Youth Leaders (on Boards)

[Lisa Heft]

Hello dear colleagues -

So here are my 2 cents / pesos / rubles to add, from my experience on  
- and serving as facilitator-consultant to - youth and youth-serving  
organizational Boards, where young people have been involved at many  
levels.  I am no expert - this is just what I have experienced and  
observed.  Just a few things I wish to share to keep in mind when  
thinking of including young people on a Board of Directors

The intention, as I understand it, is to *not* simply place young  
people on Boards (and other committees or volunteer or staff  
positions) in a way that tokenizes them.

(For those of you for whom English is not a home language - to  
tokenize someone means placing them in a symbolic role because of  
their characteristic - often meant as a negative term because the  
whole person is not being valued - they are just being used as an image)

And to me, it is important for the strength of an organization to  
always seek Board members who have the skills the Board needs - rather  
than just great people or public figures or charismatic people.

To me, diversity is crucial - differences in culture and experience  
enrich the inquiry, the product, the organization, the group thinking...
But to me it would be tokenizing - and often I see it is unfair to the  
individual - to seek and place a young person on a Board (or a panel  
or a committee) if they are simply young (or female, or a former  
client or whatever) - if they do not also have the skills or resources  
(financial, participatory, knowledge) to strengthen the Board.

There are amazing young people who are also incredible at things that  
Boards need, if you wish that.

And I have seen young people (and other community members) on Boards  
placed there and then not listened to, or given training in  
vocabulary, policy or other concepts crucial to their roles, or  
listened to with less emphasis than the business people or the adult  
people. And that is not diversity. It is not inclusion.  And it wears  
on the individual and they wonder why the heck they were chosen, if  
not for their full selves.

Remember also that most Boards have a fiduciary (fiscal)  
responsibility - if something goes wrong with the organization  
financially, Board members' own personal finances can be at risk.
Some Boards have Board insurance, some do not.

Also many Boards have a requirement that Board Members donate or raise  
a certain amount for fund-raising. Or buy lunch at the place the Board  
meets.
Does the young person (or other community member) in mind have the  
financial ability to do these things?

I have seen it play out as a class issue - a cultural assumption on  
the part of very well-meaning, very nice fellow Board members.   
Someone's financial level, or how much they understand a Board's  
existing vocabulary, or assumptions about understanding of budgeting  
concepts - have in my observation often put the young person (or other  
community member) at the disadvantage for engaging equally in the  
conversations, decisions and other work of the Board.

Consider also the value of Advisory Boards - consisting totally of an  
organization's client or community members. A very valuable thing. So  
if the client or youth voice is important in the work of the  
organization (and I hope it is) there are many different possibilities  
for inclusion.

And consider also that when we say 'young person' we may be in our  
heads thinking of different ages - 12? 19? 26? 30? - so the inclusion  
of 'young people' on Boards may be very different depending on our  
definition for that organization's specific purposes and interests.

So all I am saying is - if you feel you can truly truly support the  
young people you wish to have join your Board (so they can be equal,  
not a 'mascot' to the Board, not exhausted by trying to keep up with  
the others who speak and afford things at a totally different level),  
and if you can truly truly select a young person who has knowledge,  
skills and abilities that your Board needs, if you can always be  
learning about what that diverse individual may need in order to truly  
be an equal player, then - if it fits their personality and their own  
learning / professional / growth goals - being on a Board may enrich  
both the young person and the work of the organization. Sure, Board  
meetings can be exceedingly boring for most folks. But for some folks  
it is like participating in student government - they love it.

I have seen Boards who thoughtfully include the unique and skilled  
individual young person - and provide them with ongoing support to  
equalize class and financial differences - benefit from working with  
their younger partners. I have also seen really well-intentioned  
inclusion of young people waste the time and good nature of the young  
person.

That's more than 2 cents ... thanks for your patience in reading my  
longish thoughts...

Lisa

Lisa Heft
Consultant, Facilitator, Educator
Opening Space
lisaheft at openingspace.net

Ask me about the Open Space Learning Workshops - December 15-17, 2010  
- San Francisco and in 2011 -- and the Power of Pre-Work in 2011



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