Important changes in Governance, Property Management, & Program Management Okay'd at the Annual Meeting

Emerging new faces in leadership; Alexa Telano (BFA '16) and Eric St. James-Lopez (BFA '16), photo center and right, respectively.

The January 28, 2017 Annual Meeting of the DGT Alumni Association's Membership brought new faces to the Governance team of the DGT Alumni Association and the DGT Foundation. Additionally, the appointment of a Property Superintendent was announced, and that position will replace the position previously knows as Resident Property Manager, which was held by Jonathan Levy (Fine Arts '00) who has relocated to Texas. The Gallery House Fellowship Program has been restructured so that it is a program operated by Pratt Students who have been conferred the honorary letters Delta Gamma Theta. 

The Board of Directors of the DGT Alumni Association will now include Eric St. James-Lopez (Fine Arts '16), who was elected Sargent-at-Arms, the fifth position on that Board. Re-elected as Officers of the Board were Gil Gerald (Architecture '74), who will continue as President/Consul, Tom Fiorella (Engineering '74), who will continue as Vice President/Vice Consul, Tom Wong (Engineering '84), who will continue as Treasurer/Quaestor, and Vern Ford (Communications '63), who will continue as Secretary (Scribe). The term for all of these positions is one year.

The DGT Foundation, which was created under a reorganization in 2014, is a tax exempt organization, under IRS Section 501 (c)(3), and it has one member, the DGT Alumni Association, which appoints its Board of Directors. Three individuals were elected to the DGT Foundation's Board. Elected were Gil Gerald (Architecture '74), Tom Wong (Engineering '84) and Alexa Telano (Fine Arts '16). When they meet, the three individuals will elect officers. Because this Board has staggered three-year terms, with no more than one-third of the seats up for election in any given year, a determination, late in implementation, will be made as to which seats will be expiring over the next several years, and when. The Foundation's main role at this time is to serve as the arm that houses the Gallery House Fellowship Program, an educational activity benefiting students. 

With the departure of Jon Levy (Fine Arts '00) and important changes that have occurred in financial management and implemented over the past several years, the position of Resident House Manager was changed by the Board. Paul Fletcher (Fine Arts '97) has been engaged as the Property Superintendent.  He has been hired to perform the work as an independent contractor and this hire was announced at the Annual Meeting. Paul lives in the Clinton Hill neighborhood, and has been renting the refurbished attic space, on the fourth floor, as studio space.  The Board is thrilled that there has been a smooth transition in making these changes. Some of the duties of the Resident House Manager have been eliminated, particularly those dealing with financial transactions and management. Before 2013, much of the check writing and financial management had been provided by the Resident House Manager, and these responsibilities have been gradually shifting away from that position ever since.  All financial transactions are now directly handled by the Treasurer, following an established set of Internal Controls first implemented in 2013. A Bookkeeper, also an independent contractor, currently provides monthly financial record keeping that meets generally acceptable financial accounting standards.  Meeting these standards will no longer be dependent on the skills, or lack thereof, among volunteers serving as officers of the organization. A CPA firm provides accounting advice and preparation of annual tax returns and all required reports to the IRS, New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, New York City Department of Finance, and New York State Department of Law/Charities Bureau. 

The Gallery House Program will move in the direction of being a student run program, somewhat analogous in its independence to the archetypal undergraduate fraternity, with gradually reduced alumni involvement, mostly to consist of coaching and training provided to students as they receive fellowships to develop and produce an exhibit.  The basement unit is now available for rent, and is prioritized for rental to students graduating from the program and awarded the letters Delta Gamma Theta on an honorary basis (Associate or Full Members of DGT Alumni Association).