at re-procurement and of course, the decalporate being the pandemic and what we had to do in terms of be reactive to the new reality of decreased revenues and the ongoing discussions we had relative to continue the program, continue as much as we could and in my opinion, you really are doing it of the original procurement with what was a decrease in revenues or in decreasing resources. So thank you for your flexibility and I just wanted to note that for the record. And also just going back to some of the updates from the Game Sense program relative to the new reality at the casinos with social distancing. I know you, Marlene and Chelsea and Marc have heard me say this, but I also wanna mention it for the record. There was from the very beginning that we started this program, the evaluation, this is pre-pandemic. There was this sort of focus on the number of interactions. And of course, that's not the end all and the deal. The quality of interactions is really what matters. And it's not surprising and it's understandable that those interactions would be down. And I wanna again mention that Game Sense advisors are very good at detecting at the opening, detecting the comfort level that people may have or not have relative to those interactions because ultimately what we're all trying to achieve is to build that trust. So I don't want anybody in the Game Sense program to be artificially incentivized and I know they're not to try to meet a level of interactions compared to the reality that we had before the pandemic only for the sake of trying to make numbers or hit numbers because there's many other measures. It will continue to measure and I'm glad that we are. That has become a practice of the council to record all the interactions, to record the meaningfulness versus the simple ones. But I know that they're not being artificially incentivized to try to hit numbers because we are in an entirely new phase when you come to the comfort level that some people may have. Well, I could argue by the way that if somebody already took the steps to go to a casino their comfort level interacting with people may be higher. But again, we appreciate your slide about the comparison one year in and out but we more than anyone else understand that it's a different environment than one that we should not be taking right. So those were my remarks. Thank you for your presentation and again, congratulations on the rebranding. Commissioner Bryan, Commissioner Stevens, Commissioner Cameron. Madam Chair, I'll jump in. First of all, my congrats to Mark and Theresa and Marlene and Chelsea as well as the game sense advisors. We don't also want to thank Ken. Ken, if you were working, you got to be pretty tired. If you're working tonight, you probably need to get some sleep but thank you for your time and your great work. You know, the interesting piece of this presentation is Commissioner Zuniga was alluding to as pointed out as the kind of game sense 2.0. I got my copy of the report yesterday. I like the focused mailing that Marlene touched on. I would encourage that to be expanded. You know, we have a number of stakeholders out there who we deal with, whether it's our community mitigation fund folks. It's all the local officials that represent our hosts and its surrounding communities. Those also might be people on the front lines to one can be a promoter of the great work that we're doing or that the council is doing in our game sense team and Mark and Theresa. But also those are the people who might get approached and are looking for some sort of help or assistance for a neighbor or a family member or somebody and being able to share with them the list of resources that are available how they can help protect the level one, I think is critical. So I encourage you to kind of expand that communications plan, especially with the great report that can be something we can put in people's hands. Very encouraged by the stuff that you're doing with the augmented reality, certainly targeting not just a novice player, but a younger player is, you know, our licensees think about ways to draw younger and younger players, obviously it's still over 21 into their facility, a lot of great Massachusetts companies do AR work, they also do VR work. So we should keep our minds open to what opportunities through VR might exist for some of the initiatives and strategies that you're thinking about with respect to game sense 2.0. So great work all around, I appreciate the update in the report and I know we lost some game sense members but hopefully we can bring them back at the appropriate time. It's guessing of business ticks back up. Commissioner Brian, thank you, commissioner. No, I don't thank you for the update. It's impressive how everybody could pivot as quickly and as well as they did given the circumstances. Just echoing what commissioner seven said in terms of hopefully the new normal returns that they can really get this fully up and running and bring everybody back. But thank you everybody for the work that you're doing and it looks great. Mission Cameron. Thank you. First of all, thank you, excellent presentation. Always, what struck me from the presentation was that there's never a status quo. You're constantly the game sense team is constantly looking for new ways to reach people. New Hours is an example of that and more effective ways to get the message out and that applies to the council as well, rebranding in an effort to make sure it's all inclusive of a changing environment. So I just, the easy thing to do is frankly, you're doing well, just keep it going but that's not what this team does. This team really is constantly evaluating and looking for new best practices and incorporating them. So that's what impressed me from the presentation. So I just want to thank you and really keep up the good work. Thanks. Thank you. That's a really excellent observation. Commissioner Cameron, you know, not only have they had to be very really flexible to really be able to provide the services in this new COVID-19 environment, but just at the same time constantly thinking about the new ways to do the job. So I think that's an excellent observation. From my perspective, the entire report was so helpful. You know, thank you, Chelsea. It was very thorough reminding us of the day-to-day in this new environment and making sure that you're keeping the game sense advisor safe as well as making sure that you're keeping the patrons safe. Who knew that it would extend beyond safe play but also to their own physical health during this pandemic? So thank you. And then in terms of Teresa, we're looking forward to the next week in Responsible Gaming Education Week, the work that you've done to provide the outreach to remind the larger community of the need for continuing education in this field. And then it's just really exciting to see. And I'm glad that you reminded me that the work of the 2.0 program on Riguez was part of the procurement. I guess that that's right. And so, you know, it's good to now see those steps, the measures being taken. I love the augmented reality. I like the idea of the app being available, sure that there'll be all kinds of ways to provide a communication plan on that. But of course, the name change is particularly meaningful. The need to promote safe levels of play and reduce gambling related harm is indeed a critical vital public health issue. The fact that your name now includes health in it is keeping with the times and really the message and the work that you do. So congratulations all around, excellent presentation. And thank you to our team, Mark and Teresa, your leadership means so much. And we, I think all of the commissioners are just so proud to be linked to this program. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Mark, are we all set? Yeah, I wanna thank Ken. If you worked for the overnight shift, I imagine you're barely sitting up straight. And you know, when the casino's closed and we had to think creatively about the game sense program during the closure, I think it's telling that the research that they did, taking a deep dive into the research, developing 20 trainings, reaching out to the hundreds of organizations they did. They didn't sit back and say we can't do our work because the casinos are closed. They said, how can we do our work differently? And how can we be more prepared and increase our, you know, hone our expertise when the casinos open back up and when things begin to open back up again? And I really appreciate Chelsea Turner who she basically started a couple of weeks before everything closed down and was right there and thinking about this. So thank you. Thank you, Chelsea. Thanks to Ken and the other game sense advisors. Right. Thank you. Thank you, everyone. We are going to be moving to item number six, but I do know that we plan on an odd break right now. I need to atop time with my fellow commissioners here. It is right now 10 of one. We will be inviting interim executive director Wells to join us actively in the next session, but we need a break. How much time should we have? I think we probably should have a lunch break rather than just a short break. I see commissioner Zuniga nodding his head. I'm sure Karen, you would welcome that too. It's a half hour. Sorry, that's not mine. At the office at this line. Is a half an hour sufficient? Or should we say 130 return? It's half hour for me would be fine, but it's all up to you. So it's, then we would be returning at 120. We can do it off the half hours, all right? Yep. Okay, I see nods. Excellent. So we will break right now and reconvene at 120. I want to thank again our team for the excellent presentations this morning. They were comprehensive, boy, it's, it really does show the excellent work that extends beyond the walls of the casino. And of course in the walls, the game sensor there, but takes really so much outreach. And these presentations demonstrated that. We're very, very excited to see members of the community today. So thank you. All right, we'll see you at 120. Given that we're working again remotely, commissioner Cameron. I'm here. Commissioner O'Brien. Here. Commissioner Zuniga. Here. Commissioner Stevens. I'm here. And here we are, all five of us. I think we'll resume our meeting again. Today's meeting is September 10th and it is meeting number 319. We are now returning to agenda item six. And you'll allow me, I just want to make a quick statement, reminding everyone of where we are in the process for the hiring of our executive director. On January 13th of this year, the commission approved the hiring of Karen Wells, director of the MGC's investigations and enforcement bureau as our interim executive director. This would be Karen's second time serving in that role, having done so a few years before for five and a half months. Little did we know that within less than two months, director Wells would be guiding the MGC through a pandemic, working to support an orderly temporary suspension of the operations of our three licensees and shifting the MGC functions to remote. When we named Karen the interim executive director, I asked commissioners Zuniga to assist in the search process for the next executive director. Given the fiscal constraints and realities