SCG Annual Conference and Members' Meeting
November 9, 2009

Breakout (Corporate Session)
Investing in Governance: Board Leadership as a Strategy for Strengthening Corporate Grantmaking

Moderator:
Susan Meier
Vice President of Consulting and Training, BoardSource

Panelists:
James Herr
Senior Manager of Global Corporate Citizenship, Western Region, The Boeing Company

Valerie Lertyaovarit
Community Relations Manager, Sempra Energy

Effective nonprofit boards can mean the difference between a thriving nonprofit organization and one that is struggling to fulfill its mission. Acknowledging the vital role that boards play in the success of an organization, corporations are investing in building the internal capacity of nonprofits to strengthen their organizational effectiveness, both through work with their grantees and internal initiatives to inspire and promote effective board leadership amongst their employees.

This session expanded upon a report by BoardSource and FSG Social Impact Advisors, Advancing Good Governance: How Grantmakers Invest in the Governance of Nonprofit Organizations, which describes ways to fully leverage the assets that boards and board members bring to their organizations.

Panelists provided an overview of how governance impacts the work of nonprofit organizations, highlighted different ways that corporations and their employees are supporting effective board leadership and invited participants to learn from each other by discussing their own goals and efforts to support effective nonprofit leadership.

About the Moderator

Susan Meier
Vice President of Consulting and Training, BoardSource
Susan Meier has specialized in organizational capacity building, nonprofit governance and nonprofit management throughout her 18 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. She has worked with a wide variety of organizations, including the Council on Foundations, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Volunteers of America, the Association of Junior Leagues International, Boys and Girls Clubs of America and the Center for Excellence in Nonprofits, among others. Previously Meier served as vice president, chapter services, for Prevent Child Abuse America, and has worked with a variety of child development centeres, local chapters of the Special Olympics and various child abuse prevention organizations. Meier currently serves on the board of the LemonAid Foundation.

About the Panelists

James Herr
Senior Manager of Global Corporate Citizenship, Western Region, The Boeing Company
James Herr leads a team of community investors who look for opportunities to create strong communities in the areas of education, health and human services, arts and culture, the environment and civic engagement. Prior to joining Boeing he was director of diversity at Film Independent and manager of corporate social responsibility at Sony Pictures Entertainment, and served on the boards of Para Los Ninos and Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles. Herr also currently serves on the board of Visual Communications--a leading Asian American media arts orgnization.

Valerie Lertyaovarit
Community Relations Manager, Sempra Energy
As community relations manager, Valerie Lertyaovarit focuses on community outreach, charitable contributions to nonprofit organizations and developing employee volunteer programs on behalf of Sempra Energy and its subsidiary, Southern California Gas Company. She is a board member for the Discovery Science Center in Orange County and serves as an executive advisor to TEAM Science, an organization with comprehensive education outreach programs promoting careers in science and technical industries.

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