Applications are CLOSED for 2021-2022 School Year. Thank you to everyone who applied!
The Fellowship
Organizations in many of our local communities support children, youth and their families, in childcare, schools, food provision, afterschool activities and more. Organizations will need support to strategize, restructure and respond to monumental shifts in their operations, programs and leadership in the wake of the Covid-19 global health pandemic. Key components and Fellow requirements include:
Fellows commit to spending approximately eight hours/month on nonprofit board service. This includes time attending board meetings (usually in the evening) and completing a strategically significant project identified by the Board.
Together with the participating BBF nonprofit organizations, selected Fellows will scope out a strategically significant business project typically drawing from finance, marketing, strategy, or governance. As one nonprofit partner quipped, “Do not check your business training at the door. Your educational and practical business skills are what are required to propel our mission-driven enterprise.” Project work is usually carried out through an identified Committee (on which the Fellow will serve). Completed project work is presented to the Board or Committee at the Fellow’s last meeting (usually in April or May) and archived with the Center.
- Mentors. Fellows are integrated into host boards with the guidance of a board member who is the primary board resource for the duration of service (October – May). Mentors also field questions and provide feedback for Fellows on the required Board project work.
- Students receive two units of credit; one unit of credit for the Nonprofit Boards course and one unit of credit for Berkeley Board Fellows experiential learning.
- Kickoff. Fellows and Mentors meet to discuss and develop project and work plans and agree upon cadence, board and committee meeting dates, methods of communication, etc. Usually planned in October.
- Finale. Wrap-up meeting in April where Fellows share service experiences with each other and discuss future board service goals.
Fellows are required to take the Nonprofit Boards: Governance and Leadership class offered both spring and fall semesters. This one-unit course provides students with a working knowledge of the role played by boards of directors in the nonprofit sector and prepares them to be active and informed members of the nonprofit boards. Get exposed to all the things you need to know before starting your own nonprofit board career. Specifically, the course will explore the following aspects of boards:
- Why boards exist, their legal and fiduciary responsibilities, and the differences between for-profit and nonprofit boards, including Sarbanes-Oxley Act requirements.
- The responsibilities of nonprofit boards, with a special focus on practical issues that are likely to emerge as boards seek to fulfill their responsibilities?
- The enablers of strong board performance and how good boards deal with the many practical challenges and tradeoffs in executing these best practices?
- How boards interact with chief executives, staff and community?
- Board assessment tools and other resources board members can draw on to improve governance?
- How should you think about joining a nonprofit board and becoming an effective director?
Students will have the opportunity to meet members of the Bay Area nonprofit sector, including current board members, chief executives, and fundraisers to discuss their roles and learn firsthand the challenges facing these different leaders in an increasingly competitive nonprofit marketplace. In order to enroll in this course, students will need to use 80 bid points.
Timeline
Application Process Timeline
- Nonprofit Applications – Due September 10th, 2021
- Student Info Session – September 14th, 2021. 12.30pm – 1.30pm
- For anyone who was unable to attend: Recording of Info Session
- Student Applications –
Due September 20th, 2021Extended: September 22nd, 2021 - Student and Nonprofit Notification – September 30, 2021
Program Timeline
- Kick-off Meeting – October 13th, 2021
- Final project due / Board presentation – April/May
- Student Program Finale – End of April
Matching Process
Students are selected to participate in the Berkeley Board Fellows program through a competitive application process. Once the Center selects Fellows, it matches them to the nonprofits that align best with Fellows’ industry experience and personal interests. If you have specific questions about the application process, please email socialimpact@haas.berkeley.edu.
The ever-expanding list of non-profits involved:
- Berkeley Community Scholars
- Cal Performances, UC Berkeley
- Cancer Support Community SF Bay Area Children Rising
- Destiny Arts Center
- Habitot Children’s Museum
- La Scuola International School
- League of Women Voters of Berkeley, Albany, Emeryville
- Lotus Bloom
- Opera Parallèle
- San Francisco Opera
- SEEDS
- Women Eco Artists Dialog
Coaches
Nora Silver
Founder and Faculty Director of the Center for Social Sector Leadership
Nora is Director of the Center and Adjunct Professor at the Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley. She brings more than 30 years of leadership experience as a nonprofit founder, executive director and board member. She has consulted internationally with more than 200 organizations on strategy and governance, authored books and articles on leadership and community involvement and taught at universities and conferences around the world. She founded and ran three nonprofit organizations and has experience as a funder at a community foundation. Nora teaches Social Sector Solutions. She has led the growth of the Board Fellows program from 8 fellows in 2004 to 114 fellows in 2013.
