This was the transition year for APTA’s governance model. The new board of directors, elected at last year’s annual conference, immediately embraced its new status. The board held its very first virtual meeting on Jan. 7, and adopted a new paradigm for its relationship with its executive committee, a communications strategy to make working among 106 directors manageable, and a series of strategic issues to tackle over the course of the upcoming two years.

The board built on that communications strategy and accomplished its primary strategic goal on July 26. In a meeting that seamlessly combined live and virtual attendance, the board unanimously selected Michael P. Melaniphy as APTA’s new president & CEO.

Keenly aware of the need to facilitate committees’ ability to bring important policy issues to the board, the board’s communication strategy envisioned a path for committee chairs to raise important issues. That strategy was tested and proven over the course of the year as the Business Member Board of Governors asked the board to consider whether APTA should create a connected Political Action Committee. The board heard a report on the matter, directed the executive committee to gather additional information from throughout APTA and beyond, received the report, and decided the issue over a period of just two months, proving its agility and ability to act outside the confines of semi-annual live meetings.