[nabs-l] NABS Elections: Sean Whalen for President

[Jorge Paez]

Well stated Sean.


On Jun 18, 2011, at 9:09 AM, Sean Whalen wrote:

> Good morning NABS,
> 
> As I already know many of you, I feel kind of funny writing to introduce
> myself, but, alas, that is what I am doing.
> 
> My name is Sean Whalen, and I am writing to share a brief outline of what I
> would like to see happen with NABS over the next term. And, ultimately, I
> hope to convince you to give me your vote for a 1 year term as NABS
> President on Monday July 4, 2011 at the NABS business meeting.
> 
> I am a 2007 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and currently
> work as an education and disabilities lobbyist in Washington DC. I have been
> working with the Law School Admissions Council for nearly two years to take
> the LSAT using JAWS, which I will finally be allowed to do this fall. This
> fall, I will also be enrolled in language classes at the local NOVA
> Community college, in order to allow me to do a semester abroad in law
> school. I will be a student in fall 2011, though only part-time as I work,
> prepare for the LSAT and apply to schools.
> 
> Why do I want your vote for NABS President?
> 
> I am proud of the progress that NABS has made over the last two years under
> the leadership of Arielle Silverman, and with the help of a strong Board. I
> feel that I have the leadership, delegating, and organizational skills to
> continue to improve and strengthen NABS. I want to work collaboratively with
> state student divisions and state affiliates. I am also encouraged by, and
> would like to continue to increase, collaborative efforts between NABS and
> the Parents Division. Please read on for more specific ideas, but please
> keep in mind, these are only my thoughts, and if I were to be elected
> President, I would love to hear any and all feedback from anybody, on or off
> the Board.
> 
> I have actively volunteered with NABS since 2005, but here is what I
> prioritized, and got done, as 2nd Vice President in the last term:
> 
> 	Worked with Karen Anderson to put out 8 quarterly issues of the
> Student Slate.
> 	Worked with Darian Smith to amend the NABS Constitution to stagger
> elections to a 5/4 split.
> 	Conceived of Pennies for Pages fundraiser, and ran it in conjunction
> with Karen Anderson and Nijat Worley. The effort raised thousands of
> dollars.
> 	Traveled to 7 state conventions and 1 state student seminar to
> present on behalf of NABS.
> 	Worked with Meghan Whalen to redesign NABS' website.
> 	Wrote Imagination Grant application and secured $2600 to fund our
> NABS Reps program.
> 	Attended and presented on Membership Committee and state division
> conference calls.
> 	Tried to serve as a resource to fellow students on the NABS list.
> 
> As you can see, I get things done, and I am able to work well with others to
> do so.
> 
> While I am generally pleased with the work we have done since 2009, I think
> that our division can be strengthened by focusing on three things:
> communication, collaboration and accountability. Keep those three themes in
> mind as you read the following description of how things might be set up:
> 
> I think that the Committee system NABS is using is great. I think it would
> be useful to give some of the committees more clearly defined structure,
> with certain roles for certain individuals on the committee. I also think it
> would be beneficial to have more folks from off the board on the committees,
> to help with cohesiveness. Imagine the committees and their duties were to
> be broken up like this:
> 
> Membership Committee: 4 Members
> Committee Chair (Communicates with membership on lists and runs monthly
> membership calls. Maintains list of paid NABS members.)
> Social Media Chair: (Keeps NABS up to date on twitter, Facebook, etc.)
> Recruitment Chair: (Focuses on bringing new students into NABS and the NFB.)
> High School Chair: (Focuses on outreach to high school students.)
> 
> Student Slate: 4 Members
> Committee Chair: (Responsible for the overall publication of the quarterly
> newsletter.)
> Chief Editor: (Primarily responsible for editing content.)
> Content Chair: (Responsible for identifying and attaining articles for
> publication.)
> Distribution Chair: (Responsible for growing the readership of the Slate and
> maintaining list of subscribers.)
> 
> These are just examples, but I think the specific assigning of duties to a
> position makes it a lot easier to hold somebody accountable for getting the
> job done.
> 
> While accountability is a big deal, I don't think it is the whole issue. I
> think NABS ought to have closer ties with the state student divisions, as
> well as with the other divisions of the NFB.
> 
> I would propose instituting a quarterly conference call for state division
> presidents, or their delegates, where the state and national leadership
> could share ideas, make plans, and have an open discussion on how best to
> work together.
> 
> I think we need a specific student point of contact in each state, and NABS
> needs to be better about keeping that contact info up to date and at
> reaching out to the various states.
> 
> I am a big proponent of the idea that Darian and others are kicking around
> about building a list of all DSS offices, TBVIs, schools for the blind,
> etc., basically a list of all the places to find blind students. An effort
> such as this would have to be coordinated and nationally, but with the
> proper organization could yield extremely valuable information. This is just
> one example of the potential benefit of closer ties between state divisions
> and NABS.
> 
> As I mentioned above, I am very supportive of working with parents of blind
> kids. Parents have the greatest impact on their children's lives, so nothing
> is more important than educating parents on how vital it is that they raise
> their children with expectations. I have spoken to a couple of groups of
> parents, and am scheduled to do so again in Orlando. I would like to look
> for more opportunities for NABS to work with the Parents, as well as with
> the NFB at large and its education programs in particular.
> 
> I believe that NABS is stronger now than it was two years ago, and I would
> like the opportunity to continue to work to improve our division and
> strengthen the NFB. I would ask that you consider some of my suggestions,
> ask questions or make suggestions of your own, and give me your vote on
> Monday July 4. Working together we can continue to build a brighter future
> for all blind students!
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Sean Whalen
> 
> 
> 
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