Seventeen community volunteers have been selected to participate in the United Way of Central Oklahoma’s 2017 Board Serve Central Oklahoma Program. Now in its fourth year, Board Serve is a unique program designed to help strengthen United Way Partner Agencies within our community with professionally trained board members.

Class members are some of the best and brightest professionals and community volunteers in central Oklahoma with diversity in life experience, age, ethnicity, geographic location and profession. The nine- month program will feature class sessions led by subject matter experts in nonprofit board governance, leadership skills, nonprofit law, fundraising, crisis management and other critical skills needed to serve on a nonprofit board. After completion of the program, each participant will be matched with a nonprofit agency to serve a year as a voting board member.

Led by volunteer program chairman Frank Merrick, Foundation Management president, Board Serve effectively connects community-minded business professionals with United Way Partner Agencies.

“Our Board Serve Program is yet another avenue for the United Way of Central Oklahoma to provide support to our Partner Agencies and the nonprofit community,” said United Way of Central Oklahoma President and CEO Debby Hampton. “Strong boards are critical to the success of nonprofits and our Board Serve Program prepares community-minded individuals to step in and have an immediate impact upon joining boards.”

The 2017 Board Serve Class IV includes:

Elizabeth Autry, Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores, Inc.

James Biscone, Johnson & Biscone, P.A.

Ashlea Briggs, BancFirst

Mary Carter, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Oklahoma

Kristin Davis, SONIC, America’s Drive-In

Donald Greenawalt, Chesapeake Energy Corporation

Corey Horsch, SONIC, America’s Drive-In

Marlon James, Tinker Air Force Base

Jessica McCormick, Avaya

Alexander McHale, Permian Resources, LLC

Jaime Schafer, Dillingham Benefits

Whitney Scimeca, Oklahoma Department of Public Safety

Julie Toben, Masonic Charity Foundation of Oklahoma

Bradley Wallace, Morgan Stanley

Charles Wallace, Dobson Technologies

Jeremy Whitlow, American Fidelity

Belinda Willis, UMB Bank

About United Way of Central Oklahoma

United Way of Central Oklahoma researches human needs within the communities of central Oklahoma and directs resources to accountable health and human services agencies to meet those needs by improving the health, safety, education and economic well-being of its most vulnerable citizens. The organization received the 2016 Charles Schusterman Award for Excellence from the Center for Nonprofits as the state’s top nonprofit organization. For more information about United Way of Central Oklahoma, please visit www.unitedwayokc.org or call (405) 236-8441.