This year, we will continue to engage you with provocative, interesting and fun social events and programs to help you bolster your skills in your current role or explore a new one. I invite you to check out what we have on the books for January and February and to join us soon.

We are constantly looking for ideas and inspiration from our members, so please drop me a note if you have an idea for an event, speaker, panel discussion or topic you’d like to see us run with. We’ll even get you involved!

See You Soon,

Monica
Net Impact Boston President

It is only by historical coincidence that we have left behind a day dedicated to being thankful and find ourselves in the season of giving. I hope that you find the opportunity to be both grateful and generous this month.  Please see our announcements and events sections for ideas!

Also, please join me in thanking and congratulating Kimberly Coletti.  Kim has been our Membership Chair for the last year and a half.  She’s been an amazing asset and showed great dedication to NIB, especially while on an extended assignment in England.  Kim will be joining the Connecticut non-profit Save the Children as their Director, Fundraising Best Practices and Innovation. Save the Children is the leading independent organization creating lasting change in the lives of children in need in the United States and around the world.  If you are interested in speaking to us about filling Kim’s (big) shoes, please see the Announcements Section for more information.

Wishing You the Best,
Monica and the NIB Team

I spent this past weekend in Portland, Oregon at the Net Impact National Conference, with Devon Long-Lytle and Shruthi Rao from the NIB team as well as 2,500+ Net Impact members from around the globe.  There were undergraduate, MBA and Professional Chapters represented attending keynotes, panel sessions, quick-pitch challenges and workshops.  There was more than enough for everyone; topics included CSR, Energy and the Environment, Socially Responsible Investing, as well as Social Enterprise and International Development.  This was my first conference and, like all people there, I left more inspired about making (or helping others make) a positive social and environmental difference using the power of business.  If you have not been to a conference or were unable to attend, mark your calendar and save your pennies for next year — a bit closer, in Baltimore!

Here are a few words (not quoted perfectly, but abridged from my notes) from Hannah Jones, VP of Sustainable Business and Innovation at Nike, during the closing Keynote.  It’s a strong message and a great inspiration for how we can all move forward in our jobs and in the world.

“Stay hungry, stay focused and OBSESS INNOVATION…Sustainability is not about planting trees…This is not about managing risk, but about innovation…RE-THINK how sustainability practitioners show up…DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY…Sustainability is the innovation challenge….THINK like an innovator…Do ONE THING GLORIOUSLY and help bring ideas to scale…YOU are the change the world is waiting for.”

If you are not already a Net Impact Boston member, please take the time to join this fantastic community now.

My Best,
Monica

Monica Sullivan
2011 Net Impact Boston President

During September we wrapped up our call to leadership and are ready to announce our wonderful team in place for the 2011-2012 year.  Most of last year’s Board members have chosen to stay on, some continuing in role and others taking on broader responsibility.  We are very happy to have some new folks joining the team and bringing their energy, talent and fresh ideas to our great chapter.  Welcome to Clare Connelly and Maureen O’Brien (Events), Lotus Samuel and Nigel Gurnett (Professional Development), Barbara Seymour (Internal Communication) and Betsy Assoumou (Student Chapter Relations).  In addition, we are thrilled to announce that after months of development, we’ve put in place a Net Impact Boston Advisory Council of highly invested former Net Impact Boston leaders.  Please see the Announcements section for more information.

Hope to see some of you at the Conference in a few weeks!

Best,
Monica

Monica Sullivan
2011 Net Impact Boston President

September…A beautiful time in New England and a month signaling change.  Net Impact Boston begins its annual chapter year this month and we have the great fortune to have filled most of our Board positions with incumbent team members.  We look forward to leveraging our team’s experience and cohesion in order to bring you continued excellent events and programs this year.  We do, however, have a few open positions for interested and motivated newcomers!  If you are a Net Impact Member, you are welcome to apply to a position on our Board.  If you are considering being a more active member of our community, please review our list of open positions and email me directly with your interest by September 12th.  Our team is planning an annual kick-off meeting for late September and we’d love to have the whole team be able to join.

For your convenience, the open positions are as follows:

Events Team Member(s)
Student Chapter Relations Manager
Secretary of Internal Communications
Professional Development Program Manager

Finally, please join me in wishing Monica Nakielski our best as she exits the Net Impact Boston Team.  Monica has contributed much of her time and talent to the recent successes of the Chapter and we would be not have made such enormous strides without her.  Enjoy the next phase, Monica.

