Pride Leadership Graduation
I’m proud to say that I’ve completed the Pride Leadership program with the United Way of Central Ohio. The first of its kind, the program is designed to develop leadership skills to increase volunteer and board service opportunities for people in the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual & Transgender) community. At graduation I received the honor of delivering our commencement speech prior to the delivery of our certificates. Here is my speech and some photos from the event: ——- Fellow Graduates, Over 100 years ago, when Queen Victoria pressed Lord Salisbury to change...
Read MorePride Leadership – Governance and Management
In the first official workshop session of the Pride Leadership program we heard from Dr. Patricia Larkins Hicks, Ph.D. We learned the meaning and function of (non-profit) board governance, how to relate governance to board roles, how to identify good governance practices and how to assess performance. The conversation got started on the composition (representatives) of a board and what responsibilities a board has to its organization. We also learned the four types of boards and their differences: advisory, strategic, managing and administrative. To read more about my experience with...
Read MorePride Leadership – Beyond the Freeway Tour
Today’s session in Pride Leadership was a multi-agency visit where we learned how poverty, homelessness and hunger effect residents in the City of Columbus and the social service connection to effectively addressing those issues. First we received a presentation from Michael Wilkos who works at the Columbus Foundation. After, we left the UWCO offices and four area organizations: Community Development for All People, Community Kitchen, Luthern Social Services and the Gay Ohio History Initiative. Also included in this session was an excerpt of As It Were, Stories of Old Columbus by...
Read MorePride Leadership – Opening Retreat
Recently I wrote about my acceptance and participation in Pride Leadership. For the last two days I have been at the Deer Creek Resort and Conference Center, about 45 minutes outside of Columbus, for the program’s opening retreat. As part of the program, the participants will complete a community service project and attend workshop sessions where we’ll learn about things like board governance, parliamentary procedures and fiscal management. The opening retreat allowed us to truly get to know each other and break down any barriers before embarking on the rest of the program. The...
Read MoreAcceptance into the Pride Leadership Program
I’m excited to announce that I have been accepted into the fourth cycle of Pride Leadership, a program of the United Way of Central Ohio. Initiated in 2008, the Pride Leadership program develops skills to increase volunteer and board service opportunities for people in the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual & Transgender) community. The program is centered around an intense eight-month training curriculum designed to prepare participants for effective service on a not-for-profit board or leadership position. The intent is to give people in the LGBT community a much-needed voice in...
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