What was your experience working on a Taproot Foundation project?

My experiences have been very stimulating, meaningful and absolutely positive! I have learned a lot about branding and how to seek and analyze input for branding purposes. The Taproot Foundation volunteer teams we've worked with have been enthusiastic, smart, and intense. They have brought us lots of technical experience, without which our organization could not have created such fantastic products.

How have you grown personally and as an organization from your pro bono project?

Personally, I developed a deeper appreciation of branding as a "science". To this day, I continue referring back to my style guide as we develop new marketing collateral. Our staff continues to talk about the positive experiences with our Taproot consultants. We just started our third Taproot grant, and I have several staff who eagerly volunteered to work on this new project.

How do you think the business community and nonprofit sectors can strengthen one another?

The business community can best help non-profits by sponsoring non-profit special events, underwriting certain operating costs, encouraging employees to make donations to non-profits, and encouraging employees to volunteer for non-profits, including serving as board and/or committee members.

How did you become a nonprofit leader?

In 1988 I was working as a manager for a non-profit organization in Oakland, and one day, my boss told me the organization was closing due to financial problems. The program I was managing at the time was highly successful and self-supporting, so I decided to form a non-profit organization to save it. That night I went to a public library and read up on how to form a non-profit corporation. A few sleepless nights later, appointed myself as the Executive Director, formed a founding Board of Directors and hired an attorney. I stayed with that organization for ten years. I served on the board after resigning, to help with the transition of leadership. To this day the organization continues to thrive.

What community issues are most important to you and what did you learn from the project?

I am very concerned about the inequities that poor people experience, especially in accessing health care services. I am a strong supporter of universal healthcare.