Civic House Associates Coalition (CHAC)

2014Exec Board Application Form

Applications are due Sunday, November 10nd at 11:59 PM.

Please submit your application to the co-chairs Loren and Alefiyah at and

and to Civic House staff adviser Megan Forman at .

NAME SCHOOL & YEAR

EMAIL CELL PHONE

If you are interested in speaking with a current exec member about their role and experience, please do not hesitate to contact any or all of us.

Loren Kole & Alefiyah Lokhandwala (Co-Chairs)

Lindsey Lansky (Communication and Funding Coordinator)

Sherry Huang (Advocacy)

Grace Truong (Arts-Based Service)

Amit Pujari (One-Time Service)

John Lu (Public Health)

Connie Hua (Tutoring & Mentoring)

Lucy Abbot (Poverty)

Rachel Zurier (External Liaison)

If you are elected, it is assumed that you will be on campus and available for the following (please put an X below to confirm availability, or explain any conflicts in space provided):

___ CHAC Exec. Transition Meeting: Sunday, Nov. 24th at 7pm

___ CHAC Exec. Board Retreat: Mandatory Off-Campus Retreat January 17-19, 2014

___ CHAC Exec. Weekly Meetings: TBD based on Exec availability, typically one evening M-Th for 90 mins

Please respond to the following questions.

Please note your answers will be shared with the CHAC general body to facilitate the voting process.

1)Please include a short biography of yourself (no more than 1 paragraph or 150 words).

2)Why did you choose to apply for the CHAC Executive Board and what do you hope to contribute to the role(s) you intend to run for?

3)How can CHAC better serve the needs of community service and advocacy organizations, and those of the broader community?

4)Please list the service/advocacy activities you have been involved in at Penn:

Organization/Project Name / Dates of Involvement (from/to) / Role(s)

POSITION DESCRIPTIONS
The board is comprised of eleven (11) executive board members:

  • Two (2) Co-Chairs
  • One (1) Communication and Funding Coordinator
  • Eight (8) Liaisons

General duties of CHAC Executive Board members as well as specific responsibilities pertaining to each individual role are detailed below. We want to emphasize that these position descriptions give a general overview of the roles of each board member. Every CHAC-Exec board is different, and each board member will have the flexibility to pursue a variety of goals while serving on the board.

Co-Chairs (2)
Co-Chairs serve as the directors of the board. Together they share the general responsibility of facilitating weekly CHAC Exec meetings and monthly General Body meetings using methods that are responsive to the needs of CHAC members and the service and advocacy community. Specific duties include:

  • Presiding over all meetings, elections and voting procedures, supervising the general management of the business of CHAC, and executing all orders and resolutions of CHAC Exec and the general body
  • Acting as the official representative(s) of CHAC in all student, faculty, administrative, and community matters at any function, on/off campus- specifically UA Steering and University Council Seat
  • Refraining from making binding policy decisions without prior consent of the general CHAC body
  • Encouraging the participation of constituent groups and broader Penn groups and institutions in CHAC
  • Attending weekly meetings with staff advisor.

Communication and Funding Coordinator (1)
Specific duties of the Communication and Funding Coordinator include:

  • Preparing attendance forms for CHAC General Body and CHAC Exec meetings
  • Recording attendance and minutes at CHAC and CHAC Exec meetings, and ensuring their timely distribution to CHAC constituents and interested parties
  • Recording all files pertaining to the business of CHAC, including, but not limited to, an updated general body list, updates on constituent leadership changes and announcements
  • Sending out appropriate and pertinent messages to CHAC and other interested parties
  • Submitting CHAC events and CHAC constituent events for announcements and ensuring that CHAC members get a copy of such announcements via the CHAC weekly listserv
  • Administering and monitoring the Fund for Student Community Involvement (FSCI)
  • Consulting with the Executive Board prior to the dispersal of funds from FSCI
  • Assisting CHAC members to prepare SAC budget applications and proposals.
  • Attending T-Change meetings as a CHAC representative

Liaisons (8)

