Q&A with Janelle Woods-McNish, Trustees Managing Director of Community Impact
Sunrise through the trees (Photo courtesy P Marrotta/Trustees)
At the core of The Trustees’ mission is to preserve and protect, not just for some but for all. Today this tenet is more important than ever, and together we will continue to work to create spaces for people of all backgrounds to access and enjoy. We remain steadfast in this mission to ensure that our spaces can be anyone’s place now and in the future.
As a part of this commitment, a new position was created earlier this year to oversee our overall diversity and inclusion initiatives, volunteerism, and statewide community engagement efforts, and we are delighted to welcome Janelle Woods-McNish as our new Managing Director for Community Impact.
Janelle Woods-McNish, Trustees Managing Director for Community Impact.
Q: Tell us about yourself and your position at the Trustees. What excites you about this new role?
With more than a decade spent implementing employee volunteer strategies, I am excited to continue my journey with a mission-driven organization with a legacy such as the Trustees’. I have a deep passion for connecting, engaging and building community and look forward to the opportunity to combine both my passion and expertise. As I look ahead, I am most excited about building a legacy with our Inclusion and Volunteer programs that enhance our organization but also serve to inform and shape the conservation and preservation industries as well.
Q: The Trustees have 119 properties statewide and are working to build a series of resilient waterfront parks in Boston. What kind of opportunities do you see for these spaces?
At the core of who we are as an organization is our mission to preserve, conserve and protect. In doing so we have been a catalyst for important ideas, endeavors and progress throughout Massachusetts. Our work to build resilient waterfront parks in Boston is an opportunity to expand our ability to catalyze by building and reimagining spaces. In doing so we are creating new places and new opportunities for communities across Boston and beyond to experience and have access to the outdoors.
Q: How can organizations such as The Trustees best reach and engage newer and wider audiences?
A: Reimagining how we view, communicate, partner and engage with individuals, communities and other nonprofits is the first step to expanding and reaching new and wider audiences. The notion that if you build it they will come is no longer an effective or inclusive way to operate. Instead we must ask ourselves questions like: are there barriers to enjoying our places and properties; is what we are offering of interest to diverse groups; do we assume that people have to come to us; have we identified alternative and nontraditional communication vehicles; are there trusted partners who can help bridge the gap? Ultimately, we must ask the hard questions and be willing to operate differently in order to create and build.
Q: Can you leave us with a last thought, about how organizations can and should make real efforts to better their outreach to all communities, starting from the inside out?
Communities are made up of people—and so are organizations. One critical step that is often overlooked is to ensure that there are diverse voices at all levels of the organization—from leadership to governance to volunteers. Reflecting the diversity of the communities and places you serve and operate in is one authentic way to build authentic relationships and partnerships with local communities.