Dynamic Duo: Meet WGSD members and Mother-Daughter team, Merle and Courtney Brodie

Mother: Merle Brodie

Occupation: Gift Planning Officer, Girl Scouts; Instructor, at UCSD extension certificate in fundraising and development program

Notable achievement: Association of Fundraising Professional Development Executive of the Year 1994

Daughter: Courtney Brodie

Occupation: Leasing Manager for Centro Properties Group

Notable achievement: Girl Scouts Gold Award for developing a youth chapter of the Lions Club at the Braille Institute.

Merle Brodie lives in Scripps Ranch and her daughter, Courtney, lives in Pacific Beach. Merle moved to San Diego in 1979, got married and started a new career and a wonderful family. Merle and her husband have two daughters, Courtney, 24 and Blake, 20.

One of the Brodie family values Merle, 57, taught both daughters is volunteering together. This has opened Courtney’s eyes to the value of community work and created a unique bond between this mother-daughter team.

Merle began volunteering with her daughters when they were quite young. As members of the National Charity League, Merle and Courtney completed community service projects and were introduced to numerous causes throughout San Diego. Their activities ranged from making centerpieces for Rady Children’s Hospital events to serving as judges for the Special Olympics as well as helping students at the Braille Institute with art classes. They continue the tradition of volunteering together to this day.

Merle states:

“I feel fortunate to have been able to share my values and perspectives about life with my daughters. It is a source of happiness to have raised two strong and independent women who see community service as an important part of their lives.”

When Courtney graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in business, she decided to move back to San Diego. Her mother is thrilled about this unexpected outcome. “My goal is to spend quality time with Courtney…not just shopping and going out to dinner, but to continue to find volunteer opportunities and help those in needs throughout the community”, Merle stated recently.

Because Merle and Courtney wanted to spend time volunteering together, they are very excited to belong to Women Give San Diego. It offers them a unique opportunity to be involved through both financial contributions and ‘hands-on’ volunteering.

WGSD teaches women of all ages how to be effective philanthropists. Thanks to a tiered membership structure, WGSD allows mother-daughter teams like Merle and Courtney to be involved together. Courtney says, “The low financial threshold to join make participation more accessible to younger women just starting their careers. We would miss many great opportunities if we had to wait till we were 50 years old and could afford joining donor circles.”

Merle adds, “I think we’re both happy to share this new experience in Women Give San Diego. It adds another positive dimension to our adult relationship.”

They both feel that it is important to join groups like Women Give, where they are with other like-minded women who share their values. Merle’s past work in the nonprofit sector and local community make her very well suited for her active work on the Grants Committee and as the new liaison to the community and grantees on behalf of the organization.

Courtney recently joined the membership committee and hopes to recruit many more young people. In addition, she has stepped up to volunteer with one of WGSD’s 2010 grantees, Dress for Success. At this past January membership meeting, Silvia McKinney, executive director at Dress for Success, spoke about their work teaching disadvantaged women how to get back in the work force. Her talk struck a chord with Courtney who has signed up to help. She’s being matched with a woman client and will help her find job interview outfits at the Dress for Success Boutique and later will mentor her through the job interview process and during the rest of her career.

Courtney understands how important a professional appearance is for interviews. Just a few years ago, Merle took her shopping for her first suit. “The suit really made me feel good and it conveyed the right image” Courtney said. “A suit boosts your confidence level and gets your career started on the right note.”

This dynamic team is a strong model for how to be actively involved in the community as a family and as women. Merle is leading by example, grooming her daughters to be next generation of women philanthropists.

Renee Herrell, M.A., CFRE is a WGSD member and writes a popular nonprofit blog: reneeherrell.wordpress.com

Foster Youth: Thoughts from Amy Gunderson

Last week KPBS has showcased a vulnerable population that is near and dear to San Diego Women Give, Foster Youth. Recognizing the great unmet need, and an excellent opportunity to assist young foster women as they age out of the Foster Care system, San Diego Women Give partnered with Just in Time Foster Youth for two years as they pilot the “Career Horizons for Young Women Program.”

The two part series ran April 6^th and 7^th with articles: “Many Penniless Former Foster Kids Call the Streets Home,” and “San Diego County Seizing Foster Kids’ Assets to Pay for Care.”

The stories speak to some of the grim realities San Diego Women Give Members are well aware of, and some information that was new- to me.

I was unaware of the Childrens' Advocacy Institute at the University of San Diego, a group working to bring research and awareness regarding the situation foster youth are facing here in our community.

Other statistics that struck me from the articles:

· Former foster children have overtaken war veterans as the single largest population in California’s homeless shelters.

· Foster Youth who are entitled to Social Security money from an estranged parent do not receive that income as it is absorbed by San Diego County for “administrative costs” in operating the foster care system.

Many times such difficult stories remain just that to me, sad news. Often I fail to understand- to feel, how I directly contribute to the problem. However, Kriste Draper of the Children’s Advocacy Institute said something in her interview that made me keenly aware of my role.

“As a state we have decided that a foster child’s parents are not good enough to be their parents," Draper said. "Each one of us through our tax dollars has said we can be better parents. And if we are going to accept that responsibility, then we need to make sure that we are better than the homes we have taken them from. And right now, I think that we fail at that.”

