IDI Board Meets in Stockbridge

- By David Fromm

On February 22 and 23, 2016, the IDI Board met at the Austen Riggs Center in Stockbridge, Massachusetts to take up several issues relating to the group’s work and future.

IDI President Vamik Volkan began the meeting by announcing his intention to step down as President, and nominating Gerard Fromm to take his place.  Dr. Fromm accepted the nomination and the Board voted unanimously to confirm him.  The Board also voted to appoint Dr. Volkan as President Emeritus in recognition of his founding of, and ongoing contributions to, the IDI.

The Board then presented the IDI and its work to the new CEO of the Austen Riggs Center, Dr. Andrew Gerber, and his staff, including Dr. Jane Tillman, Director of the Erikson Institute, and Dr. Donna Elmendorf, Erikson Institute liaison to the IDI.  The purpose of the presentation was to explore the ongoing relationship between the IDI, now a registered 501(c)(3) charitable organization, and the Austen Riggs Center, particularly the Erikson Institute.  While by mutual agreement the IDI is no longer a formal project of the Erikson Institute, both groups felt a relationship between the mission of the IDI and the application task of the Erikson Institute.  The groups discussed how the IDI might be of assistance to the Erikson Institute, in the form of training, consultation, mentoring or networking.

The Board discussed IDI membership, agreeing on goals of adding diversity to the Board, broadening membership and cultivating a next generation of IDI members. The Board subsequently invited longtime IDI members Deniz Ulke Aribogan and Hiba Husseini to join in the work of directing the IDI.

The Board also discussed project proposals and funding initiatives.

The Board closed by setting the date and location of the next IDI meeting.  The fourteenth meeting of the IDI will be held on December 2-4, 2016, at the Bahcesir University campus in Berlin, Germany.

 

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