The Appraisal Foundation (TAF) Board of Trustees (BOT) recently adopted TAF’s first major governance overhaul in over a decade, making comprehensive changes that completely restructures the BOT, and the ability of any organization to directly appoint someone to the Foundation’s BOT, and introduces a new opportunity for organizations to partner with the Foundation in their mission to build public trust in the appraisal profession, TAF said in a release.

“Today’s (Dec. 13) vote is the culmination of 18 months of hard work by the Board Structure Work Group,” BOT Chair Dayton Nordin said in the release. “The Appraisal Foundation’s boards, and staff have done extensive listening and reflection over the last three years to identify opportunities to be more responsive to stakeholders and better uphold the public trust. I am pleased with our proactive efforts to make The Appraisal Foundation’s governance nimbler and more transparent.”

Other changes to the Foundation’s bylaws include:

• Open new opportunities for stronger, more equitable relationships between the Foundation and the organizations who support its work to promote public trust in the appraisal profession through a system redesign that sunsets the current sponsor category and ability of any organization to make a direct trustee appointment.
• Create a category of organizations called partners. These nonprofit organizations demonstrate their support for TAF by meeting publicly listed benchmarks and can include appraiser membership organizations, users of appraisal services, regulators, fair housing, consumer and civil rights advocates. As confirmed allies who are committed to the Foundation’s mission and vision, partners will be trusted resources to nominate candidates to be considered for the BOT.
• Change the structure of the BOT so that there are nine to 10 trustees nominated by a partner organization and nine to 11 public interest trustees, three of whom are nominated by Foundation councils. All trustees will undergo vetting and public interviews with the Trustee Nominating Committee before being seated.
• Remove earmarks from all seats on the BOT and transition to using targets to ensure equitable representation among stakeholder groups.
• Change nominating committee policy and structure to ensure that no more than half of each nominating committee is comprised of partner-nominated trustees.
• Streamline BOT’s committee structure.
• Update trustee terms and term limits so that all trustees can serve up to two four-year terms.
• Streamline the BOT’s leadership structure to enhance continuity and stability. This approach not only promotes efficiency but also provides a clear trajectory for individuals progressing through the leadership ladder, ensuring that their roles are well-defined and understood for the upcoming year.

Each new trustee will be assigned a mentor and will have regular check-ins with the Oversight Subcommittee to discuss their development as a trustee.

The BOT will appoint an Ad Hoc Review Committee to examine issues of governance and board structure at regular intervals to determine if any further changes are needed.