RESULTS 2018 Grassroots Board Nominations
Dear active RESULTS Grassroots Partners,
We are writing to offer you the opportunity to vote for one fellow RESULTS volunteers to represent the grassroots on the boards of RESULTS and RESULTS Educational Fund. This is a very important decision and we have great candidates. Now, we just need your vote by July 28!
RESULTS and RESULTS Educational Fund are looking to fill one grassroots board positions to serve a term of three (3) years beginning in September 2018. (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:
- Gerry Fairbrother (Sante Fe, NM/U.S. Poverty Group)
- Joyce James (Louisiana/U.S. Poverty & Global Group)
- Qiana Marie Torregano (Louisiana/U.S. Poverty & Global Group)
- Bill Cosgrove (Salt Lake City, UT/U.S. Poverty & Global Group)
If you are attending the International Conference in Washington D.C. this July, you will also have an opportunity to meet them in person.
You may vote for one candidate. Remember, voting ends Saturday, July 28 at midnight Eastern Time. Click on each candidate to view their online video statements and bios and click here to cast your vote. You may also cast your vote in person at the International Conference if you prefer.
Thank you for your partnership and support of RESULTS and RESULTS Educational Fund. Please feel free to contact Jesse Mardsen at [email protected] or 202.783.4800, for any assistance. It’s an honor to be your partner.
Gerry Fairbrother (Sante Fe, NM/U.S. Poverty Group)
I am a health services/health policy researcher, recently retired and relocated from Washington, DC to Santa Fe, NM. My research has always emphasized the effects of policies and programs – especially health programs like Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) – on vulnerable populations. I am now an adjunct professor (of pediatrics) at University of New Mexico and (of health policy) at George Washington University.
After arriving in Santa Fe, I almost immediately found and joined RESULTS. This has been a natural home for me; I have taken delight in being able to use my policy and health services background to make a contribution as an advocate. In recent years, I have become more involved in the leadership of the Santa Fe chapter. I enjoy making presentations and writing opinion pieces on RESULTS-related issues (like health care, poverty, and SNAP) and see these as places where I can make a special contribution.
Statement of Intent for Becoming a Grassroots Board Member of RESULTS
If elected, I hope to use my background, skills and abilities in health and poverty policy to support the RESULTS mission. I would be especially honored to lend my expertise and enthusiasm in these perilous times for anti-poverty efforts.
I bring policy and subject matter expertise to the Board from my 25-year career in health services and policy work, most recently in Washington, DC. In addition to this, I also bring an understanding of the role of Boards and how they relate to the organization they help govern. I have participated in Boards and have reported to Boards; in addition, I have extensive experience with goal setting, strategic planning, and constructing budgets, all backbone operations for advising organizations. If elected, I hope to use this expertise as a Grassroots Board member.
I would be pleased to contribute to the RESULTS Board in any way that seems appropriate; I believe that I have the broad background and expertise to be able to fit into a number of places. However, one of the places I could make a contribution is in the area of encouraging more opinion pieces. This might be a role parallel to that taken by Willie Dickerson encouraging letters. We all received on the RESULTS listserve an article emphasizing the power of compelling opinion pieces, so this might be a natural focus. I have written six opinion pieces so far in 2017 and 2018 – two on health-related issues, one (with Lydia Pendley) on the work of RESULTS (to encourage more participation from the community), one on food relief after a disaster (in this case, Hurricane Harvey) and two on immigration issues. I have written some of these with partner organizations, a good strategy for both broadening the scope and appeal of opinion pieces and at the same time, extending the reach of our RESULTS group.
I end by emphasizing that my intent is to support whatever activity is needed as a Grassroots Board member. I have suggested a role in encouraging opinion pieces. However, I believe that my expertise can be used in a number of areas, and I would be pleased to support any RESULTS priority.
Joyce James (Louisiana/U.S. Poverty & Global Group)
I am the Founder of the Middleburg Institute, a 501C3 charitable organization focused on equity, economic empowerment and entrepreneurial innovations. I was the first state-wide Director for the Ford Foundation’s Building Economic Security over a Lifetime Initiative. Under my leadership the statewide grassroots advocacy coalition named, Louisiana Building Economic Security Together (LABEST) was formed. LABEST is a statewide coalition created to support a collaboration of community advocates, business leaders and policy makers who are seeking to influence change in public policies and programs that improve the lives of low-income communities in Louisiana over a lifetime.
