Meeting Minutes April 15, 2025

Attendees:

Name	Attendance	Role	Voting Seat (Y/N)
Nick Cook	No	Secretary	N
Nori Nishigaya	No	Chair	Y
Darlington Wleh	Yes	Vice Chair	Y
Yuki Oshi (Yuta)	Yes	Member/Seat	Y
Matthew Capps	Yes	Member/Seat	Y
Katarina Ciric	No	Member/Seat	Y
Ben Hart	Yes	Member/Seat	Y
Sheldon Hunt	No	Member/Seat	Y
Akheel Fouze	Yes	Member/Seat	Y
Ha Nguyen	Yes	Member/Seat	Y
Sanjaya Wanigasekera	Yes	Member/Seat	Y

Other Attendees:

• Daniel Ribar

• Gnobudy John

• Hannah Williams

• Kriss Baird

• Lloyd Duhon

• Olivier Rishi Matabaro

Recording: Membership & Community Committee - Meeting 2025/04/15 - Recording

Transcript: Membership & Community Committee - Meeting 2025/04/15 - Transcript

Chat Transcript: Membership & Community Committee - Meeting - 2025/04/15 - Chat

Intros

Nori: Andamio, ODIN, Bridge Builders

Darlington: TBD

Tex: Open Source Program Manager, Intersect Staff, OSC/MCC Secretary

Katarina: TBD

Sheldon: TBD

Benjamin: TBD

Yuta: ICC, Japan Hub Manager

Matthew: Elected member, WG lead, Employed by IO

Sanjaya: TBD

Akheel: Logistician by profession

Ha: Eastern Cardano Council-ICC Member, Cardano Ambassador, DRep Pioneer Leader

Agenda 4.15.25

• See Agenda Here: April 15th, 2025 MCC Meeting Agenda

Decisions/Actions

• The committee will switch back to weekly meetings until the budget goes on-chain.

• The weekly meetings will be 90 minutes long, but can end early if the agenda is completed.

• The weekly meetings will start on the hour.

• An additional one-hour meeting will be added on the off weeks at 1 PM UTC.

• The membership support line item will be tabled and not submitted.

• The committee will focus on the proposals that align with the MCC goals.

• The committee will use the quality of the proposal to determine if it should be reviewed.

• The committee will use the provided template to review the proposals.

• Akheel and Darlington will collaborate to define criteria for aligning proposals with MCC goals before the next meeting.

• The new meeting invite should be accepted.

• The old meeting invite should be discarded.

