This week marks the end of the second quarter of our fiscal year.

This week also marks the halfway point in the Academy's $500,000 3-year development plan. In order to grow the Academy, we are seeking $500,000 of income from different sources between January 2005 and December 2007. If commitments from funders and donors are included, we have are at about $220,000 -- we raised 44% of the goal !!!

We have many donors who are giving under $100, and we are very grateful for their support. At the same time, we still need a few major grants or donations -- the ones that will have a big impact on the bottom line. While it would be wonderful to have 1,000 additional members each paying $60, it also would be wonderful to have a $60,000 grant from a single source.

Our newest corporate partner is SalesForce.com, an internet based provider of member-management software and customer relationship management (CRB) software.

I was down in Washington, DC, last week for two days - I flew down on Thursday morning from Boston ($69) and gave a brown-bag lunch at the National Science Foundation. We had about 20 attendees, primarily staff from the International Programs Office and the Division of Elementary, Secondary, & Informal Education Program (ESIE, pronounced easy).

As Fulbright scholars, we have an obvious link with the NSF international office. ESIE is relevant because of the informal education component - informal education refers to projects that develop and implement informal learning experiences designed to increase interest, engagement, and understanding of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by individuals of all ages and backgrounds. They also fund projects that communicate NSF-funded research to public audiences.

Then in the afternoon, I had four meetings: with the director for NSF's program to enhance minority participation in the sciences, the director of the Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program, the new president of the National Capital Area Chapter of the Fulbright Association, and the new alumni coordinator at AmidEast, which administers student Fulbighters from the Middle East. In the evening, there was a reception with additional conversations at the National Geographic Society, hosted by the European Commission - they are building a network of European scientists living in the US, with the goal of luring some of them back to Europe.

Each of these meetings led to new ideas - I am glad we are not based in Washington; otherwise I would always be chasing new leads and not getting projects to completion. On the other hand, it was very nice to leave Washington on Friday morning with verbal promises of over $25,000 to fund projects. (The paperwork has not been finalized, so I can't formally say what the project is or who it is coming from.)

The other nice thing from this week is that we selected the dates for our March 2007 conference in Panama City: March 1-4 (Thurs-Sun). We will be at the El Panama Hotel, a little oasis in the center of the city. When I visited the hotel last month, they were hosting a regional meeting on the national parks and protected areas. That was an unexpected pleasure, because in the 1990's I worked for World Wildlife Fund and IUCN-the World Conservation Union, and my first trip to Latin America was to attend the IVth World Parks Congress in Caracas in 1992.

On the personal side, today was the last day of school for our kids - in the fall they will be in 3rd and 5th grade. As in previous years, we celebrated with a picnic on the beach with a dozen other school families.

The month of May flew past - I was hoping to put a posting up once a week. That obviously did not happen.

The Board of Directors meets once a month via conference call. The June meeting is tomorrow. In preparation for each meeting, I send out a 5-7 page agenda, with information about our programs, our plans, the finances, etc. This makes it easier for us to focus on a few important issues - they have already seen all of the general information. Some board members have been involved for three years, others are newer. We also get together at least once a year for a day-long retreat.

Topics for tomorrow's board meeting are (1) interns; (2) meetings; and (3) volunteers.

(1) As noted in the April 14 Blog, we have several interns with the Academy this summer. They are assisting the Chairs of our existing Study Committees and also may help establish new ones. They also will help with outreach to partners and institutional members. Only one will be based in Maine - her first day was today. The others are based in various cities around the US. (When we select the next group of interns this Fall, I hope to add some based in other countries). The topic for the board is who will supply the funds to pay their stipends - we need one or two sponsors. Some of the interns are already covered, but I am short several thousand dollars.

(2) The May 4 Blog mentions my trip to Panama. The visit was a success, and yesterday we formally announced that Panama will be the site for our March 2007 Conference. We had 140 registered attendees for the March 2006 Conference in Berlin, and we are hoping to double that number in Panama. The 3.5-day conference will have panels and discussions on topics such as ecology, sustainable economic development, chemistry, education, engineering, geography, medicine, and digital learning. Alumni from the region and around the world are involved in the planning. As with the interns (above), sponsors will play a key role in making the program a success - through cash contributions so that we can subsidize participation from low-income Fulbrighters and through in-kind contributions so that we do not need to pay for certain services. Work begins in earnest this month.

(3) In addition to announcing the conference, yesterday's newsletter also included a call for volunteers to advise the Academy and to assist with committees and boards. Within 24 hours, we already had over 40 new volunteers on the roster. Aneta, the new intern at the office, will be taking the lead on contacting them and helping determine how they can best serve the Academy and its members.

I am always impressed by my fellow Fulbrighters - when you ask them to serve, the answer the calling. I am looking forward to getting to know them.