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My name is Karla Velis-Brito, I am a portrait/wedding photographer and videographer. I am also a Marketing Manager and my passion is creating social media content for small businesses. I am a storyteller and that is expressed in creative writing and visuals.
I was born and raised in El Salvador, lived in the Greater Boston area for some years and currently, I relocated to Grand Rapids, MI. I enjoy traveling and have visited over 20 countries and multiple cities around the world. I grew up playing sports and music. I currently work with an international organization that fights poverty through business to create flourishing economic environments in all parts of the world. That’s truly my mission in this world: partnersworldwide.org

Top 5 Strengths (StrengthsFinder):
1. Woo: People exceptionally talented in the Woo theme love the challenge of meeting new people and winning them over. They derive satisfaction from breaking the ice and making a connection with someone.
2. Communications: People exceptionally talented in the Communication theme generally find it easy to put their thoughts into words. They are good conversationalists and presenters.
3. Ideation: People exceptionally talented in the Ideation theme are fascinated by ideas. They are able to find connections between seemingly disparate phenomena.
4. Positivity: People exceptionally talented in the Positivity theme have contagious enthusiasm. They are upbeat and can get others excited about what they are going to do.
5. Empathy: People exceptionally talented in the Includer theme accept others. They show awareness of those who feel left out and make an effort to include them.

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Hi all! I am a very passionate and creative native of Lawrence, MA. I am a Lawrence public school graduate and graduated from UMass Lowell with a bachelors in Journalism and minor in Digital media. My creativeness is directly connected by my passion and I feel that my best work is when I work on projects that I connect from the heart. I care a lot about my community and hope to see everyone succeed. This is why I was so interested in joining the cultural inclusion program so I can learn how to become a board member and help organizations in my city.

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Hello all!  I am fairly new to serving on a board with 1 full term under my belt as a Parent Board Member for Lawrence Family Development Charter School.  In general I love to serve especially one it’s impacting my community directly. Currently I am employed as a business systems analyst/project manager for HR systems implementation. One of the primary skill sets I can bring to a board outside from analytics, data, HR, Compensation which are transferable from my current role is out of the box/creative thinking.  Looking forward to tonight’s session!!!

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My name is Shaiana Nunez. I have worked in Education for 7 years. I have worked with families and students in schools and afterschool care. I may have never worked in a classroom, but I love being a helping hand and a cheerleader for kids, especially the ones from my community.

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My name is Maria Hernandez and currently work as the International Student Advisor at Northern Essex Community College.  I was born, raised and educated in the city of Lawrence.  I believe everyone is a puzzle piece….unique in our own way.   When the pieces of the puzzle get together, we begin to realize just how similar we all are.  However, what happens when we are not together?  Do these pieces break apart?  Of course not! Each and every one of us, despite our race, ability, gender, sexuality, etc… wants to be valued for who we are and not have to change ourselves to conform to society or anyone.

As a Board Member I would be an additional piece to the puzzle.  I bring a different perspective based on my own personal experiences from living and working in the community and my international/intercultural background.  The Merrimack Valley is my “home” and it will continue to be “home” to my children.  I believe there is power in focusing on our diversity.  The more we learn from each other and the communities we work in, the more information we can all bring to create solutions!

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I teach at NECC and I am currently in my second term of service with YWCANema and three years with the Women's Fund Grants Allocation Committee. I will be joining the Board of the Women's Fund this fall and possibly an advisory board for AJH.

I love to work with my non-profit colleagues on differing projects and offer what I can to help in accomplish the mission of each agency.

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Serving on FHCRC allows me to contribute to an important cause and an organization that provides essential services to vulnerable populations. By giving my time I gain back ten-fold.

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Serving on FHCRC allows me to contribute to an important cause and an organization that provides essential services to vulnerable populations. By giving my time I gain back ten-fold.

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Lois Sideman Si Se Puede
As a volunteer in the after school program  until COVID, and now a board member, the skill I bring is helping children strengthen their reading and comprehension. I see both sides as a board member and can offer a different perspective to the board.

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Serving Stars mission is to provide Education, Wellness and personal growth through the introduction of tennis. My personal background growing up in Lawrence and being introduced to the tennis community and how it has helped shape/enrich my life is something I want to share back. I'm a proud Lawrencian and look forward to continuing to give back to the community I grew up in.

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Board Service allows me to use my experience to give back to the community.

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Board Service allows me to use my experience to give back to the community.

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The skills/abilities I bring is that I am very analytical and task driven, and very good at completing tasks that need to be done.  I am able to keep a board on task and make sure the goals get completed. I am also very good at translating financial data into simple terms that non-financial people can understand. Also, I am very comfortable with be technology and can adapt to and learn new systems.

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Board service allows me to offer my talent, time and treasure to help and organization that offers a helping hand to those in need.

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Board service is important to me because it is a way to be part of the community; an opportunity to learn from and understand others' and the challenges they face, as well as a way to be supportive and encouraging and to give back with my time and experience.

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What gift/skill/characteristic do YOU bring to Board service? Click on the  pink + sign in the bottom right-hand corner and you will get the chance to add your own post. Title it with your name so we know who you are! Please consider adding a photo, an image, a drawing, a GIF to help us get to know you or just stick with words - whatever you are most comfortable with.  As our workshop participants add posts our Board will grow and we will have a beautiful class portrait.  Enjoy!

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Each board member is part of a collective helping write the narrative that will define the organization through a specific moment in time - David Davies JGCC

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Each board member is part of a collective helping write the narrative that will define the organization through a specific moment in time - David Davies JGCC

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I believe I provide a unique perspective on the world and enjoy giving language to and discussing difficult concepts/topics. I appreciate the many places my fellow board members have been, witnessing how their stories influence their contributions and believe strongly that the more we know about and trust each other the better off our decision making process will be. I am comfortable stating and asking that which may appear obvious because sometimes it is just good to make sure we are all on the same page.

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The passion I bring to the FHCRC Board comes from

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The passion I bring to the FHCRC Board comes from

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empathy and understanding of the individuals we serve, and the drive to make a better life for them.

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my analytical and curious mind.

I ask a lot of questions and pay attention to details when I'm asked to respond to a recommendation or make a decision.