The Board Member's Guide: Making a Difference on Your Board

The Board Member’s Guide, Making a Difference on Your Board and in Your Community is a book written for organizations and volunteers who serve or aspire to serve on a not-for-profit board.

The book covers topics such as the individual and the Board, work of the board, leadership of the board, and the board and the community. Readers can learn among other things how to prepare and develop board members, get organized, be a leader, the executive director’s role, community awareness, ethical issues and celebrating victories.

Click here to read the Foreword or here to read Praise for The Board Member’s Guide!

Richard Adams's extensive professional experience ranges from high school teacher to school district superintendent to county comissioner. He has served on political, educational, social service and foundation boards, and has been board president of a nature center, a mental health board and a community college. He lives in Troy, Ohio.

Shirley Magoteaux is Secretary and Vice President of Corporate Services and Community Relations at Midmark Corporation in Versailles, Ohio. Her board memberships include a foundation, a downtown renovation project, and a church. She has also served as a director and secretary of a chamber of commerce and director of a mental health board.

Virginia Matz has been an active volunteer and board member during her thirty-five years in Sidney, Ohio. Her experience on boards includes a church, a country club, and as a founding member of the Y.M.C.A. She has been board president of a foundation, an arts council and the Y.M.C.A.

Cheryl Stiefel-Francis is Executive Director of the Maimi County Foundation and a past executive with United Way. Her board experiences includes service on a high school foundation board and a historic preservation board, including board presidencies at a chamber of commerce and a rotary club. She lives in Troy, Ohio.

Judy Westerheide is a teacher at the Sidney Co-operative Nursery School in Sidney, Ohio. Her board experience includes work with a community foundation, the Y.M.C.A., and a public library. She has been board president of an arts council, a women's league and a dance company.

with Donn F. Vickers has been an executive director in organizations religious, education, preservationsit and literary, and is the executive director of The Academy for Leadership & Governance. He is also an adjunct professor in the graduate program of Arts Policy and Administration at The Ohio State University.

Elizabeth Jewell (Editor) is the Interim Director of the Worthington Arts Council and the former Director of Literary Programs at The Thurber House. She has a master's degree in Arts Policy and Administration from The Ohio State University.

Emily Redington (Research) is a Program Associate at NEW (nonprofit enterprise at work) in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Emily assists with the operation and expansion of the BoardConnect program. Prior to joining NEW, Emily was Assistant Director of The Jefferson Center for Learning and the Arts. She received her MA in Arts Policy and Administration from The Ohio State University and her BA in English from Marshall University.