I was recently appointed as the Director of the South East Louisiana Women’s Business Center which provides entrepreneurs (especially women who are economically or socially disadvantaged) comprehensive training and counseling on a variety of topics regarding starting and growing small businesses. I serve on several governing and advisory boards and volunteer with The Bank on Baton Rouge Initiative. I am a certified Core Four Trainer and Edward Lowe Foundation PeerSpectives Facilitator. I hold an MBA from Southern University at Baton Rouge, a Certificate of Completion in “Creating Collaborative Solutions: Innovations in Governance” from Harvard’s Kennedy School, Executive Education Program and a Certificate of Completion in Results Based Facilitation.
In 2016, I hosted a RESULTS Advocacy Training Workshop in Baton Rouge Louisiana. The Workshop was facilitated by Kristy Martino, advocate, entrepreneur, and Grassroots Organizer at RESULTS. Kristy informed and introduced RESULTS to over 25 community leaders from around the State who were also invited and encouraged to join RESULTS in the fight to end Poverty. I am currently serving as a member of RESULTS Louisiana under the leadership of Steve McGee and look forward to growing our membership to include like-minded advocates statewide.
Statement of Intent for Becoming a Grassroots Board Member of RESULTS
My interest in public policies, income inequalities, social justice and civic engagement lead me to working in collaboration with nonprofit organizations, community advocates, and policy makers. I volunteered on several political campaigns, talking with many politicians, and serving on several exploratory committees and governing boards. I have had many opportunities to add value and position myself as a resource within those discussions. Being at the table has enabled me to have a broad overview of many of the issues that plague our community. I realize it’s important to become part of the political process and serve as an advocate and voice for those often unheard or noticed, I decided to make a difference by becoming aware and involved. If selected to serve as a RESULTS Grassroots Board Member I intend to do the same by adding value and insight while also gaining a better understanding about fundamental policy issues. I believe my service will not only leverage my knowledge about why certain policies were created, but also how it affects the constituents and institutions they represent. I believe that my educational background, work experiences and my strong sense of social responsibility, and commitment to public service, will be an asset to the RESUTLS Board of Directors.
Qiana Marie Torregano (Louisiana/U.S. Poverty & Global Group)
I was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. I am humbled to represent my eclectic city and great state as an educator and advocate. I am a single mother of two awesome kids. I currently serve as K-8 English Language Arts Master Teacher for Algiers Charter Schools Association. I have been dedicated to providing high quality instruction in both public and charter schools located in underserved urban communities in Louisiana for 16 years, training classroom teachers for the last 6. I hold a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Southern University A&M College-Baton Rouge, a Level 3 Teaching Certificate and 27 completed hours toward a Master’s in Criminal Justice. My educational philosophy: “A Greater Foundation – A Greater Future”. This is what I will always fight for until the end of my time.
I’ve actively volunteered with Results for 4 years now, serving as a proud member of the Experts on Poverty Cohort. Because of RESULTS, I have had the privilege to travel to multiple states to teach and learn very important advocacy skills and more. My life philosophy: “A quality lifestyle for every citizen”. I believe advocacy education is critical and policy awareness is key to transforming the minds of our communities into citizens who are actively engaged in shaping our future regardless of their circumstances. We must provide their platform. The increasing demand for this platform is my motivation to rebrand and revitalize Save One Ministries, my father and grandfather’s organization founded in 1967. Save One is a faith based, nonprofit, community outreach organization, committed to keeping the citizens of impoverished communities informed and included. I am very passionate about this mission and have designed four components of the organization to accomplish our mission.