of COVID-19, early on we decided to suspend the procurement of an outside executive search firm. And after Karen served, marked seven months in the interim position, the commission decided that an internal assessment could and should be performed to determine whether an expanded search beyond Karen's candidacy was warranted. Today we will conduct the concluding part of that assessment. I wish to thank director Wells for her service these last eight months and for her participation in today's interview, a public process that we know in and of itself can be less than comfortable. And doing so virtually is simply a bonus. Commissioner Zuniga, if you could now provide details of our process, that would be great. Thank you, madam chair. And just to pick up a little bit on some of that background, when we started the process of procuring for an executive search firm, one of the elements that we hope to ascertain with the help of an outside firm was to try to get a better understanding of updated priorities, things that we would have to consider in having maybe an updated job description, for example. Just another good opportunity for us to weigh in on these significant role as we were going through that transition. As the chair just mentioned, we decided to suspend that procurement, but we felt that it was still important to try to ascertain some of those priorities, some of what's been identified as things we need to address, et cetera. And we conducted two surveys. We did this internally with a very low-cost tool of SurveyMonkey. And we asked the staff, all the staff, to have a survey, respond to a survey that included ratings and open questions. And a second survey targeted to directors with slightly different questions, more open-ended questions that, as the responses that we saw confirmed, are testament to the closer relationship that Karen has had with those directors. We had a really good response rate. The details of those surveys were shared, first with commissioners, and most recently with director Wells. And I can provide a couple of different themes that emerge from those surveys that I think are very much relevant to the discussion that we will now begin to have. And those themes, I should start with the first and foremost notion that there is a great appreciation, an unequivocal appreciation for the work and respect, by the way, for the work that Karen is doing. There's this, how I feel personally, but it's very important to also corroborate from the staff and the directors that there's a recognition that this is a most of unusual circumstances, this pandemic. And there's managing through this period has been very difficult. And still, Karen has managed to do a terrific job, and people are giving her quite a bit of credit for that. These, of course, translates to a lot of work that others have done, but of course, Karen in her position has really guided and executed frankly on those such challenges. Another topic that emerges, and by the way, I'll let my commissioners, my fellow commissioners, or you, Chad, to expound on any of these things, but let me just mention to others if people would like to do that after that. Another topic that emerges is the desire of an appreciation for communication. Again, in the context of what is a lot more difficult given these remote collaboration technology, we're able to operate, but it's just not quite the same to do so via a screen. So people really appreciate the town hall meetings that we've had, the fact that maybe I for one, appreciate more people who generally are in the properties or elsewhere would not normally come to one of our commission meetings, but probably log in without our knowledge. And it is now really comforting in my opinion to see how much people are and appreciate the fact that we have these meetings, the fact that we have those town hall meetings, but also what I know are many, many meetings just like this with smaller groups between the finance department and other department or Karen and other staff, et cetera, et cetera. So with that context, there seems to be a suggestion that we ought to do more of that and continue doing what we're doing. I take quite a bit of, I think that falls on not just Karen, but certainly the commission, the five of us or the six of us, but it's something that in my mind is clear from the surveys and it's something that is also a shared responsibility. There's also good feedback that pertains to the work of the commission more as a policymaking body. There's comments relative to the expectation of sports betting, whether that would be coming up. There's a couple of comments relative to updating the organizational chart, something that we have talked about slightly in the past. These comes all in the context of how our roles continue to evolve. We are now entering a phase of, well, except for the pandemic, just more focus on the operations whereas not long ago, we were still on the licensing review and an opening of the signals. So some people comment around what that might look like. At a minimum, I think we need to update the org chart to reflect some of the recent changes that have occurred, some of the recent or needed tweaks to some of those job descriptions. But in there as well is the desire for people to also have a sense of how their careers can continue to evolve and to progress, evolve for the better. And this is why I'm tying it to what may be different phases for the commission being online, sports, or all I have. So I can pause there and let others, if you are interested, Chair, to talk a little bit more about those themes. Actually, I think that at this point, you've digested that, and I think Karen has received it. I'm sure it informs her comments as well, the two surveys inform her comments. So I think at this point, we can move into Karen's statement and then perhaps our questions will point back to the survey information as well, does that make sense? Absolutely. Okay, I'm seeing at least a good thumbs up from Gail. Thank you so much. So Karen, as I said on a public interview is something you may never have anticipated doing. You've been in the public a lot with respect to your role here at the gaming commission. Just this formal interview is a little different. And as I noted, the virtual makes it especially fun. I am going to put it on speaker view so it will feel almost like we're working with you in person. So thank you and Karen, Director Wells. Up you are starting on mute. There we go. There we go, all set. So first, I would like to thank the commission for the opportunity to interview for this position and for your support, not only for the last eight months who I've served as the interim executive director, but also for the support I've received from you and the former members of the commission for the last almost eight years. I would also like to give a very big thank you to the entire staff here at the gaming commission, not only for their outstanding work, but also for their perseverance during an extremely challenging time, not only in the history of the agency, but in the history of our state, the country and worldwide. Keeping focused and moving forward during a pandemic is extremely difficult. This team has done a wonderful job and I continue to be impressed. So the chair and commissioners need to have asked me to give a public opening statement this morning. So I thought I'd start with some comments about why I'm here, be going on to review my background and then give my thoughts on priorities and goals for the agency moving forward. Those of you who know me well are aware that I have spent my entire career in public service. I identify as a public servant and I'm sitting before you here today because at this particular time, I think I can be helpful to this agency in this role. I have been privileged in my career to have been mentored and trained by some remarkable people who have shown me what it means to be a true public servant, to do the right thing for the people of Massachusetts, to act with integrity, and to do your best at all times. I have been an attorney for almost 26 years. I've served as an assistant district attorney in Middlesex County, first under DA Tom Riley, and later under DA Jerry Leone. I also served as an assistant attorney general after Riley became the attorney general here in Massachusetts. I also served with the executive office of Public Safety and Security under Governor Patrick, first as the senior counsel for law enforcement and fire services, and then as the under secretary for law enforcement. At EOPS, I had oversight over four state agencies, the Department of Public Safety, the Municipal Police Training Committee, Massachusetts State Police, and the Office of Grants and Research. I learned a lot through that experience and working with the executive staff at each of those agencies. With respect to the Department of Public Safety, my experience with DPS has been and will continue to be helpful in this role because DPS is a regulatory agency, gave me exposure to regulatory functions and licensing operations. It also happened to give me the chance to work with Attorney Grossman, who was a deputy general counsel at the time. As for the Municipal Police Training Committee, experience with the governance model there gave me my first real practical experience working with an agency that had a board or committee oversight. The MPTC, the agency has an executive director hired by the secretary of public safety and security that manages operations, but is also governed by the MPTC, the committee, which has members comprised of police chiefs, representatives from the Attorney General's office and EOPS Under Secretary. So at that point, I had the dual role of serving as a member of the committee, which functions like a board and as the executive director's boss. And that gave me the opportunity to view agency functions from those different perspectives. The MGC takes that structure to a new level because here we operate with full-time commissioners that are actively engaged in an operational level. As far as the Department of State Police, a very big agency obviously, and there are many things about agency oversight in that role. But interestingly, one of the most compelling things I learned is just how critical budget management and oversight is to an agency's success. Finance and budget is often overshadowed by some of the more flashy aspects of any agency's functions, but similar to IT, it provides the backbone to operations and its value cannot be underestimated. Also spent a lot of my time overseeing the Office of Grants and Research, which has four divisions. The Homeland Security Division was handled by another Under Secretary, but it oversight over the Justice and Prevention Division and the Highway Safety Division, which did a lot of grants work and also the Research and Policy Analysis Division. And given our robust research agenda and grant programs, including the Community Mitigation Fund, that experience has been very helpful and I expect it to be even more helpful going forward. I also worked with other state and local stakeholders on a routine basis, such as the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, Major City Chiefs Association, various