RESULTS 2021 Grassroots Board Elections
Dear active RESULTS Grassroots Partners,
We are writing to offer you the opportunity to vote for one of your fellow RESULTS volunteers to represent the grassroots volunteers on the boards of RESULTS and RESULTS Educational Fund. This is a very important decision and we have great candidates.
We need your vote by July 17!
RESULTS and RESULTS Educational Fund are looking to fill ONE grassroots board position to serve a term of three (3) years beginning in August 2021. (There are four grassroots board seats in total.) Grassroots Board Members represent the volunteer body on the Board of Directors and on the Executive Committee of the Board. It is the responsibility of the Board of Directors to work with the Executive Director in shaping the direction of RESULTS, advising on major policies for the organization, and providing fiduciary oversight. The Executive Committee of the Board is the primary governing body of the organization. Members meet frequently by conference call and are in communication via e-mail and telephone calls. Members must be able to participate at this level and are expected to chair or serve on a Board Committee(s) as well as participate in fundraising for the organization. Grassroots board members play a particular role in representing grassroots perspectives on the board.
Thank you to all who nominated dedicated volunteers as candidates to serve on the board—your nomination was recognition of their commitment and leadership skills. And thanks to the nominees who agreed to be considered. We’re honored!
Find our grassroots board candidate videos and bios below:
- Susan Fleurant (Ann Arbor, MI Group)
- Jennifer M. Koo (Greater CT Group)
- Dilani Logan (Silicon Valley, CA Group)
You may vote for one candidate. Remember, voting ends Saturday, July 17 at 11:59pm Eastern Time. Check out each candidate below to view their online video statements and bios.
Susan Fleurant (Ann Arbor, MI Group)
Susan joined RESULTS as a U.S. Poverty Campaigns intern in 2015 as an undergraduate and then completed the Fellowship program. After working in the Senate, she was on staff at RESULTS as an Advocacy Assistant before returning to graduate school. Susan now serves on the Fellowship Advisory Committee, supporting the advocacy and anti-oppression efforts of the next generation of RESULTS advocates. She is entering her final year of graduate studies in law and public health and her work focuses on poverty law, disability rights, and public health law. Susan has lived in Alaska, Maine, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Michigan and has met with a broad group of members of Congress. Susan has lobbied on both domestic and global issues but remains particularly passionate about Medicaid advocacy, the issue that brought her to RESULTS.
Statement of Intent:
If elected to the Board, I want to focus on elevating the voices of Fellowship participants and alumni. As an organization we must commit to developing and retaining a diverse group of young advocates to shape and lead our work in the coming years. I want everyone to find a home with RESULTS no matter their background or experience. Each person contributes to our work in important ways, and we must cultivate spaces that recognize and honor the value of every volunteer whether it is their first day with us or their thirtieth year. I am focused on advancing the organization’s anti-oppression values and challenging each of us to think creatively and boldly about improving the ways in which we conduct our advocacy and partner with each other. My own experiences within the organization as an intern, fellow, volunteer, and former staff position me to contribute to the Board with a unique perspective. I believe deeply in our anti-poverty goals, in grassroots advocacy, and in building an equitable and inclusive movement. Thank you for considering me for the role of Grassroots Board Member.
– Susan Fleurant
Jennifer M. Koo (Greater CT Group)
Jennifer M. Koo (Jennn) joined RESULTS in January 2018 after reading a letter to the editor on Tuberculosis in the New York Times. Reflecting on her experiences with oppression, and inspired by the RESULTS movement, she collaborated with passionate college students to bring a chapter of RESULTS to the University of Connecticut. Wanting to include more diverse voices, the chapter transitioned into a community group in 2020. Currently, Jennn is a Co-Founder and Co-Group Leader of a predominantly BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) chapter in Connecticut, RESULTS Greater CT, where advocates focus on global and domestic poverty. To support the thriving of her group, Jennn maintains strong relationships with her Members of Congress, the Connecticut community, and the RESULTS Northeast Region to mobilize anti-poverty action in CT, and develops social events and educational workshops for new and seasoned advocates (e.g. LTE Writing Workshops, 1:1 Mentorships, Issue Expert Presentations, Networking & Advancement Opportunities, etc.). Jennn is a RESULTS Fellowship Alum (2019-2020 Cohort) and in addition to maintaining deep connections with other alums, volunteers at events for and builds relationships with current fellows. Along with her upcoming International Conference panel on youth empowerment and shared leadership, she also engages in anti-oppression through leadership training and events, and her involvement with the newly formed Anti-Oppression Council and BIPOC Caucus.
