Meet the Candidate
Sheri White – Executive Director, Human Response Network
Please summarize the reasons you are submitting this nomination
I would like to be able to represent the Far North on the board. I regularly attend our monthly Far North meetings.
How do your values align with the Partnership, including centering underrepresented voices?
Human Response Network (HRN) was founded as an agency in 1980 to assist women who were pregnant and victims of domestic violence. That has always stuck with me. Trinity County is the poorest county in the State and we are constantly working for ways to assist all of our clients to empower them. I tell the story of our agency, why we are here, who we represent and what we are working on consistently in both professional and casual conversations.
Describe your participation in the Partnership’s regional networks, policy committees, peer learning circles and other components of our Membership community
I regularly attend the Far North monthly meetings. I attend trainings offered by CPEDV and encourage my staff to do so also. I attend the monthly meetings, read the emails sent out for information and updates but also the ones where fellow ED’s are requesting further understanding and seeking more information.
Describe your skills, experience or interests that can benefit, strengthen or increase capacity of the Board.
I have previous board experience. I am currently the lead for Trinity County as part of the Glenn Colusa Trintiy Community Action Partnership Board. I represent Trinity County on the Executive Board for Glenn Colusa and Trinity. I am the current vice chair for Trinity County First 5. Once I join a board, I am committed to learning and representing for that agency.
What does leadership mean to you? How do you demonstrate leadership?
Leadership is many things and can be different depending on the situation, employee or need. As the Executive Director, I try to connect with everyone in my agency at some point in the day, every day, personal conversation is important to my staff. I participate in outreach, cleaning, covering people’s lunches, help with meetings, and supporting my team as they need it. Leadership is finding trainings for my staff to help us better our skills with our clients, with ourselves and with the community. Leadership at times, is hearing the tough conversation of where you did not meet the standard or expectation and then figuring out how to address it. Issues and situations arise or change and, in that leaders need to pivot to address the issue, work on the issue, and get feedback from staff to move forward. I appreciate the feedback, thoughts and idea’s my staff have. I have learned I do not have all the answers or find all the answers I need to rely on my team and their expertise in each of their department. Each of them has strengths that complement our entire team and as we learn from each other we become a stronger team.
Describe how your relationships can enhance the work of the Partnership and the Board (for example, with policy-makers, media outlets, culturally specific communities, donors, and the broader community). Tell us how you intend to cultivate those relationships on behalf of the Partnership.
Our county is small, so our agency interacts with all the businesses in the county, from grocery stores to schools, Health and Human Services, Behavioral Health, Victim Witness, to the board of supervisors and more. We regularly post on Facebook, in the
Trinity Journal and around the county. We attend advocacy days at the capital for the different departments within HRN. Some of the agency employees have presented at national conventions, presented at state conventions, and have been asked to sit on
boards that compliment what we do here at HRN. When appropriate and it aligns with our DV grant, we would be able to include or post information for CPEDV.