unions, the Massachusetts District's Attorneys Association and others. I've learned that collaboration and relationship building is critically important, not only internally at an agency, but also with external partners. Here at the commission, we not only have relationships with our licensees, but we often also have relationships with other state and local agencies and officials, as well as community stakeholders, which must be developed and maintained in order for us to be successful. I joined the MGC as the first director of the IEB in January of 2013, a time when the entire staff could fit into the conference room at our offices on State Street. Being in on the ground floor and the development of a state agency was a career opportunity that not many people get. The expression, we're building a plane while we're flying it was used a lot at the time. In my role as the IEB director, I have been statutorily responsible for administering and enforcing the provisions in the Expanded Gaming Act relative to the integrity of casino operations. I have oversight over the entire bureau, which includes the licensing division, the MSP Gaming Enforcement Unit, the Chief Enforcement Counsel's Office, the Financial Investigations Division, and the Gaming Agents Division. I had the great fortune of bringing in an incredible team to help me build the bureau and develop our licensing, investigatory and enforcement protocols. We have conducted thousands of investigations, both big and small, registered and licensed, thousands of individuals and entities, and we opened three casinos. Looking back, I am amazed at all that we have accomplished and I want to say thank you to the entire bureau. My time as the director of the IEB was not without some intense and very public work, coordinating the initial suitability investigations into the casino applicants, leading the unprecedented investigation into wind resort sexual misconduct allegations were certainly tremendous professional experience. For anyone that's interested in my work here at the agency, due to the commission's commitment to transparency, there are probably hundreds of hours of video documenting everything I've worked on, from suitability reports to enforcement actions to work on policy and regulations. I've also had the opportunity to serve as the interim executive director on two occasions, combined to over a year of experience in that role. I certainly did not expect that in this second go-around that there would be the added challenge of transitioning through a remote workforce. But although difficult at times, the entire agency came together and we have done a great job in this new environment. So I'd like to give a special thank you to our IT department for the technical support which was ready to go on day one. I recognize that the permanent position of the executive director is different from the interim role and that I will need to transition the IEB responsibilities to a new director and focus on the agency as a whole. I'm at the point in my career where I am ready to do that and I look forward to supporting the entire MGC team. As a lawyer, naturally one of the first places I look for guidance on this agency's function and directives is the law itself. In reading the enabling legislation, it is clear that this was an economic development law looking to create jobs and business opportunities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts while also mitigating potential harms. Notably overarching all of this, section one of the legislation reads, ensuring public confidence in the integrity of the gaming licensing process and in the strict oversight of all gaming establishments through a rigorous regulatory scheme is the paramount policy objective of this chapter. Public confidence in this agency must be insured. The commission recognized this in publicly creating its mission statement and core values. The commission's focus on fairness, transparency and participation, free flowing and open exchange of ideas, integrity of the regulatory process, adherence to our enhanced ethics code and state ethics laws, diversity and an inclusive culture and respectful and professional customer service all relate back to ensuring public confidence in this agency. A key priority of mine is to follow the law and maintain the integrity and credibility of this agency. Without that, everything we do is overshadow. Maintaining integrity and credibility takes work in many areas with both our internal operations and in dealing with our external stakeholders. It is critical that we be truthful at all times, diligent and professional in our work and fair to everyone with whom we come in contact. I read with great interest, the survey results as part of this process and humbled and grateful for the support, especially from the team that evaluated me directly. The survey about the agency as a whole was certainly helpful to me in identifying priorities moving forward. Due to present circumstances, I have been looking at agency needs and priorities in three buckets. The immediate, the short term and the long term. As for the immediate future, we are still in the midst of a pandemic and we have been talking, as we've been talking about over the last six months, my priority is the safety and well-being of our employees as well as the employees and public at the gaming establishments. I recognize that the situation we are all now facing is very difficult and prioritizing everyone's well-being, both physical and mental is critical. In the short term, I am looking forward to working with the commission and the entire agency to foster a positive culture in the workplace. That involves many different aspects of agency management, including communication, collaboration, excellence in operations and inclusivity. As for communication, not surprisingly this was identified in the survey results as something very important. This is understandable. As people want to know what's going on, it makes them feel valued. I'd like to continue the town hall messaging. I've received positive feedback on those and it's a great way to communicate with everyone and all levels of the agency. I am hopeful that we will be able to return to the office before too long so that I can engage in informal check-ins with people. Like many of you, I miss being in the office and being able to connect with people directly. I also want to emphasize communication through our management structure, encouraging managers to communicate with their team regularly with information they receive from their supervisors, whether it be commissioners or the mayor or other leadership, that creates a healthy engagement through the agency. The other piece I'd like to continue to work on is communication between divisions, empowering people to reach out to others in different areas, fosters good relationships and frankly makes the job more interesting. We have a lean shop here. We have no extraneous employees, none. It is a priority for me and for management here that everyone feels that they are part of the big picture and that their contribution matters. Now as to creating a collaborative environment, I'm looking to encourage and expand collaboration not only within individual teams but amongst different teams. We can all learn from each other and working across silos produces better results. I'd also like to emphasize outside of the box thinking within the agency from all levels. Remaining stagnant is the surest way to become mediocre. All of us must encourage new thoughts and ideas and be open to suggestions for improvement. As to excellence in operations, part of having a positive culture is having employees be proud of the work that they do and the place that they work. Holding ourselves to high standards builds a collective self-esteem. And finally, inclusivity. Very important, recognizing the value and diversity. Not just a check the box mentality but actually seeing that having different backgrounds and experiences contributes to our collective thought process expands our thinking and ultimately makes us better. Inclusivity overall also incorporates making people feel welcome like they're part of something. Going into the longer term, I hope to work together at creating opportunities for professional advancement for staff. That may take the, as far as opportunities there, that may take the form of training, focus on internal promotions, opportunities to do things in other parts of the agency when possible or even supporting external resume builders. I also like to focus on continual evaluation of processes and procedures. To develop a top-notch state agency, we must normally document our processes and procedures but also continue to evaluate and reassess them going forward. I have seen a lot of good work in this area and I think we are way ahead of the curve here and we should continue to do that. I also like to focus on lasting infrastructure, both our people and technology. If we're tasked in the future with additional responsibilities, I want us to be able to respond efficiently and effectively. Also in the long term, we want to focus on our internal and external compliance efforts. As a regulatory agency, this is mission critical and not only should we be following our legislative mandate for licensees, we should also be holding ourselves to the same high standards. Finally, creating a structure where we all work effectively with the commission, both as a body and as individual full-time working commissioners. It is important that we see the value in that and embrace our statutory structure. In conclusion, again, I would like to thank the commissioners for giving me the opportunity to interview with you here today and also to thank the entire staff for helping me during the last eight months as the interim executive director. As a public servant, I take this role seriously and I recognize the complexity and diverse nature of our operations and I am committed to maintaining the integrity and credibility of this agency and the people who work here. Thank you, we'll forward to your questions. Thank you, Director Wells for that opening statement. And as we had planned, this is an opportunity for us to conduct an interview, which is somewhat strange because we all know you so well. But this is a big job, a critical job and it's one of the commission's full responsibility is to hire the executive director. So this is an opportunity for us to react to Karen's opening statement, the priorities that she established so well and also to explore our goals and objectives from our perspective as well. Commissioner Cameron, would you like to begin? I would love to, thank you, Madam Chair. Director Wells, listening to your opening statement reminded me of why we hired you in the first place, frankly. You know, we were proud of that hire at the time and continue to be proud of the work that you do. So it just reminded me, you hit on a lot of key points and you just didn't talk about work and the things, the goals you'd like to achieve to move this organization forward. But you talked about your values. You talked about your commitment to transparency, your commitment to following the law and just doing things the right way. That's critical for a leader, many leaders