# May 11 2026

## Attendees:&#x20;

| Name                                                 | Attendance | Role                          | Voting Seat (Y/N) |
| ---------------------------------------------------- | ---------- | ----------------------------- | ----------------- |
| [Simo Simovic](mailto:simo.simovic@intersectmbo.org) | Yes        | Secretary                     | N                 |
| Jack Briggs                                          | Yes        | Executive Director            | Y                 |
| James Meidinger                                      | Yes        | Community Member Seat         | Y                 |
| Thiago Nunes                                         | Yes        | Community Member Seat         | Y                 |
| Kristijan Kowalsky                                   | Yes        | Community Member Seat         | Y                 |
| Jose Miguel de Gamboa                                | Yes        | Community Member Seat         | Y                 |
| Georg Link                                           | No         | OSC Chair                     | Y                 |
| Samuel Leathers                                      | Yes        | Product Chair                 | Y                 |
| Maureen Wepngogn                                     | Yes        | MCC Chair                     | Y                 |
| Megan Hess                                           | Yes        | CBC Chair                     | Y                 |
| Kevin Hammond                                        | Yes        | TSC Chair                     | Y                 |
| Tim Harrison                                         | No         | GMC Chair                     | Y                 |
| Nicolas Cerny                                        | Yes        | CCC Chair                     | Y                 |
| Lorenzo Bruno                                        | No         | Head of Product & Membership  | Y                 |
| Larisa Mcfarlane                                     | Yes        | Head of Ecosystem & Community | Y                 |
| Nick Cook                                            | No         | Head of Operations (Interim)  | N                 |
| Bosko Majdanac                                       | Yes        | Secretary of TSC              | N                 |
| Abhik Nag                                            | Yes        | Secretary of MCC              | N                 |
| Lloyd Duhon                                          | Yes        | Secretary of Budget Committee | N                 |
| Terence McCutcheon                                   | Yes        | Secretary of OSC              | N                 |
| Lara Bonasorte                                       | Yes        | Secretary of GMC              | N                 |
| Thomas Lindseth                                      | Yes        | Secretary of CCC              | N                 |

### Additional Attendees:

Adam Rusch - Member of the Board

Rand McHenry - Member of the Board

Laura Mattiucci - Vice Chair of GMC

Kyle Solomon - Vice Chair of Product Committee

Ken-Erik Ølmheim - Vice Chair of Civics

Fred Tanaka - Former member of the ISC

Mike Hornan - Observer

Selin Rhayem - Observer

Valeria Devaux - Observer

## Agenda:

* New Elected Members
* Committee Updates
* Committee Election Update & Onboarding
* AOB

## Discussion/Actions

### 1. Opening & ISC Elections Update

The meeting opened with attendance confirmation and introduction of the newly elected ISC members:

* Thiago Nunes
* James Meidinger

An overview was provided of the ISC structure, including:

* 3 Intersect staff voting seats
* 4 community-elected ISC seats
* Committee chairs serving as voting members

It was confirmed that onboarding activities for newly elected members are underway, including:

* Access to documentation and communication channels
* Dedicated onboarding workshop sessions scheduled for the following week
* Introduction to ISC meeting cadence and governance structure

The ISC also acknowledged and thanked outgoing elected members Fred Tanaka and Sheldon Hunt for their service.

***

## 2. Budget Process & Administration Update

An update was provided on the ongoing 2026 budget process:

* The submission phase closed with 69 submitted proposals
* Off-chain voting in Hydra/Ekklesia is scheduled to begin on 26 May
* Additional community engagement and proposal feedback is expected during the remaining review period

Updates were also shared regarding administration tooling and smart contract improvements:

* Significant UX and dashboard improvements are being implemented
* A new version of the administration smart contract is being prepared with additional functionality
* Migration planning from the current contract instance to the new version is underway

Additional progress:

* Intersect is preparing to offer stablecoin support and hedging services (e.g., USDM/USDX) for administered initiatives
* The FY25 annual report is being finalized using the Reeve reporting platform

***

## 3. Governance, Reporting & Community Confidence

Discussion focused on the importance of:

* Providing clearer visibility into progress of 2025 funded projects
* Improving confidence and transparency for DReps and the wider community
* Ensuring community members can assess vendor delivery and milestone progress before voting on future proposals

An existing milestone and delivery reporting document covering administered projects through March was highlighted, with recognition that stronger communication and visibility of these reports is still needed.

Discussion also acknowledged ongoing community debate regarding governance decisions and election-related actions. It was emphasized that:

* Transparency and process integrity remain critical
* Intersect must carefully balance accountability, fairness, and community trust

***

## 4. Committee Updates

* Technical Steering Committee (TSC) reported continued progress toward the Van Rossum hard fork, with preview already upgraded and pre-production testing underway. Mainnet governance action submission remains targeted for 29 May. The committee also shared updates on the Plutus cost model rollout, Constitutional Committee minimum size proposal sequencing, tooling readiness, and ongoing discussions around post-quantum strategy and linear throughput scaling assumptions. The TSC budget proposal has now been submitted and is entering broader community review.
* Civics Committee confirmed the launch of the Constitutional Committee election process through the governance platform, with the application window remaining open until 7 June. The committee also continues testing and refinement of the constitutional amendment process tooling and reviewing early community and DRep sentiment related to its submitted budget proposal.
* Budget Committee discussed the current budget review phase and the challenge of helping voters navigate proposals without introducing bias. The committee noted the importance of providing useful context and supporting information to improve proposal evaluation and community understanding during the upcoming voting period.
* Growth & Marketing Committee (GMC) provided updates asynchronously in chat, including ongoing ecosystem engagement activities and proposal-related discussions.
* Product Committee was referenced indirectly through ongoing governance and proposal discussions, though no dedicated verbal update was provided during the session.

***

## 5. Committee Elections & Onboarding

A detailed update was provided regarding committee onboarding:

* 102 candidates participated across all committees
* 187 unique members voted
* Multiple X Spaces and Virtual Hub sessions were held during the election process, generating strong engagement and discussion

Newly elected committee members:

* Have received onboarding materials and access to platforms
* Will participate in onboarding workshops during the following week
* Are beginning participation in committee meetings and working sessions

Discussion also covered upcoming Chair & Vice Chair elections:

* Elections are expected to take place during June via the Member Area voting system
* Members discussed balancing consistency across committees with allowing enough onboarding time for new members before leadership elections occur

***

## 6. Governance Process & Member Participation

Discussion focused on improving:

* Feedback loops between members, committees, ISC, and the Board
* Visibility of committee work and ongoing initiatives
* Mechanisms for members to raise ideas, requests, and governance concerns

It was acknowledged that:

* Existing governance structures and supporting documentation have significantly improved compared to previous years
* Further work is still needed to ensure members feel heard and connected to decision-making processes

There was also discussion around reviewing:

* Committee incentives and participation structures
* Governance working group priorities and future process improvements

***

## 7. Committee Naming & Ecosystem Positioning Discussion

A discussion was held regarding use of the term “Cardano” in committee names (e.g., “Cardano Budget Committee”).

Key themes included:

* Clarifying that committees support work for the broader Cardano ecosystem rather than acting as governing authorities over Cardano itself
* Ensuring communication avoids perceptions of overreach or centralized authority
* Recognition that some community criticism stems from broader concerns about Intersect’s role within the ecosystem

Participants generally agreed that:

* Messaging and communication clarity are more important than simply renaming committees
* Intersect should continue emphasizing its role as a collaborative, member-based coordination organization rather than a controlling authority

***

## 8. Actions & Next Steps

* Committees - Support onboarding of newly elected members


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