Hands On Network offers board opportunity for senior executives based west of the Mississippi

The outpouring of volunteers in the aftermath of Katrina has been almost as stunning as the storm itself. Hands On Network (formerly CityCares), the parent of over 50 community-based "Hands On" groups across the US and in a growing number of other countries, is receiving literally thousands of requests daily from potential volunteers, each one asking "How can I help?!"

If you are an executive with leadership experience of true scope and scale, one way you can help is by considering board service with a nonprofit whose mission you respect.

Last year, we had the privilege of helping Hands On recruit two new board members from outside their normal universe. This year, we are helping to attract two more board members, with particular attention to prospects from the western half of the country.

Working with the CEOs of some 29 national corporations and nonprofits (from GE to AARP, from Starwood to Dell), Hands On intends to enlist a total of 600,000 volunteers over the next two years. It's a big challenge, and the Network wants to help ensure that the board has the resources it deserves.

Tropics Foundation seeks its first Executive Director

CATIE (in English, the Tropical Agriculture Research and Higher Education Center) is a unique graduate institution devoted to research, education and training in tropical environments, with emphasis on service to the countries and communities of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Headquartered in Costa Rica since its founding over 30 years ago, CATIE has created The Tropics Foundation to expand US support for the organization's graduate programs in agriculture, natural resources and rural development. BoardWalk is pleased to lead the search for the Foundation's first Executive Director.

An experienced, culturally fluent fundraiser with deep respect for education that transforms communities would be most welcome as the inaugural head of The Tropics Foundation. Follow the link below for further details on an opportunity with the potential for real impact throughout the hemisphere.

World-renowned Hazelden Foundation seeks VP to lead its largest unit

Since its 1949 founding in a rural Minnesota lakeside farmhouse, the Hazelden Foundation has grown into one of the largest, most respected, and best-known private alcohol and drug rehabilitation centers in the world. Today Hazelden is a $100-million nonprofit employing a thousand people serving some 8000 patients and family members a year who are affected by alcohol and drug abuse. It touches literally millions more through its publications, research and master's degree progams.

The core of Hazelden's operations is in Center City, Minnesota, an easy commute from the suburbs of St. Paul and Minneapolis. BoardWalk is pleased to have been asked to help recruit the Vice President of Hazelden's Minnesota Region, an area that accounts for almost half the organization's budget and employees and an even larger percentage of its reputation and budget.

The role is a demanding one: Part operations head, part clinician, part strategist, part spokesperson for the leading resource on a pervasive health issue. Follow the link below for a working draft of the position specification, and then let us know of your interest.

Gratifying reponse to BoardWalk Governance Fellowship at Harvard

In July, we announced the second annual BoardWalk Governance Fellowship, a tuition grant for board members to attend a Harvard Business School program entitled Governing for Nonprofit Excellence.

We received over 30 applications for the 2005 Fellowships, and the selection committee (itself made up of former recipients) has selected eight for further discussion. We will announce this year's recipients in the next issue of smorgasBoard.

Board consulting constitutes about half our work here at BoardWalk (the balance is executive search), and thus we are thrilled with the surge of interest in governance excellence. We plan to continue our support of the Harvard program, and we trust those of you who give your time as nonprofit and foundation trustees will continue to find ways to enhance your value to the organizations you cherish.