who, you know, they know the nuts and bolts, they can give an order, but the other pieces are sometimes challenging. So I do, it was nice to hear a lot of those themes in your opening statement. I wanted to get back to opening the, rather reading the surveys, which I found informative and reassuring, frankly. Just a couple of things I'd like to mention and then ask you a question about them, okay? Yep. Just some things that jumped out at me. You know, not afraid to make a mistake, always reevaluating decisions in order to learn from them is what one of your colleagues said about you. You mentioned this in your opening statement, your commitment to the mission and the values of the MGC and to the employees and to the citizens of the Commonwealth. That's a critical piece too, right? We could get caught up in our own little world, but we are serving the public. And again, you mentioned your commitment to public service and that's how you identify. So things that I pointed out, you've gotten to in your opening statement, you are reaffirming what your colleagues are saying about you, frankly. You have resilience through challenging times, difficult situations, and you've done this with grace and sound judgment. I thought those words were really important to hear, again, from your colleagues. This isn't from us. These are comments from your colleagues. I would follow her leadership to any organization. Wow, that says a lot, Karen. That says an awful lot about your leadership and what you've provided to this team. And that you don't shy away from difficult challenges, a great problem solver. Again, critical pieces to the work we do, right? You've had a few problems over the years and you've helped us tremendously solve them. But my question to you with regard to those comments is, you know, you have been in this organization since very near the beginning and you have observed two other executive directors prior to you. And I'm certainly not asking for a comparison, but what have you learned, you know, whether it be something you learned that you say to yourself, I wouldn't quite do it that way or something you say, wow, that works really well and I'd like to continue that or expound upon that leadership trait. So what have you learned and that can help you formulate your own style and your goals and objectives moving forward? And you mentioned some of this in your opening statement, but just... Right. So I think a couple of things. I think that I've learned that people in an organization, as I've said, appreciate communication. They like to know what's going on. They like to feel part of what's going on at their workplace and also collaboration. I think people get bored in one little silo, just working on one thing. People like to engage with other people within an agency or social creatures. We like that. And I think people like to develop professionally. People want to move up. They want opportunities to get promotions, to do other things, to expand their resume. So creating an environment where people want to do that's really important. The other thing I have learned, which I think is actually really important in the awareness at EOPS as well, is that one of the most important things you can do as a leader is to actually make timely decisions. That holding off and waiting for decisions or doing things in a non-efficient manner is very frustrating. And a lot of times what individuals need, they need an answer. Sometimes the answer is yes, sometimes the answer is no, but they need an answer and then they can move on. So I think being a leader means being able to make critical decisions and getting the right input from other staff, being informed when you make those decisions, but having the experience and the ability to make decisions when they're necessary. Excellent. You started your answer with communications and that was a key piece here to, you mentioned in your opening statement, you mentioned it again now and responding to this question. And as you noted in the survey, that was a critical piece mentioned over and over again. But I do think you recognize the need to continue and maybe improve communication. So I won't ask you to go back to that because I think you did answer that question quite well. I have a question for Madam Chair. I was just gonna run through some more questions unless you'd rather go one than another, than another, do you want me to run through mine? And then we move on? You know, it might be helpful to maybe everyone have sort of a chance. Okay, great. I'll turn, but everyone will get to ask all of their questions. Sure, I'll pause at this point then and turn it over to one of my fellow commissioners. Okay, I think I'll go then. Commissioner O'Brien, thanks, Commissioner Cameron. Thank you, Madam Chair. I have, well, I have not worked with her in this setting as long as some of you. I have the undue advantage of having worked with three different agencies over the years. So in terms of being able to assess her professional skills as a lawyer, as a manager, as a supervisor, I have no doubt that she has the ability to do the job as she's seen, as we've seen in terms of her, you know, coming over and taking over as interim lately and dealing with what is incredibly difficult situation. In addition to how she handled the investigation, particularly how tough it was on her in terms of the investigation of when that we did last year. So I am not going to quote from the evaluation, et cetera.  I have a couple of questions. I'm assuming some of us will have the same one who's communication. I don't want to belabor the point. From my perspective, the question that I really have is you talk about not wanting to be stale because basically you would fall into mediocrity. Having come into this is the first, maybe the second new commissioner that came in and didn't build the airplane while you were trying to fly it. There were times I would ask questions and I would get a look like, well, you just don't understand yet. And there was that effort to gauge, well, how much of it is that I don't understand and how much of it is that you guys are sort of, you used to how to do things and we need to sort of think about whether we need to reassess this, be it internally or outward facing. So what is it that you see as options for you as the executive director in terms of making sure that that staleness, both inward facing and outward facing, doesn't sort of creep in to the organization? Right. I mean, as I mentioned in my statement part of that is documenting policies and procedures and documenting how we do things. Because sometimes you just have this sense of, well, this is how we do it and this is how we always do it. But when you engage in the exercise of either writing it down and you have to go through step by step, that is in and of itself an educational experience. And then also reviewing those policies and procedures and asking yourselves as a team. And I do believe in getting input from various sources because you're always gonna get a better result that way. And then asking yourself, okay, well, why do we do it this way and why do we do it that way? And we saw that with the, even through the licensing process, a popular Paul Connolly, when he came in as the licensing director, he did a good job with that. He would ask himself, he had this consultant kind of mentality, oh, wait a minute, Karen, why are we doing it that way? And we'd say, actually, well, we did it for this reason and then it's okay to ask probing questions, I think is the response. And then creating that culture where people don't have to feel that they're being criticized if someone just asks a question about why you do it that way. That's not a bad thing. That's just us learning from each other. And that I think also translates into that sense that we want to have excellence in the organization because people do like working for the best of the best in the state agency. There's a pride there. And the only way you can do that is to test each other and make each other better. And the part that's also how you do it, as far as being nice about asking questions and going through that. And I hope that I have those skills and I try to be nice when asking about things because I think that's really important. It's not that hard to be nice and when you ask things, but if you do it in that way and that we're all part of the team, it's not a, I'm criticizing you because I'm asking about something. I think that can be helpful. And then people are not defensive if they wanna talk about why they do it. Cause maybe they're right about how they do a certain procedure in their department, but it's okay to ask. Is that helpful? Yeah, thank you. Commissioner Stebbins, do you have a question? I do. Thanks, Madam Chair. First of all, I've had the chance to work with Karen and she joined the team eight years ago. I have to say though, I've never been more excited and impressed with the leadership that she has offered and exhibited while serving in this interim role and certainly this pandemic. She might be the only employee on the MGC team who has taken more personal hits and shots across the bow besides the five commissioners. So I appreciate her fortitude for all of that. And I also appreciate the fact that for comments about, you know, essentially the phrase, well that's the way we've always done it as a, it's really a curse to any organization. So I appreciate her thoughts on that. Just a quick question, one question. And it relates to the ED's relationship with our licensees. Oftentimes you are their first call. And understanding also that our licensees are finding themselves in a very competitive landscape right now, even before the pandemic, it's a very competitive market in the Northeast. One, how do you, during those calls, how do you expect or how have you not only been a good listener but conveyed what the commission itself expects from our licensees? And two, how do you think you can help them continue to compete but obviously make sure that the commission does everything it's supposed to do to comply with the requirements of the law and our regulations? Okay, so as to the first part of your question about communication with the licensees, there is a regulator licensee relationship between us and each of the properties. And I think that the way I've approached it is that we can be friendly but also most importantly be professional and that speak to them in a professional manner, give them the information they need and also listen. Sometimes in that there is authority of being a regulator and I think not only is it always dictating but it's also listening so that you can make informed decisions and give information to the commission that they need to make the big decisions and communicating that back and forth. Again, we go back to that theme of communication and good communication. I also think that telling the truth, showing integrity with our licensees gives our agency credibility. If we are always truthful, we always tell them what's going on, we are transparent with them.  