situation and how we can continue to build and grow our organization and community with strategic planning and future initiatives. Facilitated by Tatyana Fertelmeyster, along with Sue Shinomiya and Jon DeVries, we held valuable discussions and brainstorming sessions on what our organization can do in the current challenging environment to support our members. By holding an in-person meeting, we achieved our goals for building strong relationships and fostering collaboration on our team. We identified key areas of focus: Membership and leadership outreach, collaboration with other organizations, new activities to sustain our organization, and grow our IC and DEIB community.

(pictured above from left to right: Sandra Fowler, Monica Mumford (sitting), Hannah Strack (standing), Jon DeVries, Elmer Dixon, Tatyana Fertelmeyster, and Cheryl Woehr. In the second photo, Dr. Kwezi Ewoodzie joined virtually with Cheryl Woehr and Sue Shinomiya.

A shout-out to Monica Mumford, our Treasurer and logistics coordinator, for her arrangements with the Embassy Suites by Hilton Downtown Portland, which will also be the venue for our 2025 SIETAR USA Conference and 25th Anniversary Celebration to be held November 11 – 15, 2025.

This is a picture of dinner at the hotel on the first evening. From the left: Monica Mumford (Treasurer), Jon DeVries (Leadership Development Director), Cheryl Woehr (Conference Oversight Director), Sandy Fowler (Communications Director), Hannah Strack (Membership, Outreach, and Diversity Director), Elmer Dixon (Immediate Past President), Tatyana Fertelmeyster (Retreat Facilitator and former President), Sue Shinomiya (President).

We were joined by our two Conference Co-chairs, Chris Cartwright and Tessa Sutton (virtually), who brought us up to date on conference planning. They and their team have been working on the Conference Proposals.

The board and Chris hosted a “happy hour” party for local interculturalists, who we hope will join us for the Conference in November. Special thanks to Yoko Sakurauchi and Caliopy Glaros (pictured below with Sue), both on the conference team.

In a process led by former President Elmer Dixon, we discussed how to work towards overcoming racism, individually and as an organization, and what more we can do to support our community members and practitioners who are facing adversity at this time.

We took advantage of this location and enjoyed walks along the waterfront, the Portland Saturday Market, and a few of us visited the beautiful Portland Japanese Garden, with Pilar Montejo as our host.

A big thank you to our Board colleagues for their contributions and collaboration throughout this process: Sue Shinomiya, Monica Mumford, Jon DeVries, Melissa Neu, Hannah Strack, Cheryl Woehr, Sandy Fowler, Elmer Dixon, and Kwezi Edwoodzie, who joined us virtually. Also, our thanks to our Advisory Council members Patricia Malidor Coleman and Rob Pusch, who also joined virtually when possible. We got to know our new Administrative Officer, Cheryl Anne Farmer, who just started working with us in late March - welcome, Cheryl Anne!

We invite leaders in the field to step up and join this wonderful Board team in the various positions that are open right now. Joining the Board in a year with an in-person conference is the best, with many opportunities to interact, collaborate, and lead to help us carry out our mission. We’re also seeking collaborative partnerships with sponsors who share the desire to support intercultural competence-building.

Our action plans will strengthen our ability to sustain and grow our organization and support our membership of intercultural and DEIB practitioners, students, and researchers, and provide transformational learning opportunities to learn, network, and connect. I'm eager to see the positive outcomes as we grow together!

• How do in-person meetings enhance collaboration and decision-making within organizations?
• What role do you believe intercultural collaboration will play in addressing global challenges?
• What cool ideas do you have to grow and sustain our organization financially?
• How would you like to engage with us to help shift the narrative and build a more interconnected, interculturally competent world of the future?
• Is it your turn to step up and join us? Contact us about leadership roles available on the SIETAR USA Board of Directors at info@sietarusa.org.