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b/c she is the president of a local nonprofit. the npa deals w/ the homeless, specifically providing shelter for families (temporary housing, and other services).
she knows that i do a lot of volunteer work, and also my knowledge of issues surrounding foster care and adoption (i'm on the speaker's bureau for foster parents in my county, plus am active in several more programs in my church and community).
also, i'm black. an they trying to 'diversify' their board/leadership (there's an obvious disconnect btw their organization and the population which comprises the majority of their clients, if you dig).
so now i got another set of meetings to attend monthly, and committee work, etc. but i respect their mission and results, and agree w/ their aims.
now, translating that... i'd say that if you wanted to get BoD experience, you should start by volunteering for a lot of local non-profits. many of them, you'll find, have unfilled director positions. if you develop a track record of serving, and demonstrate committment and vision, i'm sure that offers of leadership will follow. (if you want to push the issue, i'd suggest that when volunteering you inquire about their board structure and status -- depending upon what your goals are, if you're upfront, they could probably at least spell out for you what requirements they have).
btw, i also used to be on the bd of directors for a pop warner football organization. similar deal. i volunteered to coach, and was doing so (before i even had kids old enough to be in the program) and was eventually asked.
you can find out a lot about how organizations are run. i think it's also good leadership training, as well. seeing how decisions are made, and learning to steer large groups of people. (also, you get to see how petty and simple people can be, but that's with any group of people).
hope that helps.
peace & blessings,
x.
"I'm on the Zoloft to keep from killing y'all." - Iron Mike
my philosophy on free time:
"and next time when he get it he'll waste it on somethin' useful" - MF Doom
peace & blessings,
x.
www.twitter.com/poetx
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** i move away from the mic to breathe in
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