202007 July 2020 Global Board Meeting

### Overview The OWASP July 2020 Global Board of Directors meeting addressed critical operational, financial, and governance matters facing the organization amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Key items discussed included the approval of meeting minutes, reviews of executive director and finance reports, the creation of an Education and Training Committee, the status of regional and global conferences transitioning to virtual formats, election timelines, and proposed bylaw amendments regarding board member term limits and eligibility.

### Key Topics - **Financial Status & Cash Reserves**: Tom presented the financial update showing revenues through June were roughly $26,000 ahead of forecast, partially because conference income cushioned deficits in memberships and donations. Total net deficit stood at approximately $112,000 to $166,500 year-to-date. Cash on hand was around $1.465 million at the end of June, projected to decline to around $1 million by year-end. A central concern discussed was OWASP's reliance on conferences as an "events company" and assessing whether the foundation would have a sufficient cash runway into 2021 if physical conferences remain halted. - **Executive Director Report & External Affiliations**: Andrew van der Stock provided updates on membership growth (+61 net), website traffic (554k visitors), and declining service desk tickets. He announced policy community reviews, the move to fully virtual events, and that OWASP joined the Linux Foundation and the Open Source Security Foundation (OpenSSF), with board member Sherif Mansour appointed to the OpenSSF board. - **Education Committee Approval**: Grant sponsored a motion to formally approve the establishment of the Education and Training Committee following the Committee 2.0 structure, led by community members Adrian and John. The motion passed unanimously (7–0). - **Virtual vs. Regional Events Strategy**: The board evaluated how to address cancellations of major regional conferences (such as AppSec California and AppSec Cali/Dublin concerns). Discussion centered on providing chapters with virtual event tooling (e.g., StreamYard) and guidance rather than the central foundation taking over regional conferences, avoiding brand dilution and staff burnout. - **Bylaw Amendments on Board Eligibility & Term Limits**: Significant debate occurred regarding compliance committee recommendations to clarify board term limits. Specifically, discussions focused on whether filling a partial vacancy should count as a full term or count toward term limits, how to measure time served (e.g., splitting by one year or setting a five-year cap), and the ethics of altering eligibility rules immediately prior to the upcoming election cycle when it could directly impact sitting board members. The topic was deferred for further public discussion and separated into discrete votes.