[Nfbv-announce] NFB of Virginia Leadership Fellows Program

Mon Aug 10 23:29:09 UTC 2015

Virginia Federationists:

At the August 8, 2015 NFB of Virginia Board of Directors meeting, the board
voted to  approve and fund the NFB of Virginia Leadership Fellows Program.
While the NFB National Office ran a similar Leadership Fellows program at  a
National level, state affiliates have not run similar programs. This program
is a pilot for the affiliate and other affiliates will learn from our
experiment. For the program, we are considering a class of 5-10
participants. 

The goal of the NFB of Virginia Leadership Fellows Program is to develop a
cadre of leaders throughout the Commonwealth that builds our next generation
of chapter and state affiliate leadership. This program is described in
detail in the below email message distributed in July 2015.

This message outlines the Application Process and high level timeframe
expectations for participation in the program. 

I.                    The Application Process:

The application process includes a simple referral from a Chapter President
or Affiliate elected leader, an  email application, and an interview with
the committee.

A)     Referral:

Since this program is defined to develop highly motivated Federationists who
are already engaged with the Federation, we are requiring that all
participants in the program must be referred by a chapter president, an
affiliate officer, or an affiliate past president. If you are thinking that
you want to participate in the program, please reach out to one of these
individuals  to request a referral. Your chapter president or affiliate
elected leader can simply send an email message to Michael stating they
believe   that you are a good candidate for consideration. This message also
provides a heads up to expect your application.

B)      Application Email:

No later than Monday, September 7 (Labor Day) each applicant should prepare
an application email to Michael communicating the following:

1.       What have you done in the Federation?

2.       What you hope to be able to do in the program?

3.       What you expect to do upon completion of the program and how will
the Federation benefit ?

Please ensure you also include your email address and the best number to
reach you. To assist with scheduling, if you will be unavailable on vacation
etc. between September 8 and September 30, please let us know.

C)      Interview

Each candidate will be interviewed between September 8 and September 30.  A
decision on participation will be made no later than September 30.
Individuals will be informed by September 30 and the program will begin
Officially in October.

II.                  Program Timeline:

While participants are certainly not required to participate in all events,
we anticipate 8 group gatherings  tied to the following

1.       Kick Off - October 30 (Thursday evening of the 2015 State
Convention) 

2.       Richmond Seminar Workshop January 2016

3.       Washington Seminar Workshop February  2016

4.       National Center Visit Spring 2016 

5.       National convention Meeting - July 2016

6.       State Convention- November 2016

7.       Richmond Seminar Workshop January 2017

8.       Washington Seminar Workshop and Closing Event February  2017

Throughout the period, we will arrange monthly conference calls with topics
driven by the interests of the Leadership Fellows. Additional travel for
visiting state conventions, chapter building and other meetings will be
arranged.

If you have any questions, please contact either Michael or Tracy.

Michael Kasey

michaelgkasey at verizon.net <mailto:michaelgkasey at verizon.net> 

(540)760-3885

Tracy Soforenko

Tracy.soforenko at gmail.com <mailto:Tracy.soforenko at gmail.com> 

202 285-4595

Original email announcing program:

Sent: Monday, July 27, 2015 9:31 PM
Subject: Announcing the NFB of Virginia Fellows Program

The most successful organizations work diligently to develop their next
generation of leaders. At the May 2015 NFB of Virginia Board of Directors
meeting, participants shared that we needed to invest more time and
attention on developing chapter and affiliate leaders. Michael and I have
taken your request very seriously and would like to outline our proposal for
the NFB of Virginia Fellows program. 

The NFVB Leadership Fellows program is designed to develop a cadre of
chapter and affiliate leaders throughout the Commonwealth. This leadership
training program will integrate hands on leadership tasks while leveraging
our vast assembly of leadership talent. The program will be tailored to the
individual needs of the participants so people can develop in areas of
interest and needed growth. 

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The NFBV Leadership Fellows Program is designed for highly motivated
Federationists who, although they are already leaders in the organization,
want to broaden their experience and learn new ways to build the Federation.
Candidates must apply for this program and will then be interviewed
extensively. Those admitted as fellows will work with Michael and Tracy to
develop an individualized 18 month plan that will focus on giving those
experiences in new areas of Federation work. For example, if a fellow has
never started a new chapter, that might be one of his/her assigned projects.
A fellow who has already started three chapters, however, will focus on
acquiring a different set of skills.

Fellows will work to develop their political and strategic thinking skills.
Each fellow will assess his/her own leadership style and consider their
strengths and weaknesses. Fellows will also learn how to work effectively
with colleagues who have different leadership styles.

Fellows will increase their understanding of how our national, state, and
local organizations work together, and they will develop a working knowledge
of all the resources offered by the organization. They will each meet with
the elected officers and affiliate committee chairs, so that they can
develop a working relationship with them and gain an understanding of how
the work of these members advances the goals of the Federation. Each fellow
will be paired with an experienced Federation mentor who can help them to
develop their own leadership ability and teach them to develop leadership
skills in others.

Fellows will develop their philosophy of blindness and learn how to teach it
to others. The program will also include blindness skills training when
appropriate.

Program Areas:

While we will offer opportunities in each of the below areas, we expect
leadership fellows to select a sampling of activities across 4 or 5 of the
below areas.

We do not expect that a leadership fellow will work across all of these
areas.

1.       History & Philosophy

2.       Building Your  Leadership Skills

3.       Building Leadership in Others

4.       Membership Building

5.       Legislative Initiatives

6.       Advocacy 

7.       Organizational Mechanics

8.       Financing The Movement

9.       Convention Planning

10.   Public Relations

11.   Youth Programming

The program represents a significant commitment to leadership development.
We expect the leadership fellows to commit to the program for a period of 18
months. Fellows will be invited into the inner workings of our chapters and
the affiliate so we expect maturity and discretion.

Michael and I will lead the program and we are committed to the program's
success. The program participants will play a major role in defining the
specific subject matter to be covered based on the areas of interest and the
challenges they faced in our chapters and at the affiliate level.

Part of our goal is to build a community of leaders who feel connected to
each other to ensure the affiliate's long term success.

At the August 8, 2015 Board of Directors meeting, we will consider this NFB
of Virginia Fellows program including timeline, application process, and
budget.

If we do this right, we will develop these Fellows into future chapter
presidents, state officers, affiliate committee chairs, and affiliate
presidents.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Michael or
myself.

Tracy Soforenko

First Vice President, National Federation of the blind of Virginia

Tracy.soforenko at gmail.com <mailto:Tracy.soforenko at gmail.com> 

202 285-459

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
blindness is not what holds you back.