Email: silver@haas.berkeley.edu
Irvenia Waters
Executive & Team Performance Coach
Irvenia Waters is a leadership development consultant working with the health care industry, independent schools and non-profit organizations in the areas of governance, strategic planning and resource development. Irvenia graduated from Duke University and holds an M.S. in Public Health from University of North Carolina and an M.B.A. from Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, focused on organizational behavior and human resources.
Irvenia has held leadership positions in several Bay Area independent schools and non-profit organizations. Currently she serves as Vice-President of Lick Wilmerding High School Board of Trustees and as member of the Advisory Committee for the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Education. Irvenia chaired the boards of Marin Country Day School and Legal Services for Children, a non-profit law firm providing legal and social work services to children and youth, and was Vice-President of the Board of Directors for The Little School.
Email: iwaters@waterscoaching.com
Paul Janson
Director Emeritus from McKinsey & Company
Paul co-founded and led McKinsey’s Global Nonprofit Practice serving leading nonprofits and foundations on issues of strategy and organization. He is the author of many articles and reports challenging sector beliefs about performance, including a co-authored report entitled, The Dynamic Board: Lessons from High-Performing Nonprofits. Paul teaches Social Sector Solutions and Nonprofit Boards: Governance and Leadership at Haas. He currently serves as the board chair of Care USA and on the SCE Fund board.
Email: paul55jansen@gmail.com
Lynne LaMarca Heinrich
Senior Consultant at Marts & Lundy
Lynne joined Marts & Lundy as a senior consultant in 2000 with more than five years of consulting experience in her own practice and with another national consulting firm. She has served as co-leader of the firm’s Arts & Culture Practice Group and has served in staff and consultant roles to the nonprofit sector for more than 30 years. Her varied client portfolio includes performing and visual arts organizations, educational institutions, hospitals and medical centers, health and human service agencies, museums, environmental organizations, foundations, corporations, venture philanthropists, and numerous public-private partnerships. Lynne provides consulting services in fundraising, capital campaigns, nonprofit management, board governance, strategic planning, leadership coaching and development to nonprofit organizations.
Along with her Marts & Lundy client work, Lynne serves as a member of the Advisory Board of the Center for Nonprofit and Public Leadership at the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley. She is also a Lecturer in board governance at the Haas School of Business, teaches in the Getty Leadership Institute and is a former member of the Board of Directors of Marts & Lundy.
Email: lynnelh@comcast.net
Colin Boyle
Deputy Director of UCSF Global Health Sciences
Colin is the first Deputy Director of UCSF Global Health Sciences (GHS), dedicated to improving health and reducing disease worldwide. Colin joined UCSF after 15 years with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), where he was a partner and managing director leading many of the firm’s social impact projects. Before BCG, he worked at Partnership for Organ Donation in Boston as a site team specialist and for Corporate Decisions in Boston as an associate. Colin has worked extensively in global health, business management, and strategy development and is currently on the board of the Oakland Museum of California. He also teaches Strategic Management of Nonprofit Organizations at Haas.
Email: colinfboyle@gmail.com
Cristy Johnston Limón
Executive Director of the Center for Social Sector Leadership
-
- Cristy Johnston Limón joins Berkeley Haas as a serial social sector leader having most recently held executive director roles at national poetry and spoken word organization Youth Speaks, Oakland based performing arts organization Destiny Arts Center, and San Francisco economic development organization in San Francisco, Excelsior Action Group. Her professional experience includes real estate and community development, public policy as a legislative aide, and nonprofit leadership with a focus on organizational change. Cristy grew up in San Francisco and is passionate about advancing social change through broad cross-sector engagement, investing in leaders and in social impact organizations. On the board of Oakland’s Bandaloop and former co-chair of the Haas Alumni Diversity Council, Cristy mentors and leads rising and established leaders in arts, culture, and business to advance positive social change. Cristy speaks often about distributed leadership models, community engagement, diversity in recruitment, hiring, board engagement, and how to develop arts and cultural facilities centered around connection and place keeping.
Cristy is a UC Berkeley alum with an EMBA (2016) from Berkeley-Haas School of Business and a BA with honors (2002) in Political Science. Cristy has been a guest speaker in Haas classes, including the Center’s Nonprofit Boards class.
Email: cjlimon@berkeley.edu
