Months of discussions and careful document preparation preceded the VTI Board Strategic Planning Meeting held in person in Washington, DC, on July 23, 2024. Board members Rudolf Rodenburg and Mariska Praktiek facilitated this day-long meeting, the first strategic planning event held since the death of our founder, Naomi Feil, last year. Board members traveled from various distances in the United States and Europe, including Seattle, Washington, Zurich, Switzerland, and Barcelona, Spain, to show their commitment to planning the future of Validation. Several others joined by Zoom. As a warm-up, each attendee was asked to relate briefly how he/she was inspired to become involved with Validation and, specifically, the VTI Board. The heartfelt personal narratives reinforced what we always knew intuitively: All of us who have been personally connected with Naomi Feil found that she not only touched our hearts and lives but also changed them for the better. The Board expressed its united desire to continue to implement Naomi’s vision and the core values of our organization, which include respect, transparency, and gentle rather than hard-sell persuasion. We strive to maintain the brand quality she instilled in our culture and approach our competitors with clarity and neutrality to distinguish our approach from theirs. We are always open to creativity and innovation to expand our audience and help more people worldwide.
Caregivers are often overwhelmed with the demands of their jobs, and the standard ‚quick fixes‘ they are offered do not always provide the best care. Validation training, while it may take time, money, and effort to master, offers a more gratifying way to experience caregiving that is person-centered and humanistic. Our products and services are designed to connect with the hearts of caregivers and show them this more effective approach. Ultimately, this is a win-win-win for the resident, the caregiver, and the memory care community. While it is challenging to bring about institutional change and acceptance of Validation as an effective way to communicate with those who have cognitive loss in old age, those who have witnessed the transformative moments brought on by Validation can attest to its efficacy. We are committed to gathering more data to support our claims and inspire others to adopt this approach.
The focus of the first part of the morning session was Succession Planning, specifically the position of Executive Director, which we will need to recruit and hire after Vicki de Klerk-Rubin’s planned retirement in October 2026. It is impossible to duplicate the unique family heritage and skillset Vicki has brought to the role of Executive Director of VTI since 2014. We were tasked with reviewing the chief duties of the job and generating individual lists of the required skills we are looking for in order to create an accurate job description. Vicki presented us with a detailed Road Map with which to work. Board member Charles De Vilmorin collected all the individual responses and will
brainstorm with the other Succession Committee members to prepare a job description we can post. The goal is to have a suitable candidate who can be trained by Vicki and ready to assume the duties of the ED position no later than April 2026. Vicki will not be leaving VTI but hopes to continue in her mother’s footsteps as an ambassador for Validation by delivering presentations, attending conferences, teaching courses, facilitating webinars, and supporting VTI with more curricula and teaching materials.
The rest of the sessions were devoted to a SWOT analysis. S=Strengths, W=Weaknesses, O=Opportunities, and T=Threats. Rudolf clarified that Strengths and Weaknesses are internal and not subject to outside forces, so they can be controlled, grow, and even cease to be. Opportunities and Threats are generated by outside forces and, once recognized, can be managed. We synthesized the SWOT factors to create strategies and action points for the immediate future ( 3-6 months) and more distant future ( 3-5 years). The Board broke into small groups for in-depth discussions about four proposed strategic areas ranging from product development and marketing to maintaining quality, guiding collaborative growth, and improving caregiver satisfaction through improved training.
Board members volunteered individually to spearhead the follow-up in each of the strategic areas and work with our VTI team to bring our action points to reality. This collaborative approach ensures that everyone is included and part of the process. We came to the meeting having done our preparation homework and left this productive meeting with more homework to continue our task. Together, we will bring Naomi Feil’s vision to life and continue to make a difference in the world of Validation.