Arts & Business Council

Professionally, I help organizations to be sustainable through their people processes.  I am a Talent Management and Organization Development Leader with extensive experience in the Healthcare, Consumer Products and Government sectors.  I have worked for BlueCross BlueShield, Quaker, Pepsico and the Internal Revenue Service.  I place high value on people learning and having fun while they get results.  

My introduction to the Arts & Business Council of Chicago sprang from a brief and seemingly casual conversation with the then President of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, Paul Boulis.  Unbeknownst to me, Paul was also an A&BC board member—in fact, he was the President of the board at that time.  Somehow, prior to the start of a company leadership meeting, we began talking about our mutual love for the arts.  It started with Paul telling me about the overflow paintings he had in his basement and my telling him about my “art corner”—that spot in my living room with art pieces patiently waiting for their turn to be rotated-in and hung on the walls.

Fast forward a few months—I received an email from Paul asking if I would be interested in participating in the A&BC’s On BOARD Program, and the rest is history.

I can’t help but point out that there are at least two lessons to be learned here:

1. There are NO casual conversations with great leaders.  Everything counts!
2. Passionate board members are RELENTLESS in making the most of every opportunity to recruit talent, time and treasure for their organizations.

Participating in the On BOARD program gave me the opportunity to learn what it takes to be a contributing board member in an arts organization.  I learned about what the board’s roles are, the legal and fiduciary responsibilities involved, plus the fundraising expectations of board service.  The program covered structure and key stakeholders, how I could add value and what to look for in selecting an arts group that best suited my interests.  I was exposed to a plethora of Chicagoland arts organizations and awed by the passionate visionaries and heroic leaders behind Chicago’s vibrant arts scene.  I was able to hear from their staff, learn about their challenges, attend performances and explore their venues behind the scenes.

On BOARD helped me to understand the key responsibilities of board membership and to appreciate the major distinctions between nonprofit arts organizations and the profit-driven business world I came from.  The program helped me make an informed decision about the board I would choose to join. 

I am thrilled that I joined the board of the Neighborhood Writing Alliance four years ago. The Neighborhood Writing Alliance provokes dialogue and promotes change by creating opportunities for adults in low-income Chicago neighborhoods to write, publish and perform works about their lives. These works are published in the award-winning Journal of Ordinary Thought four times a year.  Since joining the board of the NWA, I have served on the Strategic Planning Committee and the Development Committee. I serve as the Chair of the Evaluation Committee, whose work is to establish a systematic approach to measuring the success of our mission, and I am currently Vice President of the Board.

At the end of 2009 I left my corporate role and had additional time and a more flexible schedule.  I was attracted to A&BC’s other core service, the Business Volunteers for the Arts program, for a number of reasons.  It provided the opportunity for me to have a time-limited, focused experience working closely with one or two partners and driving toward very specific outcomes. 

Since joining the BVA program, I have served on two consultant teams.  For the first one I worked with two other partners to create a strategic plan for Fifth House Ensemble, a young, very hip and fast-growing chamber music group.  With the second project I worked with two other consultants to create an audience development plan for a well-established, award-winning music ensemble, The Chicago Chamber Musicians.  I am glad to be able to say that both projects were successful, accomplishing the desired outcomes on time and with a high degree of quality.  Client feedback was strongly positive.

So why should you, a potential business volunteer, get involved with A&BC?  (Besides the sheer joy of sharing yourself and your abilities and participating in an industry that inspires the senses with beauty, creativity and innovation time after time.)  Well, in case that’s not enough for you, volunteering for the BVA or On BOARD programs gives you at least three other benefits—I think of them as the Three D’s: Decide, Develop, Discover.

With A&BC, you Decide when and how you volunteer.  If there are times when you are less busy…if you are engaged in a job search and have a more flexible schedule…if there is an organization that intrigues you and needs your skill set, then being a BVA might be the best fit for you.  If you’re ready to commit for a few years to one organization that you are passionate about and want deep involvement with, On BOARD training and subsequent board membership may be the better choice.

In either case, you have the opportunity to Develop.  Obtain new capabilities or new insights into skills you already possess, which you can put into practice in a fresh environment.  Learn a different industry and organization.  Gain a new line of sight into the difference your efforts make, which is often harder to do in large organizations.

Finally, you will Discover new relationships while working alongside other talented professionals with complementary skill sets—not to mention an ongoing relationship with, and incredible support from, the talented A&BC team, truly one of Chicago’s treasures!

I hope my story will help you determine how you might best give of your time, talent or treasure to Chicago’s amazing arts community.  I am confident that you will get more than you give.