So I think that's really important. As far as helping them during these times, I think I would tie that into that same theme of listening and also going back to that thinking outside the box, like being open to suggestions of doing things a different way. There may be some suggestions of a different way they could do some kind of operation at the casino that might be a little more efficient for them and that just because we did it one way doesn't mean we shouldn't be open to listening and hearing about an option for another way which might be actually more flexible. So we have to maintain the integrity of the operations but that doesn't mean we can't have some outside of the box thinking and just communicating that up to the commission for making those ultimate decisions. Thank you. Commissioner Stendika. Hi, thank you. Like Bruce and Gail, I was there from the very beginning of Karen's tenure. My question, I'm gonna get to my question in a minute. It's about balance but let me mention two things relative to balance that I have seen in Karen try to always do and in my opinion, very successful. You mentioned in your remarks the responsibility to be balanced about budget and I don't know that, I don't mean that in a balanced budget kind of way but in our environment, they need to be judicious with the resources that we get to build on our licensees with the business case and the resources necessary to run the agency. I have seen you from early on evolve into what I think is a really important aspect of trying to achieve that balance when it comes to trying to strike what's the necessary costs. And for that, I think it's really worth mentioning. Similarly, you mentioned in your remarks the notion of these, the gaming act really being a jobs bill, one that generates economic development for people and at the same time being very high in the notion of licensing and regulation towards the integrity of the operation. By definition, there are instances in which those pull in different direction and again, trying to achieve that balance is something that I've seen you done, do and do very well and in my opinion, will of course continue. But finally, on a personal level, my question is about work-life balance for you. And that's the theme that I'm trying to get to here. In the executive director position, you have now seen for a few months that you are in a unique and perhaps uniquely demanding position. You have five people that you effectively report to in these types of meetings, but also in between meetings where you update and et cetera. And you have a whole structure underneath you for the administrative purposes of this agency.  Perhaps there's still others. But my point is what I think is an important one in this new position, how do you hope to achieve balance for you personally with the demands that you know are there, you know that you've experienced now firsthand. And the service are also an indication of, there's always more that I could be doing. What can you tell us about work-life balance? Yeah, and that is a bit of a challenge for me because I do like working. And I do always feel that responsibility that I have, you know in some ways I have to be perfect. I have to get things right. I have to respond to every call. I have to get everything done, am I to do it? So I do acknowledge that. I think that going forward to be offered this position, one of the changes is going to be that we would identify a new director of the IEV so that I would need to let go of the management of that part of the office to someone else and then serve in that executive director role. So that is actually a significant change and will change a little bit of the job function and allow me to do a little more of a deep dive into the other agency operations and free up some of my time. I think that I need to rely on our executive and senior staff who are phenomenal. I mean, we have some really top notch people in those positions and I need to be able to delegate and say to someone, I'm gonna trust you to handle that because we do have people here that you can trust. And I think that's one of the real accomplishments of this agency over the past eight or nine years is in their staffing decisions because we have a very high functioning staff. So I think that is gonna be how I'm gonna need to operate. It is tough. I've come from the law enforcement world where I am on call 24 seven. So I'm kind of used to sleeping with my phone and having that, breaking away from that. Not so sure I'm gonna be able to do that entirely but I recognize what you're saying because in order for any person in any job to do a good job, they need to be happy and they need to have some balance and they need to get a little rest. And I've been encouraging team members to get rest and take a little time for themselves and they realize what you're saying and it applies to me as well. So I appreciate that. I'll just jump in a little bit tying my question to Henri Gaze. I have to say that I was fortunate enough when I came on that after relatively short period of time after the when hearing, the reporting structure was resumed and I got to work directly with you at your role as IAB director reporting to the chair. You noted a desire to make sure that the culture here is one of welcoming and you did that for me Karen in a very unique way. I learned about the work of the IAB directly through you and the reporting was thorough, very efficient and I learned very short meetings with you so much about the agency. So I have full confidence in you being able to ensure that the culture of the gaming commission is one that is welcoming, it is nice and that it is one that allows for unity and cohesiveness, communication and really the internal growth that you mentioned too so that everyone feels that their piece, their contribution is critical and that there's opportunity to continue to grow in the agency. I feel that even in my short time working with you before the pandemic I could sense that piece of the culture. Now with respect to the 24-7 commissioners Zuniga we are in a pandemic and Karen really had to lead in a way that required almost that 24-7 oversight and that wasn't lost on me certainly. I know that Karen has been tremendously available to me at any time when I had any question you are so responsive that it gives me great confidence in you taking on the role of executive director because it is a big job. Karen's heard me say that it is a complex agency with critical intersections of public and private interests and so your ability to juggle to manage and to take on that big responsibility during this time it's really the reason why we're here today and we didn't expand beyond your candidacy because we've really been able to observe your leadership skills during this crisis. With that said, I am terribly sensitive to commissioners Zuniga's point that it has to be a sustainable workload. Now we have talked about the org chart it is something that does need to be updated that is no secret but it really as I understand it I think most of my fellow commissioners share is that that would really fall on the executive director one responsibility that it would probably not have been appropriate for the interim executive director. So I'm wondering if you've been able to give that structure some thought even though I know you with great humility you would say only in the event that you were promoted how do you imagine your chart? You've been functioning a little bit differently than the prior executive directors oversight and I just wondered if you could give us some highlights we will not hold you to it. Okay, okay. I think that just some general oversight and I have been speaking to other staff members about this so this would not come as any surprise I'm not going to say anything that I haven't discussed with other people. I think we had a structure where we had the Ombudsman's office responsible gaming and diversity and workforce development report to the general council to sort of put that on hold during the interim period I would continue the current structure where those functions report to the executive director just from a structural standpoint and I think it's very important that the executive director have some direct oversight over those functions because they are very critical. So I think that we're going to be looking at and tweaking exactly what the functions are and what people should be doing within those buckets. I think we had the departure of the Ombudsman and we need to reassess that the nomenclature even just for that office and what that means going forward. And as we've talked about the numerous occasions we are in a different phase and we had the phase of the gaming commission where we were licensing the actual rebate casinos. That was a really important phase. Then we had the phase where we were opening the casinos and as Bruce Band and Burke Kane and his team will tell you that was a ton of work and that was a lot to get those up and running. That's been accomplished a lot to be proud of here. Now granted we're in a pandemic and we're in this weird situation now with the plexiglass and the extra rules and all that but we will come out of this with the pandemic will end. We will all be going back to normal at some point and we're going to be transitioning to that. I'm not going to adhere to the term steady state because I think it's a jinx and every time we say that it's something happens. So I think that but understanding we are going to be a regulatory body of the casinos that are open in Massachusetts. So what matches with that function? The piece of that is compliance. We have within our office we've got several compliance functions. We've got sort of that casino compliance function which is the gaming agents team and what they do. They are on site 24 seven doing regulatory compliance on internal controls and the processes and the procedure ensuring the integrity of those gaming operations. We also have external compliance in terms of license conditions and conditions regarding this host community and surrounding community agreements and other state and local requirements by law. So we've got that piece and then we also need to take a look at our own internal compliance and what we're doing to make sure that we are doing the right thing. So our own internal compliance. So putting together a plan I think is part of that and identifying individuals in our office who are going to be working in those functions is really important because that is the crux of what we do is compliance. And we have IT and finance and legal they're all supporting that. So aside from a policy division we've got our backbone operations and then our operational pieces. So having those all work together I think it's going to be important. So those are some of the thoughts I have in the org chat but I will be talking to people I want people to have input. I want to ask about what people want to be doing and what makes sense and get some clarity on exactly what the office needs to be doing into these areas and sort of make good matches and figure out what we're doing. With the caveat that we are in a pandemic the casinos are really their revenues are really way down. And as commissioners need to point out we have to act with integrity with respect to our stewardship of our finances. So it's a tricky time to make wholesale changes. We may have to make incremental changes in