Denver's Home for Rope and AErial Art

We, as Studio Friction Board Members, dedicate ourselves to carrying out the vision of this organization, as a place to incubate the future of the art of kinbaku play at the intersection of rope and aerial art and create community, while consciously creating a culture of inclusion and openness. We will strive to do the following:

• Serve with respect, concern, courtesy, and responsiveness in carrying out the organization’s vision.
• Recognize that the chief function of Studio Friction at all times is to serve the best interests of our entire constituency as a whole.
• Accept as a personal and Board-wide duty the responsibility to keep up-to-date on emerging issues that affect our members and to conduct ourselves with professional competence, fairness, efficiency, and effectiveness.
• Respect the structure and responsibilities of the board, provide the board with facts and advice as a basis for making policy decisions, and uphold and implement policies adopted by the board.
• Exercise the discretionary authority we have under the law to carry out the vision of the organization.
• Refuse to initiate, participate in, condone or ignore any forms of harassment, and stop and report/attempt to resolve any incidents of inappropriate, discriminatory, harassing, or abusive behavior we may be witness to. 
• Demonstrate the highest standards of personal integrity, truthfulness, honesty, and fortitude in all our activities in order to inspire confidence and trust in our activities.
• Respect and protect the privileged information and privacy of community members as well as board matters to which we have access in the course of our official duties.
• Avoid any interest or activity that is in conflict with the conduct of our official duties. See the conflict of interest statement below. 
• Understand that there are implicit and explicit power dynamics between the board and community members. We will be mindful of these dynamics when interacting with and considering our engagement with others. 
• Avoid any situation that could be interpreted as an abuse of power within the community, including but not limited to: Intimidation; coercion; manipulation;  misrepresentation of oneself, the board, or the organization; undermining the efforts of others; disrespectful or discriminatory comments; yelling; name-calling; spreading rumors; withholding information, or purposely providing misinformation or misleading others. 
• Strive for personal and professional excellence and encourage the professional development of others.
• Adopt an attitude of teamwork and openness to new ideas and community input. Attempt collaboration before conflict in the face of challenges and disagreement in search of win/win outcomes.
• Understand, respect, and actively educate ourselves around evolving standard kink consent practices, and antiracism.
• Participate in ongoing organizational JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion) education workshops, as scheduled.
• Follow and uphold all studio rules and hold ourselves and our membership to the standards set by the General Code of Conduct, the Educator’s Code of Conduct (when applicable), the Studio Friction Anti-Harassment Policy, and this Board Code of Conduct. 

Prohibition Against Private Inurement and Procedures for Managing Conflicts of Interest

No member of the Board of Directors shall derive any personal profit or gain, directly or indirectly, by reason of his or her service as a Board member with Studio Friction. Members of the board shall conduct their personal affairs in such a manner as to avoid any possible conflict of interest with their duties and responsibilities as members of the Board. Nevertheless, conflicts may arise from time to time.

a)     It is every Board member’s obligation, in accordance with this policy, to ensure that decisions made by the Board reflect independent thinking. Consequently, in the event that any Board member receives compensation from Studio Friction, such compensation would be determined by and approved by the full Board in advance.

b)    Any conflicts of interest, including, but not limited to financial interests, on the part of any Board Member, shall be disclosed to the Board when the matter that reflects a conflict of interest becomes a matter of Board action, and through an annual procedure for all Board members to disclose conflicts of interest.

c)     When there is a decision to be made or an action to be approved that will result in a conflict between the best interests of Studio Friction and the Board member’s personal interests, the Board member has a duty to immediately disclose the conflict of interest so that the rest of the Board’s decision making will be informed about the conflict.

d)    Any Board Member having a conflict of interest shall not vote or use his or her personal influence to address the matter, and he or she shall not be counted in determining the quorum for the meeting.

e)    All conflicts disclosed to the Board will be made a matter of record in the minutes of the meeting in which the disclosure was made, which shall also note that the Board member with a conflict abstained from the vote [and was not present for any discussion, as applicable] and was not included in the count for the quorum for that meeting.

f)      Any new Board member will be advised of this policy during board orientation and all Board members will be reminded of the Board Member Code of Conduct and of the procedures for disclosure of conflicts and for managing conflicts on a regular basis, at least once a year. 

g)     This policy shall also apply to any Board member’s immediate family or any person acting on their behalf.