Statement of Intent for Becoming a Grassroots Board Member of RESULTS
There are a number of priorities I have considered to help lead our powerful team of advocates through an effective and successful year as a representative of the Board. These priorities explicitly target the following components; building individual and collaborative capacity around researching and assessing the best practices of successful Advocacy Training systems and Community Building resources. The development and implementation of differentiated instructional frameworks for voters and non-voters. Also, consistently infusing data analysis and personal stories into these instructional practices, which is one of the most critical components in increasing advocacy success. I intend to serve as a solid source of support, thorough multiple training & mentor sessions with timely feedback, real time advocacy coaching with updated strategies, and modeling the implementation of innovative ideas to coincide with successful community building interventions. I will continue to seek professional development opportunities to ensure high quality performance.
I have had the pleasure to grow and learn from a uniquely diverse group of professionals, volunteers, and experts in this field. I have witnessed first-hand, the transformation of mindsets within groups and individuals when trained using the instructional approaches offered by RESULTS. Utilizing the readily available advocacy training tools and support has been an extreme asset to beginning and veteran advocates. I’ve received some of the most invigorating and monumental professional development sessions around the importance and the processes of building citizen capacity to lobby for a quality lifestyle. This prepared me to turnkey valuable, trending information to my team for effective execution. It would be a great honor to guide and serve our community as an effective liaison. It is imperative that advocates and policy makers continue to thrive on the invigorating foundation built by RESULTS. I am 100% dedicated to molding this generation and the next into progressive advocates who are intentionally fighting for policies that protect our most vulnerable around the world. I believe I am well qualified for this position and would make a strong contribution to your organization.
Bill Cosgrove (Salt Lake City, UT/U.S. Poverty & Global Group)
I retired in 2017 after 34 years of pediatric practice, and I continue to serve patients one half day each week at a free clinic. For over 30 years I have been Utah’s leading advocate for immunizing children and currently serve on four immunization committees and I am directing a 3-state quality improvement project to improve pediatricians’ vaccine communication skills. Throughout my career, I have been an active member of the Utah Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and currently serve as immediate past-president, legislative chair, and chapter champion for Early Childhood issues and for Immunizations. I am active in public health advocacy work including currently serving on the Salt Lake County Board of Health, the Utah Medicaid Medical Care Advisory Committee, the Governor’s council on Early Childhood Utah, the Utah Maternal Mental Health Collaborative, the Utah Association for Infant Mental Health, and the Trauma-Resiliency Collaborative, which deals with Adverse Childhood Experiences and their life-long effects.
My advocacy experience includes local visits and trips to Washington to lobby congress for the AAP and for RESULTS, and daily attendance at the Utah Legislature’s general session, where as a self-appointed watchdog for children I testified on many issues, and individually lobbied over 30 legislators. I participate in both the Domestic and Global group activities in Salt Lake City and serve as the Global group leader. I have had many letters to the editor and opinion pieces published in Utah papers.
I have one guiding credo: If it is good for children and their families, it is good… and worth fighting for.
Statement of Intent for Becoming a Grassroots Board Member of RESULTS
As a pediatrician, I have spent 34 years daily working to improve the lives of children, one child at a time. As an advocate, I have worked, and continue to work, to improve the lives of the entire community of children and their families. Both the individual focus and the public health perspective require a long-range view based on careful planning, patience, hope, and a commitment to continually readjusting the course.
If given the opportunity to serve on the RESULTS Board, I will bring a pediatrician’s knowledge and perspective to the many difficult issues facing the world’s children and their families. I have attended over a thousand high-risk births and thus have a first-hand understanding of the great opportunities we have to protect each child and his mother in those first dangerous moments after birth. I bring a career-long focus on prevention: preventing illness by vaccines, preventing injury by identifying and mitigating risks, and approaching every challenge by considering up-stream causes.
Over the last decade I have come to understand, use, and teach the science of Adverse Childhood Experiences. This body of research demonstrates that the emotional life of a child directly affects the rest of his life for good or ill. Emotional trauma can affect the subsequent physical, emotional, social, economic, and mental health of the individual. This realization that adult emotional responses are altered, and in some ways severely limited, by the child’s emotional history, helps to bring a deeper understanding of our own responses and the responses of those we seek to help, and even helps to understand the responses of those in power.
I have been the beneficiary of a life of luck and privilege. Every child deserves to be given what I have been given: nurturing, protection, safe food and water, education, and especially hope. I would like to bring my perspective and my advocacy to helping the world’s children and families by serving on the Grassroots Board of RESULTS.