Beyond RESULTS, Jennn advances health equity and anti-oppression through her roles as a Research Assistant with the National Disability Rights Network, and as a Community Organizer with R2H Action (Right to Health). In response to the increasing need for health care workers, she also volunteers at public health education events, and is actively working towards her Emergency Medical Technician certification. Recently, Jennn graduated from the University of Connecticut in May 2020 with two honors degrees in Allied Health Sciences (B.S.) and Sociology (B.A.). She constantly reflects on how dynamic her time serving as a writing tutor, teaching fellow, and health equity researcher at UConn was. These experiences of supporting and uplifting the freedom and empowerment of others have strengthened her leadership and relationships, and informs her work at RESULTS.
Statement of Intent:
RESULTS would not be possible without our grassroots network. As a community partner and Co-Group Leader of a predominantly BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) RESULTS chapter, I prioritize the holistic well-being and flourishing of our volunteers. This means meeting people where they’re at, actively listening to and responding compassionately, and valuing who they are as individuals (i.e. recognizing that our volunteers are more than just activists).
If elected, I would collaborate with RESULTS partners to create an Activist Sustainability & Self-Care Resource Collective and Community to prevent burnout, foster an environment where volunteers feel healthy and energized in their advocacy, and can deepen their connections with one another beyond networking.
Additionally, I would develop Community-Informed Intercultural and Anti-Racism Education Programming to ensure that members of communities that have experienced historical oppression feel safe, represented, and supported. Lastly, I would continue to advance accessibility through encouraging the involvement of people with diverse experiences, and dismantling barriers to participation. This includes intentionally making space for and amplifying the voices of people with socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, implementing universal design for people of all abilities (e.g. multiple language and translation options, technology access and support, large print resources, live-captioning and transcription services, ASL interpretation, etc.), and developing anti-oppression training to encourage shared leadership and connection.
Everyone has a place at RESULTS. It means a lot to me (as a child of Southeast Asian immigrants) to not only be included and uplifted in this movement, but to have the opportunity to include and uplift others. I’m deeply grateful for the lifelong friendships and dynamic experiences that have enriched my RESULTS journey so far, and am committed to advancing equity, intersectionality, and representation in whatever capacity I can.
– Jennifer Koo
Dilani Logan (Silicon Valley, CA Group)
Hello! My name is Dilani Logan, and I first joined RESULTS in November 2019, as a member of the Triangle Area (North Carolina) chapter. As a new advocate, I soon received a crash course in advocacy 101, learned about global and domestic poverty issues, and wrote letters to the editor of local newspapers. Six months later, I moved to California and joined the Silicon Valley chapter. Here, I became a point contact for Representative Jim Costa and began speaking about domestic housing issues in meetings with the aides of local congressional and senate representatives. Over the past year, I also became the Northern California New Advocate Mentor and a RESULTS Fellow in the 2021 class. In my role as a New Advocate Mentor, I welcome, orient, and work with new members of the Silicon Valley, San Francisco, and Sacramento chapters. In pursuing this work, I created a WhatsApp group and host monthly New Advocate meetings to maintain relationships with new volunteers. We celebrate each other’s advocacy successes and learn about advocacy best practices, modeled on the key takeaways that I’ve learned through the RESULTS Fellowship.
