This essay is from the Boardbound June Newsletter. Read the full newsletter here.
Westwater Resources (NYSE) was an early pa
rtner with Boardconnect.
The board members are l to r: Chris Jones, CEO; Tracy Pagliara; Deborah Peacock; Karli Anderson; and Terence Cryan, Board Chair. Westwater selected Karli Anderson to join the Westwater board from a slate of women candidates provided by Boardconnnect.
We asked Terence for his perspective on the Boardconnect program:
"Achieving balance on the board of Westwater Resources was the achievement of a goal that has returned to us many benefits and rewards, both tangible and intangible. Thank you to the Women’s Leadership Foundation for your help along the way!"
The idea for Boardconnect came from one of the first meetings with CEOs for Women on Boards back in 2016. One CEO said his company would like to add a woman to their board but he didn’t know any who met their requirements. That’s when we decided we could help. We developed a program called Boardconnect.
As experts in preparing qualified women for board service, we listen to what strategic skills clients need on their board to meet evolving challenges and to balance their board. Our team immediately reaches out to qualified women who meet those requirements to verify their interest. We are very lucky to have rich talent in Colorado with the more than 100 women living here who already serve on corporate boards, the more than 75 Corporate Boardbound participants and alumnae, and others in our network. We have national reach through our partnerships with other organizations who share the commitment of advancing women on boards.
Boardconnect works directly with the client or with the client’s professional search firm. We review many potential candidates and share with the company prioritized candidates. The client is provided the candidate’s skills, background and board readiness that meet their specific requirements with a cover letter, along with their bio and resume.
It is very gratifying when clients tell us how impressed they are with the qualifications of the women candidates Boardconnect provides them, and very gratifying when they come back a year later to tell us how much the candidate they selected has added to their company’s success.
We had the opportunity to make recommendations to 45 companies in 2020. Besides the clients that come directly to us, we receive requests from our partner organizations like ION Women, The Thirty Percent Coalition, Athena Alliance, and Him for Her.
There is no charge for Boardconnect to introduce clients to qualified candidates. However, we do ask them to consider a donation if they select a candidate we recommend so we can continue our work.
Our mission is to open board positions to women in Colorado and beyond. Connecting board-ready talent to organizations eager to achieve extraordinary results is key to our mission.