Our board members have been some of our most important volunteers. Board members play an important role in the governance of a nonprofit. Serving without compensation, they determine the Mission and Vision of the organization and plan how to best provide the services that further those aims. “Rather than steer the boat by managing day-to-day operations, board members provide foresight, oversight, and insight.” (1)They also work to ensure the financial stability of the organization by raising funds and providing careful stewardship.
In other words, it involves a lot of boring meetings, careful planning, following strict rules and guidelines, meeting deadlines and lots of other things that don’t come naturally if you’ve got ADHD. Happily, a number of people, including a few neurotypical types, took up the challenge. It was always a “working board,” with members taking an active role in planning and hosting events as well as tackling larger projects at times. Sometimes it was creating new services and pursuing grants to help achieve them. Twice it involved collecting fresh material to update the ADD Reader. It’s never been an easy or immediately rewarding job. You had to really believe in the work to keep going.
A few had come to the organization looking for help for themselves or their family but ended up giving much more than they received. Some were support group facilitators who took on the larger leadership role as well. Others were professionals who worked with ADHD concerns, had been presenters, and joined the cause when asked. Occasionally, they were just friends that believed in the value of our work and felt they had something to offer. We’re grateful to have had such a diverse and hard working group of individuals.
(1) National Council of Nonprofits https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/tools-resources/board-roles-and-responsibilities#sthash.toXEpwoc
Current Board of Directors
Denise Allan
Cassandra Hahn
Cynthia Seager, MA, LMHCA
Angela Heithaus, MD
Jill Murphy
Susan Small
Past Board Members
David Pomeroy, MD
Todd Erik Henry, JD
Jeffery Wooley, MA
Pete Terlaak
Deborah McGrew, MD
Jennifer Jurik
Steven Engle
Cheryl Comen
Holsey Satterwhite
Steve Curry, MA
Sara Gardner
Terri Walsh
Nancy Walter
David Haapala, Ph.D.
Shirley Carstens, M.S., RN, NCSN, FNASN
Don Baker, M.A., LMHC/Psychotherapist
Shannon Ronald
Judie Bilderback
Gary Dennerline, Ph.D.
Carolyn Delaney, M.Ed.
Joan Riley Jager
Julianne Owen
Gayle Rieber
Cynthia Hammer
(I apologize for not having the names of all of the former Board members. There were many others who contributed before 2002 whose names escape me. These were all I could find online.)
“Photo courtesy of ambro/ FreeDigitalPhoto.com”