My passion for eliminating poverty began at a young age. My parents immigrated to Canada as refugees fleeing a civil war in Sri Lanka. Throughout my childhood, my parents always made sure my sister and I were aware of the grave impacts of poverty and conflict, and they emphasized that the opportunities we had were a privilege. The idea that chance could so drastically shape one’s trajectory has never sat right with me – this is what spurred my passion for health equity and why I decided to pursue a career in global health and research. I currently work as a Research Associate at the American Institutes for Research, partnering with federal, intergovernmental, and non-profit organizations to research issues associated with domestic and international health, juvenile justice, and education. I have previously been fortunate to work for and volunteer with global health organizations including the World Health Organization, the O’Neill Institute for Global and Public Health Law at Georgetown University, the Canadian Society for International Health, and Partners in Health Canada. I obtained my Master of Science in Global Health from Duke University and also hold a Bachelor of Science in Medical Science and Spanish, with a minor in Global Development Studies from Western University (Canada).
Statement of Intent:
RESULTS is an organization that I hold dear to my heart. Since joining in 2019, I have been consistently awestruck by this organization’s commitment to eradicating poverty, in a holistic, anti-oppressive, non-partisan manner. Personally, I have spent my whole professional and academic career focused on global health and international development research. Realizing that evidence means nothing without the political will to action evidence into sustainable policies is what drew me to this organization.
As I have reflected on my time with this organization, I am consistently wanted to figure out how I can contribute more. After speaking with current and past members of the Grassroots Board, the Grassroots Board Member position seems to be that answer. As we press onwards toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we are going to need to continue amplifying our voices – especially while maintaining a focus on anti-oppression. Coming from a first-generation family who faced dire health and financial concerns throughout my childhood, it’s important to me that our advocacy work stays rooted in bringing together as many voices and stories as possible in a way that always feels organic, comfortable and respectful of everyone’s lived experiences.
Being a more recent volunteer and a New Advocate Mentor in California, I believe I can bring a fresh perspective to the Board, especially in terms of increasing and maintaining recruitment. As a coalition of volunteers, we currently have so much institutional knowledge housed among our members and website. However, it can sometimes feel difficult or overwhelming to navigate. I would love to figure out ways to increase internal mentorships between experienced and newer members of RESULTS. I feel that more one-on-one relationships can help keep new volunteers engaged, especially when it comes to navigating resources and getting started. It would also be wonderful to see more New Advocate Mentors across the country and help connect them with more formalized guidance on figuring out how to best support other new volunteers.
Moreover, to me, this position is about collecting and working off the thoughts and concerns of ALL of our volunteers. I’m an extrovert at heart and connecting with others to understand their ideas and concerns, and then translating those conversations into actionable solutions is one of my biggest strengths. I appreciate current Grassroots Board Members holding townhalls with all of us, and I would love to increase awareness of these meetings, as well as increase opportunities for volunteers to connect with the Board through a more publicly advertised email address or virtual comment box and bi-weekly office hours. I want to make myself regularly accessible to understand, brainstorm, and advocate on behalf of all RESULTS volunteers on the internal and external issues that matter to them.
I believe I bring a lot of experience to this role. In the past, I have designed and lead the volunteer arm for Partners in Health Canada and built partnerships to expand the reach of a global health mentorship program to over 10 countries on the Canadian Society of International Health’s MentorNet Steering Committee. Most recently, I also served on an Equity Task Force at Duke University to develop recommendations on how the school’s Global Health department could implement more anti-oppressive programs and policies.
I came to RESULTS wanting to figure out how to broaden my advocacy skillset in advocating for important anti-poverty issues. However, what I found was so much more. I have built friendships and cultivated relationships with other volunteers, fellows, staff and the offices of my local representatives that are so meaningful and uplifting to me. Despite the challenges of this past year, RESULTS consistently gives me hope for a better tomorrow. I am so proud of everything we do to leave behind a better world and can’t wait to see what the next chapter holds. I hope I can partake in that next chapter alongside the Grassroots Board team.
– Dilani Logan