Our Streets Minneapolis is looking for community members who are interested in joining our Board of Directors (see below for more information on what it means to be a Board member and the types of people and skills we are seeking). Joining the Board is a great way to connect to other civic-minded people who care about making our city a more comfortable place to bike, walk, and roll.
To express interest, please briefly respond to the following questions by sending up to one page to Clark at cbgoldenrod@gmail.com:
- Why are you interested in serving on the Board?
- Have you been involved in promoting or advancing biking, walking, and/or rolling in Minneapolis? If so, how?
- What areas of expertise and experiences would you bring to the Board?
- What would you like to learn or gain from the experience of being on the Board?
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Please express which 1-3 of the following Our Streets committees or work groups interest you the most. If you have an idea for a committee or work group that is not listed, feel free to suggest it!
- Committees: Fundraising, Finance, Nominations, Personnel, Board Development & Engagement
- Work Groups: Advocacy, Downtown Bikeways, Pedestrian, Bike Encouragement/Bike Month, Walk Promotion, Fun/Events, Communications, Open Streets Planning, Bike Month, Northeast Biking & Walking, Park Board Biking & Walking, U of M Biking & Walking, Equitable Vision Zero.
Deadline to express interest: Friday, April 19th.
Process: A Nominations Committee of the Board will review responses, interview candidates as needed, and make a recommendation to the full Board to consider at the May Our Streets Board meeting. All candidates will receive final word in mid-May.
What it means to be an Our Streets Board member:
The Our Streets Minneapolis Board of Directors makes sure that the actions of the organization further our mission, and works to maintain public trust and accountability. That can look like developing a strategic plan, evaluating a new program or public position, or keeping an eye on the organization’s finances, for example. The Board is also responsible or hiring, managing, and evaluating the Executive Director.
Board members are volunteers who are expected to be meaningfully engaged in the organization and spend a personally significant amount of time supporting its work. Board members make decisions and perform tasks in the best interest of the organization and in alignment with our mission, vision, and core values. The following are expectations for how board members support the organization:
- Regularly attend a Board meeting (likely to continue to be every other month on the first Tuesday from 6-8pm) and review related materials prior to the meeting;
- Actively participate in at least one committee or work group beyond the standard Board meetings;
- Make a financial contribution that is personally significant and support Our Streets fundraising in some way;
- Work to help implement and update the Our Streets strategic plan;
- Support key Our Streets initiatives as needed (like our Winter Sidewalks campaign or Open Streets events); and
- Offer personal outreach as appropriate to stakeholders and generally further the reputation of the organization. (This could include things like sharing our social media posts, talking with a funder or an elected official, representing the organization at an event, helping the organization connect with someone in your network, etc.)
Board members serve two-year terms, with an option for a one-year term upon request. Terms will begin at our July 2, 2019 board meeting.
Specific Demographics and Skills Our Streets Minneapolis is Seeking:
The organization is looking for people who have a positive passion for bicycling, walking, and rolling in Minneapolis and are ready and willing to get to work. We are actively working to diversify our entire organization--including the Board--to better reflect the diversity of Minneapolis, and to make our organization a place where people who have experienced oppression can feel safe and participate fully. We try to maintain a diversity of skills, experiences, and perspectives. Some perspectives, skills, and connections we are especially looking for at this time include:
- people who identify as Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and/or People of Color
- people who identify as transgender or gender non-conforming
- residents of Northeast and North Minneapolis
- people with experience advocating for pedestrian issues
- people living with disabilities that affect mobility
- people with nonprofit and board experience
- people with human resources/personnel experience
- people with experience in finance, accounting, and fundraising
- people who are immigrants and/or have connections to immigrant communities
- people who identify as low-income and/or have connections to low-income communities
- people who are interested in serving in a leadership role on the Board (Officer positions include President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary)
If you have any questions, please contact Maria Wardoku, Board President, at [email protected] or Ash Narayanan, Executive Director, at [email protected]. Thank you for your interest!
