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Publication deadlines being what they are, I am writing my second presidential column just prior to my first column being published. Thus, I have not been able to receive member feedback or begin the dialogue with members I had hoped regarding goals and future activities of NCFR. Having said that, I want to revisit a little of what I wrote about in my first column and give an update. I mentioned that one of my goals was improving communication between the members, or owners, of NCFR and the Board of Directors. To that end, I had discussions with several members during the recent annual conference and am happy to report that, on the basis of feedback received there, an immediate change is being made to the NCFR website. By the time you read this, there will be a “Contact the Board” link in the footer of each page of the website. My hope is that this will enable members to easily share thoughts, ideas, or concerns with the Board of Directors that they would like considered. Members can expect a response from me, on behalf of the board, to each message. Although this in no way is the end of our plans for enhancing avenues for member–board communication, I do hope it is a helpful step.

I also want to build on my first column by continuing the discussion of NCFR’s Global Ends. One of the things I have come to understand much better since joining the board is how pivotal the Global Ends are in guiding the activity of the organization. Even though I had been a member of the organization and in leadership positions for decades, I was not fully aware of this, and I assume other members may not be as well. Our organization is currently guided by three Global Ends:

1. NCFR will provide opportunities for professional development and knowledge development in the areas of family research, theory, education, policy, and practice.
2. NCFR will support the dissemination and application of research- and theory-based information about the well-being of families.
3. NCFR will represent the scholars and professionals in Family Science by establishing standards for research, education, and practice and by advocating for the development and advancement of the discipline and the professions of Family Science.

Each goal is further developed and I encourage you to read the full Global Ends Policy Statement at ncfr.org/global-ends. I like to think of these ends as being inward focused, respectively, on the professional needs of members, outward focused on the needs and well-being of families, and discipline focused on the promotion of our field of study and practice.

In thinking of the first Global End, the organization has worked hard in recent years to keep pace with the varied professional needs of the members. An example of an initiatives growing out of this global end is the webinar series on topics such as implicit bias, family resource management, and the upcoming webinar on latent class analysis. For a complete list of future and accessible past webinars see ncfr.org/webinars. More recent examples of initiatives to address members’ professional development include the NCFR Résumé and Curriculum Review Program (ncfr.org/mentoring-academy).

I wrote at length in my first column that expanding NCFR’s effort related to the second Global End is a priority for me during my tenure as president. I encourage you to reread that column (found at ncfr.org/leslie-winter-2019) if you have questions regarding NCFR’s work on using our research to promote policies and practices that serve the needs of families. Finally, NCFR has long been engaged in efforts related to the third Global End, both through the CFLE program and through implementation of the recommendations of the Future of Family Science task force, which was convened in 2014. Over the next few months, the Board of Directors will revisit the recommendations of this task force to see where progress has been made and to identify work yet to done.

I would invite all members to consider these three Global Ends. The board is interested in hearing from you, both as to whether you think any revisions are needed in our global ends and as to any recommendations you may have for furthering these global ends. You are the owners of the organization, and the board needs your input to assure that we are on track. I look forward to hearing from you.