The 2013 Austin Involved Board Internship Program graduated a talented group of young professionals armed with the tools and knowledge of what it takes to be an effective board member.
Meet one of our program graduates! Jennifer Baum. An Austinite via Ohio who jumped into the local nonprofit and leadership scene the moment she settled in.
She’s a member of Austin’s Toastmasters, the Austin Professional Women’s Alliance, Austin Involved, and a graduate of our 2013 program.
Why was this Board Internship Program important to you?
I don’t want to get over my head. I want to make sure I know the ins and outs of what’s expected of me [on a board]. I love Austin; it’s the best city I’ve lived in. The program helped me figure out if this is what I really want to do, or should I stay in a volunteer role and serve and help there. I see it happening. When that time comes I want to be ready.
What best practices or skills did you take from the Program?
One of the big things I took away was learning the capacity of where I could help serving on a board. A lot of people say they want to volunteer with kids or cancer. But there are different levels of nonprofit boards -- some are 50 plus members, small startups and others in the middle. So you might want to work with kids or fight cancer, but is your goal to start with a larger, middle or start up board? I never thought about that part – the capacity – and how it varies for each nonprofit. Plus you need to know your responsibilities and the capacity you have to perform your role.
Share a little about your mentorship with the Boys & Girls Club
What I took away is when you look at serving on a board like the Boys & Girls Club, they expect a lot from their board members because it takes so much talent to run a nonprofit at that size. It was interesting to see how a large board functions and what they are looking for in a board members.
What does your future look like when serving on a board?
I’m now a committee chair for Austin Involved. For me, I like to work from the ground up. [Being the Committee Chair] it’s a great way for me to get involved, and what’s next would be being a board member for a nonprofit. Right now, this is the next stepping-stone of understanding what it’s like to be on board. It’s an opportunity to learn even more.
Meet the rest of the 2013 Board Internship Class! http://www.ilivehereigivehere.org/blog/welcoming-the-board-internship-class-of-2013
For more information about the program: Celeste Flores @ 512-432-1936 or celeste@ilivehereigivehere.org.
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