All: Liaisons are critical members of the CHAC Exec board, acting as advocates for civic engagement on campus and in the community. Liaisons have the opportunity to work closely with CHAC groups to support them, connect them with resources and to more broadly facilitate a strong community of civically engaged peers at Penn. Duties include:

  • Maintaining close communication both in person and through e-mails with CHAC reps from the organizations that fall within your liaison group;
  • Staying informed of each group’s activities and events as necessary and informing each group of appropriate opportunities within CHAC, Civic House and the campus at large;
  • Learning about resources including funding sources, meeting and event spaces, recruitment and retention strategies and publicity to share with your groups;
  • Facilitating regular discussions and meetings for liaison group members;
  • Planning events including but not limited to Think About It event in collaboration with other members of CHAC Exec to highlight a issue pertaining to current events;
  • Working collaboratively with other CHAC Exec members as a team towards common, agreed-upon goals.

In addition to the collective liaison duties listed above, each liaison will have specific responsibilities as detailed below:

Arts-Based: This liaison works closely with CHAC groups that have a specific focus on connecting the arts with the community. Many of these groups work with local schools to provide arts-themed mentoring programs or use theatre and performing arts as a means of social issue education. This liaison also sits on the Rotunda Community Advisory Board which runs the performance space on 40th and Walnut and aims to engage the community through art and performances.
Advocacy: This liaison works closely with CHAC groups that are primarily (but not solely) focused on advocacy around issues of human and environmental concern, as opposed to direct service.The Advocacy Liaison works to support the operations of each group and is looked to for advice on membership recruitment and retention, programming, publicity, etc. The ideal candidate should strive to foster collaborations between groups within Civic House and groups outside of the traditional undergraduate service community.

Developmental: This liaison serves as the first connection to CHAC for newly accepted groups and works closely with these groups to acclimate them to CHAC, educating them about the responsibilities and benefits to CHAC membership. Additional responsibilities include managing the new group application process in the spring, as well as planning and organizing an orientation for new CHAC reps each semester. Finally, this liaison will work closely with the External Liaison to identify community service groups on campus who are interested in learning more about CHAC membership.
External: The role of the external liaison is to act as an outreach contact person for Penn student groups and hubs, like the Women’s Center, LGBT center, and cultural groups, whose primary mission is not community service. Common ways for the external liaison to do this are through the University’s themed-year initiative (e.g., Year of Water, Year of Games, etc.) as well as coordinate a Civic House NSO late-night event.This liaison will also put student groups and Philadelphia organizations in touch with CHAC groups in order to create collaborations. To foster community between CHAC and West Philadelphia, this liaison will attend First Thursday meetings which are held once a month. This liaison also sits on the Undergraduate Assembly’s Committee on Civic and Philadelphia Engagement.
One-Time Service: This liaison works closely with groups that have a focus on planning a variety of service activities. Unlike most liaison groups that are themed according to a specific social issue, the OTS liaison group consists of organizations who address a multitude of social issues through direct service. As such, the OTS liaison must have knowledge of or become acquainted with the resources needed in planning one-time service events.

Public Health:This liaison acts as a resource for both national and international groups whose work is focused on public health. Candidates should have a strong knowledge of the public health community on campus--both Civic House groups and beyond--AND the community. The Public Health Liaison works to support the operations of each group and is looked to for advice on membership recruitment and retention, programming, publicity, etc. The ideal candidate should strive to foster collaborations between groups within Civic House and groups outside of the traditional undergraduate service community.

Tutoring and Mentoring: This liaison works closely with CHAC groups whose service is primarily with locally-based schools and students in areas of academic tutoring or extracurricular mentoring. Familiarity with the specific requirements associated with school-based partnerships and/or the process of processing background checks is preferred.

Poverty: This liaison works closely with groups whose focus is primarily on the reduction of local and global poverty. Candidates should have a strong knowledge of the local and international poverty work done on campus--both Civic House groups and beyond--AND the community. The Poverty Liaison works to support the operations of each group and is looked to for advice on membership recruitment and retention, programming, publicity, etc. The ideal candidate should strive to foster collaborations between groups within Civic House and groups outside of the traditional undergraduate service community.