Board Spotlight: Julie Sterling

Director of Entertainment and Sports Partnerships at Google

Read Alliance board member since 2019

Chair, Read Alliance Strategic Planning Progress Committee

“ It struck me that these kids were really trying hard and excited to be there and to learn to read. There’s a lot of fun in the program and positive reinforcement, which I didn’t expect. I expected it to be a little drier. Seeing those little eyeballs looking at the teens in admiration was heart-melting.”

How did you learn about Read Alliance?

“There was a program at Google that connected employees who were interested in exploring non-profit board work with various nonprofit organizations. I outlined a few different areas of interest including early childhood development and was presented with 3-4 different organizations to learn more. I then met Danielle and a few other members of the board and became very interested in the organization and was excited by their passion. When I went to see a tutoring session in action, I fell in love with the program. I loved the impact on the young readers but then the impact on the teens…you go to one of those sessions and you just fall in love.”


Can you describe your experience visiting the program?

“My first observation was how excited the kids were to see the teens, and the connection that they had. They looked up to these teens in a way that was adorable. It struck me that these kids were really trying hard and excited to be there and to learn to read. There’s a lot of fun in the program and positive reinforcement.”

“It also really reminded me of visiting my Aunt Eileen when I was younger. My Aunt, Eileen Daly, SSJ was the principal at a Catholic school in Rochester, NY and I saw first hand how passionate she and the other members of her staff were on early childhood education. She instilled in me the importance of giving back to the community and ensuring kids had the best chance in life to succeed. The READ classroom visit took me back to that experience and it just felt right.”


Why did you join Read Alliance at that time?

“The driving force was that my younger child had turned five and I felt I had more time to give back to the community. I had previously done so in a more ad hoc way volunteering via work programs but now I felt I was in a stage of my career when I could give back to an organization on a strategic level. I was in a place in my life where I felt I had the space to do it and also the leadership experience to make an impact.”


What is the role of the Strategic Planning Progress Committee?

“We are responsible for creating the strategic plan for Read Alliance and then holding ourselves accountable to tracking against those goals and objectives. An example is program expansion: How do we expand the program to help more early learners in need while maintaining the same rigor and quality of the program? And how do we enhance the experience for our Teen Leaders, for example by providing them more college-related resources? We finalized the strategic plan in late-2019 and even though the world significantly changed in 2020, the key pillars of the strategic plan have remained the same.”


What has been your favorite experience to-date as a board member?

“Broadly speaking, there have been a few times when we would have a Teen Leader join a board meeting and give an update on a particular initiative or event and those experiences are always so motivating. The gala event we had in 2019 was also a highlight for me. Hearing the teen leaders on stage talk about their experience and how we helped them grow: They talked about how the program impacted their lives and decisions they made for the next steps in their education, and how READ helped give them economic means they didn’t have before.

“Seeing how the staff has pivoted so quickly and so tremendously to continue to drive the mission during this unprecedented pandemic has been awe-inspiring. When everything moved online, I was worried about how the program would continue. Continuing to drive the impact and the work during the pandemic, and amid the racial justice issues…it was awe-inspiring to see the dedication to making sure we make an impact on the educational gap that is worsening during the pandemic.”


What are you most looking forward to?

“I look forward to continuing to expand the program and trying to make sure we’re impacting as many children as possible. I also think the program learned a great deal by having to pivot virtually. Now it’s about taking the best of both worlds. It’s something we talk about a lot in the strategic planning meetings: What learnings can we take and how do we maintain that versus going completely back to what the program was before going virtual? The pandemic has offered bright spots of learning we can take with us.

“I also look forward to going back and being able to see the kids again and attend another session in-person.”


What advice would you give to someone exploring a non-profit board role?

“First, I would evaluate what time commitment you can make and understand the level of commitment required versus what you can offer. And it’s not as much as you think: Don’t be scared that all of a sudden volunteering for board leadership is going to really impact your career or personal schedule. It’s a commitment but it’s not throwing my life balance off at all. If anything, the experience has given more to my life.

“I would then think through which organization and focus-area I want to focus in. What am I passionate about? And is the impact going to be visible? Is the impact important to you personally but also to society? Because that will keep you going, keep you excited.

“Then, meet the staff to know what skills you need to bring. You want to bring complementary skills.”

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