accordance with the financial situation of the casinos and we find ourselves in right now. Thank you. Commissioner Cameron. Just going to unmute myself here. Thank you. Director Wells to something I have always thought that you don't work all that effectively if you work in a vacuum any organization. Having said that I know you earlier this year you were elected to the board of trustees for the International Association for Gaming Regulators. Frankly that's a prestigious position for us as a commission to have you as a serving elected official with the organization. As you know I've been active in that organization and I have to tell you that I've heard in planning for the conference that we'll be hosting next year because of the pandemic. I've heard from many of the board members that they're thrilled to have you. You've added substance, you've worked hard, you volunteered, I'll use that word in quotes to serve as the treasurer for the organization. And I just wanted to hear from you a little bit since it is important to learn from others and to share information in the year that you've served a little less than a year with the organization as a leader. What has your experience been and what are some of the things that may be important that you could bring back to our organization because your board members are from what? Five different continents. I mean it's a very, very diverse board and lots of information sharing goes on. So could you just give us a little bit about that experience and how that can be helpful for the organization? Yes, yeah, that actually was quite an honor to be on that board. As you indicated there's memberships all over the world from different continents. It's interesting, I've been in the room on one occasion with the board, but a lot of the meetings we've been doing virtually similar to what we've been doing now for the last eight months. There's some very smart people on that board. What's interesting that I've found they've been sort of looking at, one is as you would expect, it's sharing of information. So best practices, what are people doing? Are there any resources? For example, there was a remarkable interest in responsible gaming across the world and it's really nice that our office here at the MGC is a real leader in that respect. My compliments to the legislature for creating a funding mechanism for that is what I've seen from the other international jurisdictions is that's unusual. So to have that for us has been really good. So there's an interest in that. What's interesting right now just on a sort of the most recent level is that a lot of people, we've been talking about sort of this educational component for different regulatory agencies. And then how does Niagara make itself relevant? Because there's a lot of information coming out and how do you identify what is the best of the best? And because people, they're finding right now, they're getting a lot of online things because nobody's traveling right now. So it's kind of interesting that people are getting a little bit of screen overload. So how do you differentiate between what you want to see and what is just another thing that's just gonna take up an hour or so much of your time? So I think that board is looking at what do we do going forward? Because this pandemic is worldwide and it has been impacting customers all over the world. And so they're seeing, I think agencies are seeing decreases in funding and there may be some decreases in travel opportunities. So this focus on the digital world and what are we gonna do in the digital world and what makes sense in the digital world and how do you make yourselves relevant as an association? And then also for the jurisdictions that they represent, what's the best thing for them? So that's been a really interesting point of conversation with the group. And the hope is that the pandemic is over and they're scheduled for next fall to have their international conference here in Boston, which I'm really looking forward to and should be spectacular. But it's interesting being flexible with the times and identifying what you can do virtually has been a big topic of conversation. Thank you. Thank you. I'll stay in the same order. Thank you, Commissioner O'Brien. Do you have another question? Just somewhat of a follow-up to the last question I had, which is in some of the evaluations and the feedback that Commissioner Cameron mentioned earlier, there was some question as to the fact that you had such a tie to IEV and your children both jobs that transitioning into sort of letting go of that and stepping into the role of ED, while people expressed faith that you could do this, there was some question as to how you would make sure that there was parity amongst all the divisions in terms of your time and attention versus sort of maybe an over-attentioned IEV. So if you could address that, that would be helpful.  And this job as the executive director is responsible for administrative oversight over the entire agency. So my intent is to do that professionally across the board. I mean, I think ultimately, my actions will speak for themselves in that area. I think in some ways, so one advantage is that I do know IEV so well, that I don't need to familiarize myself and spend a lot of time identifying all the areas and who the people are and all that. So I have in some ways the ability to trust that that operation is under control and know what's going on there. And I have more time then to focus on the rest of the agency. So in some ways that can be in the damage. But ultimately, I think I just need to be professional and I need to do my job as the executive director, not as the hybrid and not as the interim, I mean, not as the director of the IEV. It's a different job and I need to be an adult and recognize that that's my job right now. Thank you. Commissioner Stebbins. Sure, thanks, Madam Chair. To build off Eileen's question a little bit in the reference I was made to in the survey because you've been in the interim position now for a number of months and you've had a chance to work with some of the other departments. What are the things that you've witnessed working with some of your colleagues and things that you may not have expected in having that close working relationship now with people outside the IEV? Right, I mean, I think that the first thing I'll mention is the opportunity to work with the IT department. For those who don't have a normal in regular interaction with IT, those folks are doing a phenomenal job, not only because of the pandemic and they had to do all these extra things with respect to the remote working but also the transition to the cloud, they're involved in big projects. And what I've seen particularly Katrina lead that team with is I've been impressed with a real focus on just the organizational skills, performance metrics. Every time we meet she has a whole outline of everything that the office with the division is doing. And it's really impressive. And I've learned in this role coming out of the IEV and sort of looking at the whole agency, that's really important. I mean, I've seen those kinds of metrics and things like that, you know, when I've worked with finance and other areas before, but that to me is just one example of where being that ED role sort of expands your thinking of what really makes a great agency and especially moving forward. If we've got other things that the legislature may task us with, that's gonna be a critical function. So I want to emphasize that that's very modern, having a lot of focus on our IT development. I look at the, from the IEV perspective, the LMS system, that was a game changer. The efficiency by which we could move along all those licensing investigations compared to when we did it by paper when the open PPCs was astronomical. So looking at other areas in the office where we can progress and modernize, I think is really helpful. So that was one area that I just, you don't always think of IT because it's so much in the background, but it really is helpful. Okay, thank you. Yeah. My question's coming up. Well, what I have prepared, it's almost always already been touched on, but let me just pick up on the notion that you did mention earlier, Karin, and that was we are all social animals, if you will, or social creatures, I believe was the right term. And the need for social connections, we have now been remotely for a few months. So of course, since March, we have the prospect of a few more months, depending on how things go. This is just fine to see each other through screen, but again, a theme that I mentioned and it comes across really loudly in the surveys is the notion of that. It's term communications, but I think deeper down is the notion of social connection. You mentioned already the town halls and that was mentioned in the surveys. Are there, do you see something new, some people coming back into the office or going out for outside socially distant after work event or something like that that could also complement our current environment? Yeah, it's interesting because when Tripti and Derek and I were at the offices giving out the equipment, so was a week and a half ago, whatever day it was. It was interesting because the three of us did have that same reaction that, oh, it's just so nice to talk to somebody in person. It really is different. So I've been giving it some thought. We have HR is helping me and HR and finance are helping me with that sort of, if you need to be in the office, sort of that return schedule so we can make sure we know where people are and there are no clusters. I mean, I think we always have to look at the data, look at with the governor's office is recommending but it's interesting from the survey results. I agree with you, people are really craving that and I got some feedback from one of the senior team members that when we sent the notice out about the working home extending till December of 2020, there were some people that were disappointed and a little surprised, which I found very interesting because it didn't come as a surprise to me at all just because we were all working on the COVID situation so it made sense because it paralleled the governor's orders and putting, that we're waiting for phase four and if you can work remotely, you should. But it was interesting when we were back there, I am somewhat open to the idea if there is a way to do this safely, maybe creating some situations where people can do that because I think people are asking for that but we would have to be looking at the guys from DPH, look at the numbers, look at the data to make sure people are safe. Because as I indicated, my priority is the safety and wellbeing of our employees that has to be number one. But I recognize, as I said, there's also the mental health component to that, that we have to recognize that. So I think that internal working group and working with Bruce Debbins and Gail Cameron, we're working on that. We can explore those ideas, particularly the feedback is from the employees that really are craving that and that would be helpful to their mental health. And someone's saying to me, it's something, there was an issue about the mail and you have to check the mail periodically and getting commissioners their mail and someone raised their hand like, I'll drive the mail around. I'll do anything to get out of my house. So it's not lost. I mean, that is something that we have to discuss. Absolutely. There's just something that's very different from making eye contact through a screen that making it in real time. It really is. Just to follow up on that, Karen made a home delivery to me. I had no idea it was maybe because she was doing anything to get out of her home.  