Thanks Godway! We will make sure to address meetings cadence in our earliest meetings. Of course, any changes to cadence also means changes to workplan and timeline. Since we are, essentially, working a product delivery together, we will need to start with the delivery date and work backwards. If it is possible to have few calls and still deliver on time, I’m thrilled. Let’s take a fulsome look in the earliest days when we are first together and see what can be done. I am especially happy to hear input from young minds with fresh ideas – I am not a “we’ve always done it that way” guy.

Thanks again and I look forward to working with you!

Best,

Paul

Paul McGrady

Partner

Elster & McGrady

434 Houston St,

Suite 261

Nashville, TN 37203

3847 N. Lincoln Avenue

Second Floor

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Office Direct: +1 (312) 515-4422

paul@elstermcgrady.com

www.elstermcgrady.com

From: Godsway Kubi via Gnso-dnsabuse-pdp <gnso-dnsabuse-pdp@icann.org>
Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2026 5:15 PM
To: Feodora Hamza <feodora.hamza@icann.org>
Cc: gnso-dnsabuse-pdp@icann.org
Subject: [Gnso-dnsabuse-pdp] Re: DNS Abuse Mitigation PDP1 - WG Kick-Off Email

You don't often get email from gnso-dnsabuse-pdp@icann.org. Learn why this is important

Dear Paul,

Thank you for the warm welcome and for the detailed preparations for the DNS Abuse Mitigation PDP1 Working Group. I appreciate the clarity of the onboarding materials and the structured approach toward our sessions at ICANN85. I look forward to contributing meaningfully to the group’s work.

Regarding the proposed schedule of two 120-minute meetings per week, I would like to respectfully share that, in my view, this may be quite intensive, especially at the outset. To support sustained engagement and broad participation from members across regions and professional commitments, it might be more effective to begin with a lighter pace.

I would like to suggest that we consider starting with one meeting per week during these early stages of development. This would give members adequate time to review materials, consult with stakeholder groups, and prepare substantive input between sessions. As the PDP progresses and workloads stabilize, we could then transition to one meeting every two weeks, which may help maintain long-term participation and deliberative quality.

I remain committed to contributing actively to our discussions under your leadership and alongside the GNSO community.

Thank you again, and I look forward to our kickoff session.

Kind regards,

On Tue, Feb 17, 2026 at 6:00 PM Feodora Hamza via Gnso-dnsabuse-pdp <gnso-dnsabuse-pdp@icann.org> wrote:

Sent on behalf of Paul McGrady

Dear DNS Abuse Mitigation PDP1 Working Group members,

Welcome to the Working Group (WG) tasked with developing policy to advance DNS Abuse mitigation! Today, I received the message from Council Leadership that the SSC has reached its preliminary decision, recommending me as the Chair for the DNS Abuse Mitigation PDP1 WG, though the formal confirmation by Council is to be on 11 March. To ensure smooth progress and a timely start of the PDP work, I was allowed, pending formal confirmation, to already start preparing the WG for ICANN85, supported by the GNSO Support Staff (Feodora Hamza, John Emery, Steve Chan). We look forward to working with all of you on this PDP.

Our first meeting will be at ICANN85 in person on Saturday, 07 March, at 15:00-16:00 (local time). We look forward to seeing those attending in-person there! The WG will have four sessions during ICANN85 taking place as follows:

Kick-off Meeting: Saturday, 07 March at 15:00 – 16:00 (local time)
Session 2: Saturday, 07 March at 16:30 to 17:30 (local time)
Session 3: Monday, 09 March at 13:15 to 14:30 (local time)
Session 4: Monday, 09 March at 15:00 – 16:00 (local time)
Please see the Sched schedule for more information: https://icann85.sched.com/

Shortly after this Email, you will receive an email to complete a Doodle poll to help us schedule two weekly 120-minute meetings for the week of 23 March onwards. Please complete the Doodle poll by Tuesday, 03 March 2026, as requested via email. Any suggestions for future meeting times/duration can be discussed during Kick-off.

