May 11 2026
Attendees:
Name
Attendance
Role
Voting Seat (Y/N)
Jack Briggs
Yes
Executive Director
Y
James Meidinger
Yes
Community Member Seat
Y
Thiago Nunes
Yes
Community Member Seat
Y
Kristijan Kowalsky
Yes
Community Member Seat
Y
Jose Miguel de Gamboa
Yes
Community Member Seat
Y
Georg Link
No
OSC Chair
Y
Samuel Leathers
Yes
Product Chair
Y
Maureen Wepngogn
Yes
MCC Chair
Y
Megan Hess
Yes
CBC Chair
Y
Kevin Hammond
Yes
TSC Chair
Y
Tim Harrison
No
GMC Chair
Y
Nicolas Cerny
Yes
CCC Chair
Y
Lorenzo Bruno
No
Head of Product & Membership
Y
Larisa Mcfarlane
Yes
Head of Ecosystem & Community
Y
Nick Cook
No
Head of Operations (Interim)
N
Bosko Majdanac
Yes
Secretary of TSC
N
Abhik Nag
Yes
Secretary of MCC
N
Lloyd Duhon
Yes
Secretary of Budget Committee
N
Terence McCutcheon
Yes
Secretary of OSC
N
Lara Bonasorte
Yes
Secretary of GMC
N
Thomas Lindseth
Yes
Secretary of CCC
N
Additional Attendees:
Adam Rusch - Member of the Board
Rand McHenry - Member of the Board
Laura Mattiucci - Vice Chair of GMC
Kyle Solomon - Vice Chair of Product Committee
Ken-Erik Ølmheim - Vice Chair of Civics
Fred Tanaka - Former member of the ISC
Mike Hornan - Observer
Selin Rhayem - Observer
Valeria Devaux - Observer
Agenda:
New Elected Members
Committee Updates
Committee Election Update & Onboarding
AOB
Discussion/Actions
1. Opening & ISC Elections Update
The meeting opened with attendance confirmation and introduction of the newly elected ISC members:
Thiago Nunes
James Meidinger
An overview was provided of the ISC structure, including:
3 Intersect staff voting seats
4 community-elected ISC seats
Committee chairs serving as voting members
It was confirmed that onboarding activities for newly elected members are underway, including:
Access to documentation and communication channels
Dedicated onboarding workshop sessions scheduled for the following week
Introduction to ISC meeting cadence and governance structure
The ISC also acknowledged and thanked outgoing elected members Fred Tanaka and Sheldon Hunt for their service.
2. Budget Process & Administration Update
An update was provided on the ongoing 2026 budget process:
The submission phase closed with 69 submitted proposals
Off-chain voting in Hydra/Ekklesia is scheduled to begin on 26 May
Additional community engagement and proposal feedback is expected during the remaining review period
Updates were also shared regarding administration tooling and smart contract improvements:
Significant UX and dashboard improvements are being implemented
A new version of the administration smart contract is being prepared with additional functionality
Migration planning from the current contract instance to the new version is underway
Additional progress:
Intersect is preparing to offer stablecoin support and hedging services (e.g., USDM/USDX) for administered initiatives
The FY25 annual report is being finalized using the Reeve reporting platform
3. Governance, Reporting & Community Confidence
Discussion focused on the importance of:
Providing clearer visibility into progress of 2025 funded projects
Improving confidence and transparency for DReps and the wider community
Ensuring community members can assess vendor delivery and milestone progress before voting on future proposals
An existing milestone and delivery reporting document covering administered projects through March was highlighted, with recognition that stronger communication and visibility of these reports is still needed.
Discussion also acknowledged ongoing community debate regarding governance decisions and election-related actions. It was emphasized that:
Transparency and process integrity remain critical
Intersect must carefully balance accountability, fairness, and community trust
4. Committee Updates
Technical Steering Committee (TSC) reported continued progress toward the Van Rossum hard fork, with preview already upgraded and pre-production testing underway. Mainnet governance action submission remains targeted for 29 May. The committee also shared updates on the Plutus cost model rollout, Constitutional Committee minimum size proposal sequencing, tooling readiness, and ongoing discussions around post-quantum strategy and linear throughput scaling assumptions. The TSC budget proposal has now been submitted and is entering broader community review.
Civics Committee confirmed the launch of the Constitutional Committee election process through the governance platform, with the application window remaining open until 7 June. The committee also continues testing and refinement of the constitutional amendment process tooling and reviewing early community and DRep sentiment related to its submitted budget proposal.
Budget Committee discussed the current budget review phase and the challenge of helping voters navigate proposals without introducing bias. The committee noted the importance of providing useful context and supporting information to improve proposal evaluation and community understanding during the upcoming voting period.
Growth & Marketing Committee (GMC) provided updates asynchronously in chat, including ongoing ecosystem engagement activities and proposal-related discussions.
Product Committee was referenced indirectly through ongoing governance and proposal discussions, though no dedicated verbal update was provided during the session.
5. Committee Elections & Onboarding
A detailed update was provided regarding committee onboarding:
102 candidates participated across all committees
187 unique members voted
Multiple X Spaces and Virtual Hub sessions were held during the election process, generating strong engagement and discussion
Newly elected committee members:
Have received onboarding materials and access to platforms
Will participate in onboarding workshops during the following week
Are beginning participation in committee meetings and working sessions
Discussion also covered upcoming Chair & Vice Chair elections:
Elections are expected to take place during June via the Member Area voting system
Members discussed balancing consistency across committees with allowing enough onboarding time for new members before leadership elections occur
6. Governance Process & Member Participation
Discussion focused on improving:
Feedback loops between members, committees, ISC, and the Board
Visibility of committee work and ongoing initiatives
Mechanisms for members to raise ideas, requests, and governance concerns
It was acknowledged that:
Existing governance structures and supporting documentation have significantly improved compared to previous years
Further work is still needed to ensure members feel heard and connected to decision-making processes
There was also discussion around reviewing:
Committee incentives and participation structures
Governance working group priorities and future process improvements
7. Committee Naming & Ecosystem Positioning Discussion
A discussion was held regarding use of the term “Cardano” in committee names (e.g., “Cardano Budget Committee”).
Key themes included:
Clarifying that committees support work for the broader Cardano ecosystem rather than acting as governing authorities over Cardano itself
Ensuring communication avoids perceptions of overreach or centralized authority
Recognition that some community criticism stems from broader concerns about Intersect’s role within the ecosystem
Participants generally agreed that:
Messaging and communication clarity are more important than simply renaming committees
Intersect should continue emphasizing its role as a collaborative, member-based coordination organization rather than a controlling authority
8. Actions & Next Steps
Committees - Support onboarding of newly elected members
Last updated