Board members in the Richmond nonprofit community are the pulse of some of the region’s more vibrant and culturally significant organizations, including groups devoted to the arts, health care and education. For some supporters, however, one is not enough. Here are five people who are so passionate about nonprofits that they serve on multiple boards.
Photo by Jay Paul
Robyn Diehl McDougle
An associate professor and interim director of the Office of Public Policy Outreach in the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University, Robyn Diehl McDougle serves on the board of the Greater Aspirations Scholarship Program (GRASP), The Gray Haven Project, Homeward and the Richmond Police Foundation. For McDougle, the collaboration within the nonprofit community is the key to its health.
“One of the greatest things about Richmond is that it’s a big city with a small community feel,” she says. “There is a willingness to help each other.”
Photo courtesy VCU University Relations
Michael Rao
The president of Virginia Commonwealth University and the VCU Health System since 2009, Michael Rao is on the board of several school-related nonprofits that serve the larger community, including the MCV Foundation, the VCU Foundation, The Institute for Contemporary Art, and the Mary and Frances Youth Center. He’s also a Venture Richmond board member.
“As an anchor institution in Richmond, VCU also has an obligation to drive the economy forward and ensure that the public’s investment — which includes public trust — actually benefits the people we serve,” Rao says. “So we are very deliberate in developing a strategic facilities master plan that helps enhance Richmond, not just VCU.”
The focus, Rao says, must be on advancing opportunity across the Richmond region for everyone: “There can’t be two Richmonds, where some people can succeed and others are left behind.”
Photo courtesy Ram Bhagat
Ram Bhagat
In the late 1990s, Ram Bhagat, a science teacher for 30 years in Richmond Public Schools, co-founded Drums No Guns, a percussion ensemble that promotes healing through drumming. He was named Peacemaker of the Year in 2016 by the Richmond Peace Education Center. Bhagat has served on the board of the School of the Performing Arts in the Richmond Community (SPARC) and is board president of the Conciliation Project, a social justice theater organization.
For Bhagat, working with nonprofits “allows me to serve, connect, and lead,” he says. “When we share our gifts, money and talents with others, our time and energy uplifts all of us and stimulates resilience, health and prosperity in the community.”
Photo courtesy Todd Waldo
Todd B. Waldo
Lured to Church Hill because of the close-knit, community-minded residents he found there, Todd Waldo also found himself intrigued with the renovation of the Robinson Theater, which was happening two blocks away. When the renovated Robinson Theater Community Arts Center opened in February 2009, Waldo, the enterprise engineering manager at Royall & Co. marketing firm in Henrico County, began volunteering at the Robinson, sharing his time and expertise. Now he’s the president of its eight-member board. He also serves with the Better Housing Coalition board.
“Serving as a board member began for me right after college,” Waldo says. “I was fortunate to receive training in board governance as a young professional. And I learned quickly the value of giving my time, talent and expertise to an organization whose mission resonated with my own.”
Photo by Jay Paul
Ric Arenstein
The director of development for the Virginia Public Access Project, Ric Arenstein works with the Weinstein JCC, the Jewish Community Foundation, the Virginia Holocaust Museum and the Visual Arts Center. He is also a trustee of the Virginia Capitol Foundation and serves on the advisory board of Virginia Repertory Theatre.
“Judaism commands that each of us has a responsibility of tikkun olam — the repair of the world,” Arenstein says. “I serve because I have a long-held conviction that each of us is responsible for the world in which we live. … I was taught and learned that I have a responsibility to do whatever I can to make this a vibrant, stronger and better community.”
Photo courtesy University of Richmond
Nonprofit Spotlight: University of Richmond
This nonprofit university hosts a wealth of fine arts and cultural events, seminars, lectures and sporting events that are open to all comers at minimal or no cost. “We are committed to making a difference in the lives of our students and contributing to the greater community,” says Cynthia Price, UR’s director of media and public relations. The school provides pro bono legal clinics and tax preparation help for Richmond residents in need, and its Bonner Center for Civic Engagement involved more than 1,000 undergraduates in the 2016-2017 school year in its community involvement outreach programming. —Stuart DuBreuil