In addition, I would like to open a Call for Volunteers for the Vice Chair position to this WG prior to the Kick-off Meeting. Please respond to this email if you would like to volunteer, or if you would like to nominate someone by the end of this month, Friday, 27 February. We will seek to finalize the Vice Chair role by the Kick-off meeting.

In advance of our first meeting, I would like to share a few notes to help ensure that we can get through all of the start-up tasks for the WG in a timely manner.

First, a wiki has been established to provide background and present the current members of the team, while also supporting this Team in its future endeavors. More background information and relevant materials can also be found on the GNSO Activities website. Please take the time to begin familiarizing yourself with the following materials in preparation for our first meeting:

·         Working Group Charter

·         Final Issue Report

·         Consensus Playbook [gnso.icann.org]

·         GNSO Working Group Guidelines [gnso.icann.org] & PDP Manual [gnso.icann.org]

Once you have completed your document review, please confirm here. The goal of this exercise is to ensure that everyone is starting off on the same page with the same foundation of information, which will enable us to be a more effective team.

In addition, a document library is included on the WG workspace (see https://icann-community.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/DAMP1/pages/766312449/4.+Background+Documents ). An understanding of these documents and their contents will help to ensure your full and productive participation in WG deliberations. More materials will be added to this space as the PDP kicks off.

The following items will be on the agenda for the first meeting(s):

Introductions: As standard practice during the first meeting of a PDP WG, members will do a round of verbal introductions so we can get to know each other. Please be prepared to speak briefly (no more than one minute) about your relevant experience/background and any objectives you have for participating.
Leadership Team and Liaison Roles: As mentioned above, we have an opportunity to select one Vice Chair for this WG, but we are not required to do so. If and when we have a volunteer for the Vice Chair position through the mailing list, we will confirm by non-objection during this time. If none, we would suggest that we proceed without a Vice Chair and revisit the topic if necessary in the future. If more than one person volunteers for the role, the WG will decide by voting.

The GNSO Council is to appoint one Liaison who is accountable to the Council. The GNSO Council chose Jennifer Chung as Council Liaison for this PDP. This role will act as a part of the Leadership Team and be introduced during this time.

Other Liaison roles, such as Org Liaisons and the Board Liaison, will be introduced if and when we have confirmation by this time.

Charter: It is required for everyone to read through the Working Group Charter and be familiar with its content before the first call. We will go over some key points and answer any questions that members have.

While we go over the Charter during our first meeting, we’ll talk about some of the logistical elements of how we will work, including the decision-making process for this WG. We’ll also review what is expected of those participating in this WG. From the outset, I would like to emphasize the importance of working towards developing consensus recommendations, which means working constructively and collaboratively to find outcomes that members can ultimately accept. To this end, the Consensus Playbook [gnso.icann.org] is among the resources that you are being asked to read by the second meeting. We’ll be drawing on the methods and techniques in the playbook throughout the life of the PDP, so everyone should be familiar with it.

Project/Work Plan: On our first call, we will have an opportunity to speak a about the Project Plan/Work Plan and what can be expected in our first weeks of work on this PDP. As a preview, the initial areas of focus will be:

High-level review of the topic within the Charter
Requesting input from SO/AC/SG/Cs on the topic
Deliver Project Plan to the GNSO Council

Meeting Frequency and Schedule: Again coming back to housekeeping issues, we’ll have an opportunity to discuss the meeting frequency and the proposed day/time of the calls, if necessary.
GPI/HR Framework: The WG is expected to consider any recommendations that may have potential impact on Global Public Interest (GPI) and/or Human Rights (HR). A high-level overview will be provided on what needs to be considered during the PDP and how this will be reflected into the WG’s Work Plan.

Welcome again to the DNS Abuse Mitigation PDP1 WG, and the GNSO Support Staff and I look forward to working with you all!

Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you.

Best regards,

Paul Mcgrady

Preliminary Chair, DNSAM PDP1

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Godsway Kubi

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