[Gabs] Candidates' questions

[Mary Fernandez]

Hi all,
One last thing. As promised last night, here are the questions that
the candidates had to answer. Candidates feel free to elaborate or
answer any questions you did not get to last night.
Thanks.
Cultivating Leadership:

·        What opportunities will you provide for NABS board members to
develop their leadership skills and gain experience?

·        What unique skills do you have that you feel you can offer
NABS that no other leader can offer? Do you have any examples of such
leadership at
work (i.e., did you ever create any original projects/ programs
successfully on a National level)? If not, then how about at a state
level?  Why are such
efforts worth noting?

·        We all know it is important for the general membership to
feel connected to the national organization. How do you plan to reach
out to the membership
and get the rank-and-file involved? Give specific examples of how you
will involve those who feel that their talents are neither wanted nor
needed or who
feel that their involvement will not really make a difference.

·        As a leader, you will come across many different
personalities who will serve as board members and participate on
various committees. How do you
plan on working with those who you may not get along with on a personal level?

NABS and State Student Divisions:

·        Besides having regional representatives attend state
conventions, what resources do you plan to garner in order to bolster
support for small state
student divisions? What do you have to offer a division that is
struggling to keep and involve members? How important is it to you to
show state affiliates
of the NFB that their student divisions need support?

·        There are some state student divisions that are thriving
while others are struggling to survive. If elected, what specifically
would you do to
help the state student divisions that are not as strong and that are
in need of solid student leadership at the state level?  What would
you do to promote
long-term growth and success of these smaller student divisions?

·        What can you offer the state divisions in your region, as a
support for cohesion? What is the most important thing for you in
terms of the relationship
between Nabs and the state student divisions? How will you implement
this? If you already have experience on the board, how have you
implemented this?
Were you successful?

·        What specific steps would you take to strengthen and unite
state student divisions and NABS?  How would you help strengthen the
relationships between
affiliates and state divisions?

NABS and Student Publications:

·        What changes, if any, would you make to the format, content,
or distribution of the Student Slate?

·        What are some ideas you have to increase readership? How will
you encourage students to submit articles? Do you feel the Slate is a
good use of
Nabs' time and resources? If so, why?

·        I enjoy receiving the Student Slate on a regular basis.
However, it seems to me that it is sometimes difficult to maintain a
regular publication,
especially during the transition of a new administration. If elected,
what would you do to ensure that the Student Slate continues to be
published on a
regular basis?

·        Please list how you plan on helping our Nabs publication
grow. Any other ideas about important ways to provide more information
through publications?
Ways to strengthen and grow the scope of the Nabs publication?

NABS and  Regional Reps:

·        What, to you, is a regional rep's role?

·        I really like the concept of the regional representative
system. However, the few times I was able to connect with my regional
representative was
when I contacted this person regarding a problem I was facing. If
elected, what would you do to ensure that the regional representatives
would reach out
and connect with the region they represent in both good times as well
as bad times?

·        Much talk around nabs has been to change the Regional rep
system in favor of something with accountability built into it. Do you
assume the system
is broken? Why or why not?

·        What role should NABS play in getting its name out there? How
do you propose to help paint an image of NABS as an organization
strong enough to
add real value to the work of the organized blind movement?

·        The idea of having NABS representatives go to state student
conventions is a great one and has worked wonderfully in the last
year. How would you
insure the continuation of this practice?

NABS and Education / Community Service:

·        What types of support (besides the NABS List) would you like
to develop for blind students particularly in areas of advocacy?

OTHER (to all candidates):

·        To all candidates: Why, specifically, are you involved with
NABS and are you seeking a position of leadership in the organization?

·        If you had to select one new NABS program to start up during
your term, what would it be, and how specifically would you carry it
out?

·        How do you feel your past experience, (either in or out of
this organization) has prepared you for this role? What are your
weaknesses as a leader,
(do you take on too much responsibility, have issues with
follow-through, etc.?)? What are some positive things (if any) do you
feel your opponent would
bring?

·        As I complete this survey as a general member, all of the
people I know of who are running for a President position are male.
How well do these
men work with women? What views do these men have about women who
serve in leadership positions?

·        Summarize, in as few words as possible, the mission of the
National Federation of the Blind. There has been a lot of discussion
regarding proxy
voting, what is your position on proxy voting?  Why do you feel as you do?

·


-- 
Mary Fernandez
President: Georgia Association of Blind Students
Emory University 2012
P.O. Box 123056
Atlanta Ga.
30322
Phone: 732-857-7004

"It's not worth doing something unless someone, somewhere, would much
rather you weren't doing it."
Terry Pratchett