Best Practices in Junior and Associate Boards

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Registration is closed. Thank you for your interest.

8:30 - 9:00am - Networking and Coffee
9am - Noon - Workshop

Half-Day Workshop: $90

About this session: Nonprofit organizations have embraced associate boards as a tool for engaging young professionals but sometimes find difficulty in maximizing the creative energy and philanthropic support the board can bring to an organization. This session will share best practices related to creating and maintaining a successful board ranging from recruitment and selection to board structure and event planning. The session will also focus on ways nonprofit organizations can cultivate a meaningful board experience for members that impacts both short and long term engagement with the organization.

Who Should Participate:  Staff seeking to develop or revamp an associate board

About the Presenter(s):   Sarah Hurwit Gomel, Strategic Nonprofit Consultant and Lauren King, Manager of Quality Improvement, Youth Guidance

Sarah Hurwit Gomel was formerly Granicus, Inc.’s vice president of strategic planning. She led cross-departmental initiatives and projects in areas such as strategic mergers, corporate development, and operational improvements. With five years of experience working closely with the executive team and board of directors, Sarah worked as a “fixer” for the government transparency software organization. She was responsible for everything from strategic client project management to employee engagement and corporate social responsibility. In 2011, Sarah became involved in Chicago Foundation for Women as an active member of the Young Women's Giving Council and was elected co-chair in 2013. In 2015, she was elected to CFW's board of directors and as an ad hoc member of the executive committee. Sarah has served as the CFW governance chair since 2017. She currently volunteers with All A-Board Alliance—a nonprofit dedicated to improving the impact of non-governing nonprofit boards—where she manages social media campaigns, designs digital content, and builds and engages the network of members and supporters through collaborative and generous online interactions. Sarah also serves on the board of the Association of Class Leaders of Brown University and is the vice president of the class of 2006. She graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Brown University and was a Ransome Scholar at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, where she earned a master’s degree in peace and conflict studies.

Lauren King has over 10 years experience working in the Chicagoland nonprofit sector as a program evaluator and community organizer. She spent 8 years doing behavioral health program evaluation at Children’s Research Triangle where she became the assistant research director. Currently, she serves as the manager of quality improvement at Youth Guidance. Previously, Lauren was an adjunct instructor and taught diversity and community engagement to graduate students at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, where she earned her MA in forensic psychology. She earned her BA in psychology and criminal justice from Bradley University. She served on the YNPN Chicago executive board (2012-2015) and also served on the steering committee for the launch year of the Chicago chapter of Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy. In addition, she was a co-founding executive board member for All A-Board Alliance, a nonprofit organization aimed at cultivating meaningful civic engagement among young professionals through associate board service. Lauren is also a 2018 Education Pioneers Fellow and currently the Alumni Adviser for Chicago. She has also been a facilitator for the YNPN Chicago Leadership Institute since 2017.