It felt as though it was just an extension of a conversation like this. So to the extent that we have been able to work so well remotely, it's a huge credit, of course, to Karen's leadership and the IT team, but everybody's willing to do this. It makes a big difference to see each other visually. A lot of state agencies, a lot of private companies haven't been able to have this kind of remote connectivity. So I take great pride in saying that we've had it since day one to Karen because it's been so meaningful to me. That said, of course, the social piece is missing. I'm gonna quote the governor, he was right on on this. He noted recently, and I'm sure you saw that, yeah, he misses it too. That everyone, we're all kind of over this. And his words were, it stinks. And so I would borrow that, it does, it stinks. But again, just if we wanna resist that, thinking as much as possible until it truly is safe, and just remember that in this paradigm, to do it as much as we can, and to the extent we can add something, that's more physical, yes, but we can continue to just enhance the virtual. That will go a long way through the calendar year. So in terms of my question, Karen, just to finish up, there was one or a couple of observations from the surveys that said, it is hard to manage a team of about, how many, 160 state police, 110, the numbers vary. You asked the five full-time commissioners, you did say it's a unique paradigm. That can be a challenge. I just wanna know how you think you will, how you feel the experience has been the last eight months, and how you would either change the experience or enhance the experience. How would you address that particular concern that was raised? You know, it's interesting because we are working in this remote time, so it's a little different than you would manage in regular time. You know, I, let's prescribe it to some of the other day, things, you know, we have meetings, and you know, there's scheduled meetings, and you set up an hour, you set up a half an hour, you don't sort of check in with people.  So, you know, I think it's interesting that way, and that, you know, I find that sort of analogy relevant, because right now, you know, I look at my calendar, and it's like block, block, block, block, block, and what I've found is interesting is that I do like the occasional, you know, just a random phone call, or just a check-in, and things like that, and breaking it up a little bit, I think in the short term is actually pretty helpful.  So I think breaking things up a little bit like that, I mean, as far as dealing with a lot of touch points, so I recognize, you know, my current role as the interim, I think it was, you know, 12 direct reports, and then five commissioners, that's a lot of touch points. So I definitely felt a little bit, you know, wanted to, I wasn't getting to everybody as much as I would have liked, just because of the volume. So Mike, I think there's a change in structure in the ED, and then the IEB is taken over by someone else that will help with that. But, you know, my nature is I do like to talk to people and check in, because you get great feedback that way. I think we could use potentially these, you know, the silent briefings of the commissioners a little bit more that we've been doing just to get some information up to the commissioners, and those are pretty efficient, and then you can all hear the same thing. And also what I'm trying to do is when we have certain issues come up, instead of having, you know, well, I'll talk to one person, and I'll talk to the next person, then I'll talk to the next person, just get everybody in the room and we'll all talk all at once, instead of doing so that sequence with the staff members. And that way everybody gets to hear some other perspective, because it's not just, you know, Karen knows everything, not everybody is hearing the information, but I'm trying to do some more topic-related meetings instead of just individual one-on-one meetings. And I think that that'll help a little bit with the time management and with the touch forms. So I don't know if that answers your question, but... Yeah, I think that's really helpful. And I like the idea of the topic meetings, because then you're getting that cross-departmental input. I guess one of my questions is in terms of the construct of the commission. How do you see the executive director's relationship with the five full-time commissioners? How do you manage that? How do you think about it? What do you think about the role of this commission you mentioned in your statement that you were familiar with, the less-than-full-time commission paradigm? Yeah, and that is, it's interesting because it is very different.  But the gaming commission by statute is very different because all the five commissioners are identified as working full-time and being participatory in the operations. The commission as a body, it has the policy oversight over the agency. So there is that different role. The ED is sort of the administrative lead for the agency, but the commission as a body really owns the policy and the direction of the agency. So I think what the executive director needs to do is have the relationship with the commission as a body and with the individual commissioners to be able to listen and understand what the direction is because at the end of the day, it's the commission out there in public on the big decisions and what's going on. Staff is there to support the commission on what they're doing. So really getting the commissioners the information they need in order to do their jobs is my job. And coordinating that with the other staff members and making sure that you can do what you need to do. And that goes back to that role of the public servant that I'm here to serve and provide information and implement policy directors. And that's how I see the role. Thank you. Commissioner Cameron. I just have one last question. And that would be, I was happy to hear Director Wells, your comments on your commitment to diversity. As we know, it has to be an intentional, kind of continuous process. And I just wanted to hear if you had one or two ideas that may be helpful in demonstrating this commitment. So a couple of things we're already starting to implement that I'd like to move forward on this sort of or change concept to is not, we've done, Jill's done a tremendous job with the external diversity and workforce development. I mean, you look at the presentation that you've got today on the Encore Build and how they did on that. I think that transitioning some of those great ideas and some of that leadership and initiative to our internal operations is where we need to go going forward. So for example, I think I mentioned in my admin update just briefly, we have a couple of hires coming up and getting Jill in the mix to expand our diversity outreach for applicants for positions is the way to get a better applicant pool and hopefully get some additional diversity within the agency. Also, we're using our resources and looking at ourselves as far as our diversity spend within the office is something I'm looking to move forward on in the near future. Because, as I said, you can't hold our licensees to these standards and then not hold yourselves to those standards. Because again, my theme of the integrity and credibility of the agency, how are they looking at us if we're not holding ourselves to those same high standards? So I think putting resources towards that is going to be important. Great, thank you. I'm sure Brian. I don't have any other additional questions at this point. Thanks. Thank you. Commissioner Steffens. Sure, sorry about that. Yeah, just one last question, Karen, and it really is about your impressive resume. Can you just, as somebody not really familiar with EOPS and some of the other positions you've been in, can you just give me a sense, and this is probably for the public's benefit as well, in terms of you were managing a number or had oversight of a number of different agencies. Can you talk about what those numbers were in terms of people reporting up to you and how it mirrors the relationship at the MGC? So in EOPS, I had different managerial responsibilities as an ADA, but at EOPS, EOPS is really an agency oversight. A lot of what they do, they also do policy initiatives, but a lot of what they do is agency oversight. So I had oversight over four state agencies. MPTC, smaller agency, and it was a training agency, smaller budget, but then they also did some charging for recruit training. So that numbers, maybe a hundred employees that I'd have to do, it's been eight years, so I don't know the exact number, but a smaller agency. DPS was a little bit bigger, that's a regulatory agency. It is interesting because DPS did have some part of their budget was a funding mechanism where they would charge for the elevator inspection. So they're budget-wise, it was a little bit similar, and it's not just an appropriation. And then MSP is obviously a monster agency. It was 2,300 troopers, large command staff team, the colonel reported to me that that was a big responsibility. And then Office of Grants and Research, a smaller shock. So they had four divisions and they had maybe a handful, say there would be four to 10 people within each division. So it sort of ran the gambit. So the oversight of an undersecretary, and I had some role in this capacity as a senior council, is really to work with the agency leadership, and the bigger picture items of policy development, their budget, what was going on. And we had, I was at EOPS when the crash hit in 2008, we had nine C cuts, you have to deal with that, any significant issues at the agency. So occasionally there'd be some HR issues that would come up with PICUS, and they were particularly significant, but generally it was just working with these agency heads. So it's actually kind of interesting because in some ways, more similar to a commissioner role where I had oversight over the executive director. So it sort of helps me understand the position you are in that in a little bit of a way, see your perspective and that it is hard to be at sort of the policy level and then oversee an agency and that's what you're doing. So I have a little experience in that area as well. Okay, thanks Karen for that, I appreciate it. Thanks Madam Chair. Thank you. Krishna Seneca, any more questions? No, thank you very much. No more questions. Okay, and I am all set too. I just wanna double check. Anyone have any additional questions? I'm seeing no. So we've had a chance to review assessments from the entire organization as well as your direct reports, Karen, had an opportunity to hear your statement and your priorities for the future, both short-term, long-term and of course, during this pandemic. And