I’ve been involved in helping start a number of non-profits. One of them – National Center for Women & Information Technology – has surpassed my wildest expectations. Lucy Sanders and her team have done an awesome job of building a coalition of over 170 prominent corporations, academic institutions, government agencies, and nonprofits working to improve U.S. innovation, competitiveness, and workforce sustainability by increasing women’s participation in IT.
I’ve been chairman of NCWIT since its early days. As with most of the non-profits I’ve been involved in helping start, the board of directors evolves over time. Unlike for-profit companies, each stage feels like a step function as you add new board members who bring a new set of capabilities, range, and diversity to the board.
Stage 1 for NCWIT’s board was a group of early board members who simply helped get things going. There was a lot of evangelism for NCWIT, a lot of ad hoc help, and plenty of ambiguity about roles and responsibilities. The board members were extremely enthusiastic and supportive – we wouldn’t have made much progress without them.
Stage 2 for NCWIT’s board was an effort to build some formality into the board. We included several members from our larger investment partners, a handful of folks that played specific functional roles, and began to organize around a set of board committees. Some of these committees were effective; some weren’t. The consistency of board communication increased and while there was still plenty of ad hoc activity, in general things were more organized.
Stage 3 for NCWIT’s board has just been launched. We just announced the appointment of eight new board members.
It’s an incredible set of people that cross the boundaries between entrepreneurship, academia, and established technology companies. They are joining a well established board that has a great working tempo. I’m really psyched about the next stage of NCWIT.