On 12 December 2010, members of the Sentinel Project met in Toronto to discuss changes to the governance structure of the organization and confirm the new board of directors. Generally speaking, the aim of these changes was to define membership status in the organization, design a board structure, and formally establish the positions of the co-executive directors and their relationship with the board. Notably, the board will be gradually expanded from its current three members to a maximum of twelve, of which a majority will be appointed and some elected by the membership. These twelve seats will be assigned according to our core competencies, including research, technology, fundraising, public relations, non-profit governance, and government liaison. The co-executive directors will have ex officio board membership for the duration of their time in office. The three current members of the board were acclaimed at the meeting with the approval of the membership. They are Christopher Tuckwood (president), Taneem Talukdar (vice-president and treasurer), and Sivan Vaisman (secretary).
Overall, the meeting was very successful and once the by-laws have been amended to reflect these changes the Sentinel Project will be compliant with many of the best practices for non-profits. While procedural matters like governance may at first seem unexciting and detached from our mission of preventing genocide, establishing a strong base like this will make our organization that much more effective.