then we've had the opportunity to ask questions in a more formal interview style, covering really the broad range of your responsibilities and your talents and your background. But that said, however, I do wanna offer to my fellow commissioners a chance if you would like to postpone any decision making today to be able to reflect on today's discussions or to do further due diligence. We can suspend any action on this matter and move to a next meeting or in the event that you are satisfied with the internal assessment that we decided to do, we could move on offering Ms. Wells, Director Wells, the executive director position with an understanding that it's an offer that we would today discuss compensation in deep hill again in the public arena. So I wanna present the first, is there any, the first option, is there any desire to suspend today or do we feel comfortable with the information that we've received and no need to do any further homework? I feel comfortable. I think I'm ready to make a decision today. Thank you. I am as well, no additional information needed. Thank you, and Commissioner Zunica, the same? Yep, that's, yep, same here. Excellent, so we have reserved the opportunity to vote today. If we wanted to have a motion, do I have someone who's comfortable moving? I'll be happy to be that person, Madam Chair. I wanna pick up on something from the discussion. I'm a big believer of promoting from within, giving people our opportunity to advance in the agency and doing so in offering Karen the executive director position who would be perhaps doing our highest profile example of that principle. So I will enthusiastically move that we offer Karen the job of executive director. And I will enthusiastically second that motion. Comments, discussions before we take a roll call vote. Commissioner Stoutens. Also. Commissioner O'Brien. Also. Okay, Commissioner Zunica, you've moved. Commissioner Cameron, any other additional comments? No. I had noted down here that I would say if asked to move myself, I would have said with enthusiasm and gratitude. So it's not surprising that we're thinking alike commissioners. All right. So we have a motion and seconded. I will do a roll call vote. Commissioner Cameron. Aye. Commissioner O'Brien. Aye. Commissioner Zunica. Aye. Commissioner Stevens. Enthusiastic, aye. And with gratitude and congratulations. Five, zero, Cheryl. Thank you. Karen. Thank you very much. Karen, that's only an offer. And for a moment, for a moment I'm just gonna say that she's saying thank you, but you have the opportunity to still say no. So we do need to discuss again. Again, always compensation of being an advocate here. Always remember that pay is associated with the job. So we, and again, we do it publicly. I've asked commissioners Zunica to look into the past history and to examine compensation options for us. And again, commissioners, if we needed to do more homework, we could suspend on this discussion as well, but at least Karen knows there is an offer for her. And we are excited about that. And our fingers are crossed that it will be a very enthusiastic yes. Thank you. Yeah, thank you, Madam Chair. So a little background on the figures just for the recollection of commissioners. Karen's most recent salary as the executive director of the, I'm sorry, the deputy director of the IEB was 158,445 dollars. This was effective back on July of 2019. Karen's current salary in her prior position of interim executive director was or is 182,000 dollars, 212. Throughout his tenure before departing, Ed Bedrosian had an annual salary of 185,000 dollars. And you might remember that for the last few years, since, certainly since 2019, but as far as 2016, when was the last, those were the last two periods in which we increased salaries in the agency. The executive director position had, as well as other senior members, had received effectively some payment of that 2% at times. So, and that's why the salary of the executive director of Bedrosian was 185,000 throughout Easton. In other words, just to clarify, you're saying that 2% was like a bonus as opposed to a bump in the salary. Correct. Okay, excellent, thank you. So, and by the way, that was something that we decided to do as a way to continue to manage our top heavy salaries, but continue to offer the compensation that he thought was commensurate to the job as well as the marketplace. So, I can ask, I can take questions if there are any, or I am prepared to make a recommendation. The chair will see. Yes, so I did ask Commissioner Zuniga to make a recommendation for us to chew on. Is that a good framework to start with his recommendation? Thank you, why don't we go ahead with that and then we'll get comments and questions and maybe there'll be some alternatives. Right, so there was also a discussion between the chair and I relative to being disciplined about a performance evaluation that we, it's been a little while since we did our last of the executive director. In that context and with the desire to do one at the end of each calendar year, I recommend that we offer Karen the same salary that the prior executive director had, that is $185,000. With the understanding that at the end of this calendar year, which is only a few months ahead of us, we would conduct a performance evaluation and have a performance evaluation related compensation discussion at the time if we felt it was necessary. So my recommendation is to continue with that level unless others want to discuss otherwise. Hands. Thoughts, commissioner Cameron, commissioner Ryan, commissioner Stevens. Well, I think in light of the pandemic we are being fiscally responsible. I will note that director Wells has more experience in gaming than our prior executive director did when he was hired. But I understand the recommendation and in realize that there will be a performance evaluation within the next couple of months. Commissioner Brian. No, I was thinking the same thing that commissioner Cameron just said and then also looking at sort of the statutory structure for us, the commissioners. It seems to me that that would be the appropriate salary for her this time. Okay, commissioner Stepans. I'm certainly comfortable with the recommendation. So I also agree with commissioner Cameron's observation and I also appreciate that director Wells noted that this is a difficult time right now as we address fiscal constraints given really what our licensees are dealing with in terms of their revenues and their furloughs. My inclination if things were normal would be to address what commissioner Cameron said at this time. But I would follow the recommendation and with full appreciation that we'll have an evaluation that will be for the full year. Karen's, it will be an extension of really what we evaluated today with the next four months included. And we can look at where we are at that time. So with that, if there are no other comments I would, I guess that we should formalize the recommendation with a vote. In that case, madam chair, I move that the commission offer Karen the annual compensation of $185,000 going forward with the understanding that we will conduct a performance evaluation for the full calendar year of 2020 shortly after its conclusion. Second. Okay, any further discussion? Okay, just again, my gratitude Karen for your presentation today and your willingness to be, to take on this role. We hope that you'll accept an offer and again, recognition that this is difficult to do in public youth and state. So thank you. Thank you.   No, that's okay. Go ahead. No, I was just going to say I gratefully accept the offer. I don't think there's any need for any further discussion on my end. I am privileged to work here. I appreciate the support from the staff and the commission. And I look forward to serving all of you going forward. Okay, well, let's find out what you're going to get paid. Commissioner Zuniga, commissioner Stevens and I vote yes. Karen, you will be paid. And thank you for accepting the offer. Five, zero on that, Sarah. And if we were in person, there would be highs. Thank you. Great job, Karen. Thanks. Really, really nicely done. Commissioners, it is three o'clock. I will at our next meeting, I will have Jamie tally up the work that has been done by all of you, the four of you, my colleagues in terms of the numbers of public meetings that we've had. Remote is hard, but boy, it's been effective. And when we think about where we were on March 14th and where we are today, then you should each be very, very proud. I know every team member that's on, what do we have right now? 45 members have stayed to see Karen through this process. They are your team, Karen. We claim them too, but they are your team. Yeah. You know, we're very, very fortunate to have this community. And let's just keep on doing it strong. And we know that we will do so at the home. Thank you. Commissioners, do I have them? I think that, oh, is there any updates? Any updates? Any updates? I don't have anything. Okay, none. All right. Can I move to adjourn, Madam Chair? There we go. Second. There we go. Okay. Again, a big thank you.  Commissioner Cameron. Bye. Commissioner O'Brien. Bye. Commissioner Zuniga. Hi, thank you, Karen. Great job. Thank you. Commissioner Stephens. Bye. Great job. Thank you, everyone. Thank you. Thank you. Bye-bye, everyone. Bye.


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Ok, so here's a meter stick that might be useful. I don't know what I'm going to do. But here I have 50 grams, and I have a pulley over here, and I have another pulley over here, and I have 50 grams hanging over that, 50 gram mass hanging over that end. So now I'm going to have another string, and I'm going to attach it to this, and when I hang this mass over there, just like that. And I think a lot of people would say, yes, I knew that it wasn't going to move, and it doesn't. But here is the fun part. What if I give it a push? Now I don't have my motion detector hooked up, but I'm still going to give it a push. Ok, so here goes a push that way. I'm going to push it that way. I don't have too much room to go. I'm going to push it back this way. That wasn't very far, but if you somehow measured the acceleration of this, what do you think the acceleration of this car would be? It would be traveling at a constant velocity. Ok, now here's the fun part. Now let's change the mass. One side. This is 20 grams I'm going to put on that side. Let me use these two blocks. Let me use this block to make sure it doesn't move. Now I'm going to add the 20 grams over here. Now I have 70 grams on this hanger, and 50 still over there. If I let go, I think it's obvious it's going to start moving that way. So let me just do that anyway. So then you can see it accelerates. What's the acceleration and what should it be? This is about 500 grams of the car. 50, 70. Now if you said it's going to move this way, you're not right. Because watch this. It was moving that way for a little bit because I pushed it. The net force tells you the direction of the acceleration. It does not tell you the direction of the motion. So don't get those confused. I'm going to push it again. If you want you can measure this acceleration from the video. That one wasn't good because it hit.