Topic	Discussion	Action Items
Meeting Time/Scheduling Issues	Several attendees noted confusion and changes regarding the meeting start time. Terence McCutcheon apologized and committed to fixing the scheduling. Hannah Williams and Matthew Capps highlighted the difficulty of early morning meetings, suggesting a start on the hour. Terence proposed adding one-hour sessions on off-weeks at 1 PM UTC for three to four occurrences to alleviate meeting stress.	Terence McCutcheon: Ensure meeting invites are accurate and consistent. Schedule additional one-hour meetings on off-weeks at 1 PM UTC for the next 6-8 weeks.
Quorum and Meeting Commencement	The meeting started without full quorum (5 members needed). Nori Nishigaya pinged Darlington Wleh. The group decided to share information and wait for the chair if needed, but could not make decisions until quorum was met. Ben's arrival established quorum.	Nori Nishigaya: Continue to ping absent members at the start of meetings.
Attendance and Introductions	Attendees checked in and introduced themselves. Ha Nguyen noted a course interfering with voice clarity, and Kriss Baird mentioned being tired but energized. Benjamin Hart apologized for being late.	None
Nick's Absence and Support	Terence McCutcheon is stepping in for Nick, who is occupied with other commitments. Terence offered to provide additional support.	Terence McCutcheon: Follow up with Nick to coordinate support and get updates on delayed items (e.g., membership/education budget submissions).
MCC Tracker and Updates	The MCC tracker on the work tracker needs to be updated. Budget submission for hubs proposal is complete. Membership and education budget submissions are pending.	Terence McCutcheon: Ping Nick for updates on membership and education budget submissions and ensure the MCC tracker is updated.
Intersect Elections	Voting for Intersect elections opens tomorrow (Wednesday) at noon UTC for a three-week period, with over 100 candidates.	None
Increased Meeting Frequency	Nick suggested moving to a weekly meeting cadence until the budget period concludes for tighter coordination. Darlington Wleh asked for a consensus on weekly meetings, and attendees generally agreed to keep them at 90 minutes but end early if possible. Benjamin Hart and Matthew Capps requested starting meetings on the hour.	Darlington Wleh: Confirm the new weekly meeting schedule at the same time, with a potential 90-minute slot but ability to end early. Terence McCutcheon: Adjust meeting invites to start on the hour.
Community Hubs Budget Proposal	Hannah Williams confirmed the Community Hubs budget proposal was submitted last week and they are addressing comments and tweaking the original proposal.	Hannah Williams: Continue to address comments and refine the Community Hubs budget proposal.
Overlapping Hubs Proposals	Matthew Capps raised concerns about proposals overlapping with the Community Hubs concept. He suggested integrating them into the existing framework and drawing on those proposers as partners. Nori Nishigaya agreed, suggesting MCC advise these proposals to apply under the overall Community Hubs budget. Hannah Williams asked how best to communicate this to proposers.	MCC Members: Draft a statement advising overlapping proposals to integrate with the Community Hubs framework. MCC Members: Reach out to proposers of overlapping initiatives and invite them to collaborate with the Community Hubs.
Membership Support Budget	There was confusion regarding the purpose and need for a "membership support" budget line item. Matthew Capps, Nori Nishigaya, and Darlington Wleh questioned its clarity and whether it duplicated Intersect operational budget. The committee decided to table this item for now.	Darlington Wleh: Officially remove the membership support budget proposal for the current cycle.
Budget Proposal Review Process/Criteria	Nori Nishigaya expressed difficulty evaluating proposals without clear community goals or benchmarking. Terence McCutcheon introduced a review template for analyzing proposals, including quality, logic, and feasibility, and suggested using it for endorsed proposals. There was discussion about whether to comment on all proposals or only endorsed ones. Yuta suggested creating criteria for proposals that should go to Catalyst instead of the main budget.	Darlington Wleh, Akheel F, Nori Nishigaya: Develop clear criteria for endorsing or declining proposals. Committee Members: Begin using the provided review template for proposals deemed aligned with MCC goals.
Role of MCC in Endorsing Proposals	Nori Nishigaya questioned the value and significance of MCC's endorsement. Lloyd Duhon clarified that endorsement means the committee believes a proposal meets a set goal or aligns with MCC's objectives, such as those in their original proposal. He emphasized "best efforts" due to time constraints and suggested committees can recommend proposals go to Catalyst if they fit there.	MCC Members: Prioritize review efforts on proposals that clearly align with MCC goals and objectives.
Spreading Workload for Reviews	Lloyd Duhon suggested spreading the review workload among committee members. Darlington Wleh proposed that Nori Nishigaya, himself, or others could quickly filter proposals based on alignment with MCC goals, and then assign the aligned ones for detailed review using the template.	Darlington Wleh & Akheel F: Collaborate to draft high-level criteria for aligning proposals with MCC goals before the next meeting. MCC Members: Prepare to individually review assigned proposals using the provided template once the high-level filtering is complete.
Timeline for Budget Submission	The first round of applications will have a snapshot taken around the 24th, emphasizing the need for timely feedback to aid the reconciliation process.	All MCC Members: Prioritize completing proposal reviews and feedback by the snapshot date.
MCC Goals Revisit	Darlington Wleh identified Community Hubs, Education, and Catalyst as the three clear MCC goals. Nori Nishigaya suggested revisiting the "Terms of Reference" document (v.01 Google Slide, slide 10) for other established committee goals, such as fostering a thriving Cardano community, membership sales, account management, and community support.	Darlington Wleh & Akheel F: Review the "Terms of Reference" document (especially slide 10) to incorporate all MCC goals into the criteria for proposal alignment.