Meet the Board of Directors! Janet Chilson, Secretary of the Board
What we most appreciate about Janet: her unflagging support, her birds-eye-view and systems-level understanding of nonprofits in general and this place in particular, and her warm sense of humor. She devoted decades of her life to leadership roles with Girl Guides, supporting outdoor education for girls, and we’re so glad to have her here at Tanglewood for the decades to come!
When and how did you first hear about Tanglewood?
When I came to the States in 2000. Being from the UK – in the UK, we have what we call Public Footpaths. Everywhere. When I first came here, I was wondering, Where the heck can you hike around here? Everywhere has these yellow signs saying “POSTED. TRESPASSING. PRIVATE.” And honestly I drove round and round and round this local area looking for somewhere to walk. And then I discovered Tanglewood. I do remember it in that other place (on West Hill Rd.) and one of the first times I went there, I went into the visitor center and met this volunteer. And of course as soon as she detected my accent, she immediately wants to show me the hedgehog, because we have them in the UK. So I was like, Oh, sure! She was really friendly and great. The trails were small and mainly uphill, but it was open and available, for free, for people to hike. I was already coming up to Tanglewood before I joined the board.
I was asked to join the Board by Deb Lauper (a former Board member). We both share a love of birds and birdwatching. But the real reason I was recruited was to help with the HR committee.
In the UK, I used to be really heavily involved in the Girl Guides. I was single at the time, and I was running a Brownie unit, also the county commissioner by the time I left, so I was at meetings every night. It was my life! From the time I was a Brownie at 7 years old til I was 40, I spent so much time in Guiding. I had a lot of experience there in education, with girls, activities, organizing with other leaders, and running the county campsite, Pettypool. I thought I could bring some of that experience with me here.
What kinds of Board service do you find tough?
Not being from around here is a challenge for me; I don’t feel I have as many contacts. I used to work with people at Corning and they’d see someone in the street and go “Oh that’s so-and-so, they’re cousins with so-and-so.” That’s the part I struggle with because for fundraising, I don’t know as many people, personally - which is why I think I can contribute more to the organization with HR and marketing, to help reach out to the community in a different way. This place supports education of kids and adults, in the natural environment - what’s more important than that?
What kind of Board service do you find the most fun and rewarding?
Well at the moment I head the HR committee. It’s all the hiring, and the annual review with the staff, which is one of the meetings we enjoy the most. I enjoy HR because you can’t, obviously, run this place without staff. It’s a very important aspect of this place. We have a great staff, and we’ve been very fortunate to have relatively little turnover.
I have to say – this is just me, I think it’s genetic with my family. My mother, my two sisters, my brother also. We don’t know what it is about us. We just step up. I like stepping up. I have a buzz when I get to thinking about organizing things. Re-organizing committees and such – I can really get into this!
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Interested in learning more about Board service, what the different committees do, or if your skills and interests might be of benefit to the community? Contact us and we can put you in touch with Janet and other Tanglewood Nature Center board members!