Hope to hear from many of you.

Until Then,
Monica

Seasons, especially in New England, bring such rhythm and pace to our lives.  Like the Back Bay, Kenmore Square and distinct parts of Cambridge, Net Impact will bustle in the next few weeks with folks coming and going.  Our team begins a new Chapter year in September and with that, we will be saying goodbye to a couple of our highly valued members.  Our amazing Events Team duo of Jesse Gossett and Eric Misbach are headed to SF and NYC, respectively, to further their careers, learning and life experience.  We wish them the best of luck and know that we will see them again (perhaps in Portland!).  With the turn of our year, we are looking forward to leveraging our current committee members in existing or new roles while inviting other members to join the NIB team.  We are planning a formal call to leadership meeting for September, but in the meantime we welcome your interest — a great opportunity to learn more would be to join us at our August 9th Happy Hour.  Chat with us about roles we’re looking to fill and hear more about what it’s like to be on the team.

Fall is also the time of year when we work to place Board Fellows.  The Net Impact Boston Board Fellows program — touted as the best — places business professionals in one-year board fellowships with Boston-area non-profit organizations.  These members sit as non-voting board members and advise their sponsor organization as a regular board member.  Fellows contribute their expertise from the private sector to the benefit of participating organizations.  Maura Hodge and Kevin Greer are the extremely hard-working Co-Chairs of the Board Fellows program.  Here’s a bit about the program in Maura’s own words:

“The Board Fellows program is a unique intersection of for-profit and non-profit coordination in Boston. It has been incredibly exciting to see this program grow in the past year and we hope to continue matching talented and passionate business professionals with great non-profits improving the quality of life in both local and global communities.  This past placement, the Board Fellows team facilitated the match of 14 volunteers with a variety of organizations in the greater Boston area. Fellows are assisting boards with various projects, including the development of a young professionals network, corporate sponsorship and other fundraising strategy development, and institutionalization of the board’s operations, structure and roles and responsibilities. As a Board Fellows co-chair, learning about various non-profits in Boston and meeting professionals who are excited and willing to serve has been incredibly inspiring and a perfect example of putting Net Impact’s ideals into action.”

For more info on the Board Fellows program, check out this interview with a current Fellow  or visit the Board Fellows page.

See you soon,

Monica

Monica Sullivan
2011 Net Impact Boston President

See You Soon.
Monica

Monica Sullivan
2011 Net Impact Boston President

NET IMPACT BOSTON AWARDED GOLD CHAPTER DESIGNATION

I am thrilled to announce that our professional NIB chapter has achieved Gold chapter standing, a designation bestowed on Net Impact’s top chapters.  This year, just 8 of 55 professional Net Impact chapters worldwide achieved Gold standing.  Our team and committee members have dedicated so much of themselves to continuing the tradition of greatness this chapter is known for.  If you’d like to learn more, please read the entire press release.

MEMBER HOLLY FOWLER BRINGS SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEM EVENT TO NIB

As we know, our chapter would not thrive without the involvement and commitment of our members.  Our members – their interests, experience and vitality – make up our community.  Holly Fowler is an integral member of our community who is bringing us an exciting event this month.  A bit about Holly…

Aside from being a Net Impact Boston champion, Holly works as the Sr. Director of Sustainability and CSR at Sodexo, a food service and facilities management company.  She’s also a former Net Impact Boston President and lifetime member of the organization.  You’re likely to bump into Holly at one of our events, where she will disarm you with her smile and approachability.  She’ll engage you in a highly enlightened conversation about the environment, food, Europe or triathlons.  And since you can’t help but stick around to talk more, she’ll buy you a beer.

Net Impact Boston is thrilled that Holly is organizing a sustainable food system event scheduled for June 22. Here’s a brief overview of the event:

Getting Dirty: The Low Down on Building a Sustainable Food System.

The objective of the evening is to engage in conversation about the emerging revolution in our food system with local growers, entrepreneurs, advocates, non-profits and members of the community.  We will address the importance of food as it connects to the economy, the environment and social wellness.  We have the pleasure to draw on many local organizations within our community to bring perspective to this discussion, including Project Bread, GreenCity Growers and Taza Chocolate.