To read both stories in their entirety:

http://www.kpbs.org/news/2011/apr/06/many-penniless-former-foster-kids-make-call-street/

http://www.kpbs.org/news/2011/apr/06/san-diego-county-seizing-foster-kids-assets-pay-ca/

Amy Gunderson is a WGSD member and Program Assistant for the Gary and Mary West Foundation

Conversation with former State Senator Dede Alpert and Nikki Clay

On April 4, the Women Give San Diego membership was counseled by two influential San Diego policy makers. Dede Alpert, long time State Senator and advocate for public education and women's issues, along with Nikki Clay, a specialist in government relations and strategic legislative advocacy, presented at the group's recent meeting. During this dynamic presentation, members were advised on how to effectively advocate for the needs of women and girls to legislative leaders.

With years of experience under their respective belts, Alpert and Clay emphasized the importance of reaching out to city, county, and state officials thoughtfully and strategically. As the budget crisis at all levels of government makes legislative advocacy especially challenging this year, effective planning is crucial. Alpert and Clay recommend the following in order to maximize results from advocacy efforts:

1) Make a personal connection with legislators as this is much more effective than mass faxes or e-mails. Don't ask for money or support immediately - simply familiarize him or her with the issues at hand and explain why they are important. If at all possible link your cause to the legislators own experience or record. Legislators who are sensitive to the issues of women and girls will likely champion such causes in the political arena. Identifying these key individuals can be especially effective for your cause.

2) Make a personal connection with legislators' staff members. In some ways, building a relationship with staffers can be more important than building a relationship with legislators themselves. Staff members are more likely to read advocacy material thoroughly and are, in some cases, more likely to enjoy longevity in their positions than legislators.

3) Once you have secured a meeting with a legislator and his or her staff member, plan your presentation carefully. Ensure the presenting group is in agreement about what should be discussed and who should be responsible for highlighting particular aspects of your presentation. Be sure to stay on topic and focused in the course of the meeting, thereby maximizing the effectiveness of your "face time."

4) As the current budget crisis makes asking for "new" money next to impossible, advocacy efforts this year should be focused on "free" ideas, making existing programs more effective, and advocating for existing programs that are in danger of elimination.

The recommendations by Alpert and Clay are especially important as Women Give San Diego seeks to develop it's advocacy efforts with the creation of an Advocacy Committee. The committee is currently discussing possible women and girl-related issues around which to mobilize. Committee members are also planning to join Women's Foundation of California "Legislative Action Day" May 3 & 4 in Sacramento to plug into the foundation's lobbying efforts. The issues targeted at the day of lobbying have been selected by fellows of the Women's Foundation of California's Women's Policy Institute: a year long program of training retreats, to teach women activists and grassroots organizations how to successfully negotiate the labyrinth of Sacramento.

Women Give San Diego Member, Johanna Schiavoni comments:

“I will be attending the Legislative Action Day to sharpen my skills through hands on training and real world practice. There is no better way to learn to be an advocate than to be directly involved with legislatures and decision makers. I am excited to do this with the Women’s Foundation of California, an organization whose values and goals align with mine and Women Give San Diego.”

We will hear more from her and other WGSD members who attend the Legislative Action Day.

If you are interested in joining the WGSD advocacy committee or would like more information about Legislative Action Day, please contact Jennifer Dryer at jennifer@tamayoconsulting.com.

Jennifer Levitt is a WGSD member and blog contributor.

WGSD member promotions

Our Women Give San Diego members are incredibly talented women who are doing amazing work in San Diego. Here are two recent member promotions!

Women Give San Diego member Johanna S. Schiavoni, Esq. has recently joined Jacobs Schlesinger & Sheppard LLP as a partner. Johanna is an attorney specializing in state and federal court appellate litigation, including business litigation, criminal and white-collar cases, and immigration appeals. She brings more than six years of experience at Latham & Watkins LLP, an AmLaw 100 firm, and two years of experience as a law clerk to the Hon. M. Margaret McKeown on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the Hon. Christina A. Snyder on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Johanna received her J.D. in 2002 from the University of California, Los Angeles, and her B.A. in 1998 from Washington University in St. Louis. Johanna also volunteers with many local organizations in addition to Women Give, including serving as the Programs Chair for the Appellate Court Committee of the San Diego County Bar Association and as a member of the boards of directors of the La Jolla Music Society and the Lawyers Club of San Diego.

Jacobs Schlesinger & Sheppard LLP is a boutique law firm specializing in both immigration and nationality law and appellate litigation. The firm's Immigration and Nationality Law Practice Group represents clients, including large and small companies and individuals, in all areas of immigration-related cases, including applications before the USCIS, consular processing, and removal defense. The firm's Appellate Practice Group provides a full range of legal services to clients and trial counsel, including strategic counseling, research, and drafting in pre-trial, trial, and post-trial proceedings, and representation in appeal and post-appeal matters in state and federal courts.

Women Give San Diego member Debi Spindelman was recently accepted to Duke's Sanford School and Center for International Development, Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, and Columbia's School of International Policy Administration to pursue her Masters in Public Administration in sustainable development practice this fall.

She is currently the Project Director at Outside the Lens. Through her work, she traveled to the Daraja Academy of Kenya, the first free all-girls secondary school in East Africa, where she taught a media literacy program to 52 students, including digital camera skills, visual training strategies, self-portraiture, elements of design, and self-reflective poetry.

She has chosen to study public policy as a means to share the visions and viewpoints of girls like the Daraja students-- recipients of international development program funds- with a broader audience. Her long-term goal is to return to San Diego after graduation to perform analysis and advisory work to philanthropic funds working in global development as it affects women, children, and other vulnerable populations.

You can see the Daraja’s student’s artwork as part of a traveling exhibition that will be unveiled at the University of San Diego in May.