Category Archives: President’s Corner

Greetings Net Impact Boston,

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

After being thrust into Summer after a lengthy, rainy Spring we are busy enjoying the outdoors and the slowing-building-bounty at our local farmer’s market.  While Net Impact Boston doesn’t quite play hooky during the summer, we do slow things down a bit.  Please check out our Summer events and join us for a cool drink and lively conversation at one of our Happy Hours.  Or, take this opportunity to reach out to a smaller group of members through one of our social sites — gather a group, go for a hike or meet up for dinner.  Mark Albion, co-founder of Net Impact has said that one of the benefits of being a member of the NI community is that “You can go to NYC, find a Net Impact member and have something in common.”  (He actually said, “sleep on their couch”).  And so, take Mark’s lead.  It’s summer.  Get out there and meet some like-minded friends, explore the local area, talk shop and most of all, enjoy.

See You Soon.
Monica

Monica Sullivan
2011 Net Impact Boston President

This month I have two very exciting pieces of news to share.  Both highlight the continued great work of our Net Impact Boston team as well as our members.  Enjoy!

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!