Read the entire Member Q&A, to learn more and come out on the 22nd to participate in this discussion!

With community top of mind, I’d like to share with you an opportunity to join your community for an amazing event this month and to highlight the great, good work of a member of Net Impact Boston.  But first, I want to share some news.

Emile Chin-Dickey, a staple on the Net Impact Boston Team over the years and our most dedicated Director of the Board Fellows Program has moved on.  He is off to Cornell to complete his MBA after spending a summer in France with family and friends. I want to thank Emile so very much for his commitment to the program he developed, for being a trusted partner on the team and for sharing his gifts, generosity and laughter with the overall NIB community.  Emile has been grooming his successors for some months, and I am very happy to announce that Maura Hodge and Kevin Greer will be spearheading this program going forward.  Thanks Guys!

On May 12th, our chapter will be co-hosting an event, “A Conversation with Bill Drayton” with the Simmons MBA chapter.  Bill is a pioneer and industry leader in the field of Social Enterprise.  Not coincidentally, this month I would also like to highlight the work of one of our members, Siiri Morley of the social enterprise Prosperity Candle.  Siiri was generous enough to allow me to interview her for a brief Q & A to share with you.  Here’s an excerpt from the interview:

Q:  We have an event coming up in May where Ashoka Founder Bill Drayton is speaking.  What do you know of him and his work?

I respect him deeply and see him as one of the people making social enterprise a field of its own. When I first started learning about the field, I didn’t think I was a social entrepreneur.  I think this is really interesting.  Before Bill’s work, people like me felt they didn’t belong, like they didn’t have a field.  We weren’t exactly doing for-profit or non-profit work, but were using business tools and creating social/societal impact.

When I was younger I was often critiqued because my interests were so broad.  I’d love to go back to those people now and show them how these diverse interests of mine have
come together in an important way.  Leaders like Bill Drayton have helped me recognize that there’s a community focused on social enterprise – a community to identify with and get help and resources from.  Social enterprise goes beyond the immediate impact in one community.

Bill Drayton leads the field.  Our team fantasizes about being one of the Ashoka Fellows.  That would be incredible to be a part of.  And I’ve seen him speak, he’s fantastic.

Q:  Can you define the field of social enterprise?

Fascinating question because every group has a different definition.  Social Enterprise is an approach to creating social change by applying business tools and perspectives. There’s a focus on financial sustainability — more on generating impact and less on fundraising.  The field addresses needs that have existed for long time, but does so in a more sustainable and replicable way.  I like the way Bill has framed it — this is about sharing ideas so that social entrepreneurs can address immediate needs, but can do so with replication and scale.

Please click here to read the full interview with Siiri and join us on May 12th to meet Siiri in person and learn more about Social Enterprise.

Enjoy May.

Monica Sullivan
2011 Net Impact Boston President

On April 22nd this month, we will celebrate Earth Day.  And if you haven’t decided how to honor the occasion, I’d like to offer a recommendation or two:

GET INSPIRED – Read Net Impact’s Corporate Careers the Make a Difference Guide

About the Guide:
“A growing number of graduates and working professionals believe they can use business to make a positive impact on the world. But what are they to do when faced with such a rapidly increasing demand for dedicated positions in corporate responsibility and sustainability? Corporate Careers That Make a Difference answers this question with more than 80 pages of practical advice, including dozens of success stories from the field.

Whether you’re just starting the job search, switching career directions, or looking for ways to incorporate social and environmental change into your current role, Corporate Careers That Make a Difference will equip you with a sturdy foundation on which to build a lasting career in sustainability and social responsibility, no matter the department or job title.”

GET EQUIPPED– Leverage our Impact at Work Program

About the Program:

The Impact at Work program develops and supports a community of social intrapreneurs who leverage their business skills and ideals to make a positive difference in their workplace.  Impact at Work provides resources, project ideas as well as success stories from within the Net Impact Global community.  Take a look at what Mark Adams of Intel Capital executed as an Impact at Work Project: How to launch a socially-minded business plan competition through your company.

As part of our continued focus on supporting you in your career, NIB will be offering support to individuals or teams looking to kick off a successful Impact at Work Program. More details will be coming out later this month.

Until then, I hope to see you later this month at our Speed-Networking Event!
Monica Sullivan
2011 Net Impact Boston President