Editor’s Note: Wondering what it’s like to serve on the DONA International Board of Directors? Read on to hear Eva Bild share her experience serving as a Regional Director.
Feeling inspired to serve your fellow doulas? Applications are now being accepted for Eastern Canada Regional Director, Midwestern US Regional Director, Northeastern US Regional Director, Southwestern US Regional Director and the Director of International Development for 2017 – 2019. Currently open is the Mexico Regional Director position which would begin immediately. Learn more from the Regional Director Job Description, Director of International Development Job Description, and overall Board of Directors Job Description. Interested DONA International members should contact nominations@dona.org. Applications are due April 15, 2016. — Adrianne Gordon, CD(DONA), MBA, Blog Manager
What I learned on the Board of DONA International
I was honoured to serve for four years as the Western Canada Director on the DONA International Board of Directors. I am stepping down this month and handing the position over to Rachel Parris. I know she will do a great job. Before I go, I want to tell you some of the things I learned in my time on the Board.
DONA International is a truly diverse group of doulas. We have doulas from over 50 countries and from uncounted religions and ethnicities. We have doulas from at least three generations.
The Board of Directors of DONA International is an incredible, hard-working group of women. There is a wide range of talents and skills among the board members, and they are all put to work in the service of DONA and her membership.
The Board of Directors is the heart of DONA International. It keeps the doula spirit circulating. It keeps the organs – the International Doula, the eDoula Newsletter, DONA.org , The DONA Doula Chronicles, the Facebook page and groups – working to connect all the members to each other.
The Board of Directors is also the mind of DONA. It does the thinking and the imagining and the planning. It thinks forward into the future to plan the conferences and the strategies and it casts back to the past to keep the memory of our roots alive too.
The Board deals with all sorts of issues. There are big issues, like how DONA should participate in the changes that are happening within the birthing world and the doula profession. And there are small issues, like what should be done about one member with one particular problem.
The membership of DONA is unsure about who the Board is and how it functions. The Board is perceived as far away, difficult to reach, difficult to join. Nothing could be further from the truth! The Board is made up of people who want to serve, who jump at the chance to help a member. All you need to do is reach out!
The Board needs a constant flow of new people to keep the ideas and the passion fresh. I urge you to consider helping DONA by stepping up to lead, either on a committee, as a SPAR or on the Board itself.
Thank you, Western Canada, for your support and trust as I worked as your Regional Director. I am still at your service if there is anything you ever need from me. Please do not hesitate to contact me. I wish Rachel all the best, and I am excited to see the new projects and plans the Board is going to present.
— Eva Bild, CD(DONA), BDT(DONA), LCCE