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My decision to run for the Secretariat Position is to continue the work that I have been doing as acting secretariat since December 2014 when Garth took a leave of absence and also have been vice chair.  I have much experience in this area and would like to continue to serve NARALO.  As Secretariat, I have been advancing NARALO's positions and outreach both in the technology area and in the accessibility area where I have been championing the need for captions not only for those with hearing loss but also for those with limited bandwidth and who's native language is not English.  Because of my advocacy on this issue and through the work I and Glenn McKnight have done on the Technology Task Force we have made staff at ICANN aware of this need and they are working working hard to meet these goals, first with a new website and also hopefully with captioning. I hope to do more of this advocacy and outreach to different communities if you elect me as Secretariat.  I am working with Glenn McKnight to create a new template for the RALO monthly reports so that they can be more informative and also give other RALOs a template they can use to write reports. NARALO has its challenges and we need a clear vision and strategy to mobilize more our membership to get involved with NARALO activities. We need more active volunteers and this will require effort and dedication.

I believe strongly in having an open and transparent process that respects the opinions of all our members. It is only by having an open process that people can have trust that their representative will work for them and for what they believe. I will seek consensus opinion and get more of our ALSes involved in different working groups. I have managed the process of obtaining regional advice for new ALSes. I also have worked with Staff to coordinating strategic issues and also for special budget proposals. ALAC approved my submission for a special budget request to run a pilot program for captioning and I am hoping that this is approved by the budget committee. 

In closing, I believe I provide leadership, organizational skills, attention to detail and experience that is an essential combination for the Secretariat position. Here is the link to my SOI which lists the committees and groups I have been active in during my time at ICANN, Judith Hellerstein SOI