Board members help make critical decisions that influence the strategy, operations, and overall direction of organizations dedicated to meaningful education and community reform. At the same time, members learn about the dynamics of nonprofit governance, acquire new professional skills, and expand their network.

The corps experience uniquely qualifies each alumnus to make a substantial impact in their community as a board member for a nonprofit or charter school. Boards value alumni knowledge of the education industry, curriculum and content expertise, insider's perspective of teachers' issues, and the ability to motivate and manage others.

Teach For America created the Board Leadership Initiative to help alumni pursue leadership experiences and expand their impact on education reform.

Resources

• Exploring What it Means to Serve on a Board: TFANet resources provide alumni with all aspects of board service, from understanding responsibilities to preparing an application and applying for opportunities. Alumni already serving on boards can also access resources to be more effective in their roles.
• Board Opportunities: Alumni can connect directly with board openings by posting a resume on the JOB Resume Database and through our external partnerships.
• Preparing to Be a Strong Board Candidate: As a member of our online community for aspiring and existing board members, alumni can connect with peers, learn new techniques and tricks and find out about upcoming board service training programs in their regions.

Alumni Making an Impact through Board Leadership

Allison DuVal

• Eastern North Carolina '08
• Former Board Member, Virginia Association of Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA)
• Former Board Member, University of Richmond

Allison's entry into nonprofit governance began as a rising 11th grader when she was elected to the State Executive Council of the Virginia FCCLA, a student-centered organization. In this role, she joined Virginia FCCLA's board of directors representing students. Allison continued her association with FCCLA in various roles throughout college and now as a corps member, eventually representing alumni on the state organization's board of directors. Additionally, Allison has been deeply involved in board leadership at the University of Richmond, having served on several major committees as a student representative to the board of trustees and through her continued involvement in alumni work today.

Seth Reynolds

• Los Angeles '94
• Senior Principal, Parthenon Group
• Founding Board Member, Excel Academy Charter School, Boston

As a management consultant, Seth was searching for a way to plug back into schools and the education reform movement. When a former classmate and colleague asked Seth for advice on his draft proposal for a new charter school, Seth jumped in and was able to provide input calling on both his business and education experiences. From this start, Seth became a founding board member of the Excel Academy in Boston and has served in that capacity ever since.

Aspiring Alumni Board Members

Kate Tarca

• Atlanta '04
• Literary Coach, Randolph Public Schools

Kate sits on the Alumni Advisory Board for Teach For America • Greater Boston, and has served on advisory boards for other educational nonprofits in the past. She is interested in learning to be a better board member and eventually wants to move into a formal board leadership position for a charter school.

Holly Guzman

• New York '06
• Program Manager, Management Leadership for Tomorrow

In her role with MLT, Holly provides professional development opportunities for over 1,500 high school and college students, and helps develop and implement strategies to grow the bandwidth of MLT programs. She is interested in applying to business school, and because many MBA programs offer opportunities to serve on a board, Holly hopes to polish up her knowledge on nonprofit governance and pursue a board position as a business school student.

Alumni Across the Board

Contact Us

For more information about the Board Leadership Initiative, please e-mail boardleadership@teachforamerica.org.