WWiB Committees

Whatcom Women in Business is a service-based organization, and all members serve on at least one committee. Each committee has a chairperson who serves on the board, and coordinates the work their members are responsible for. Serving on a committee is both an opportunity to give back to our group and our community, and a chance to be mentored by other professional women.

Here is a list of our current committees, and the women who chair them:

If you are a WWiB member interested in serving on our board next year, please submit your interest using the form below.

Professional Women of the Year Awards Committee

Chaired by Barbara Jenks

WWIB recognizes the extraordinary accomplishments of 3-5 Professional Women of the Year each year. We also give a Community Legacy Award in years when it is merited. This committee's standing members are responsible for the selection process for these awards and for putting on our Annual Professional Women Awards Celebration. This event honors these remarkable women in our community and raises funds later disbursed as scholarships.

There are two types of committee members: standing and flex.

  • Standing members: Collaborate all year to coordinate and ensure the many tasks associated with this undertaking move forward on time. For example, this committee is responsible for the selection process for the awards: identifying nominees, reaching out to each to ascertain willingness to participate, preparing for the events in the selection process, selecting the finalists, and organizing the final vote. Then, they communicate the vote results to the finalists and the WWiB membership. Planning and managing the Celebration event, with all the details, is a big responsibility for the standing members. We currently have four standing members, and we need one more “standing” member to join our team.
  • Flex members: In the months and weeks before the event, flex members are needed to complete the many tasks required to be ready for this event, being generally available to help when needed to “go-fer” items (like picking up awards, flowers, supplies, or items donated for the silent auction, etc.), decorate the venue, set up and attend to the silent auction and food tables, and help to strike the event when it is over. We need four flex members to join us.

Fundraising Committee

Chaired by Sarah Clarke

This committee is closely connected to the PWOTY Committee, as the event is the primary fundraising tool. This committee is responsible for auction item procurement, sponsor recruitment, and overall fundraising efforts.

  • Event Planners - The fundraising committee is looking for one or two people to assist in planning fundraising events outside of the PWOTY Awards Celebration in September. We're looking for folks with ideas and the organization to pull off planning them. The sky's the limit!

Community Engagement Committee

Chaired by Raelyn Kaplan

The Community Engagement Committee oversees all things digital- website, social media, mailing lists, as well as supporting in the informal tech department. Tech-savvy problem solvers are welcome to join this committee, following are the roles we are looking to fill:

  • Webmaster: keep website current, assist other chairs in getting their information where it needs to be on the website. Maintain forms, assist in managing the membership directory and events calendar.
  • Email coordinator: responsible for sending out monthly email newsletters to our general evite list, reminder email to members to RSVP for meetings and/or other member-specific updates. Coordinate with other chairs to send special emails to specific tag groups. Content should be created by other chairs, just needs to be proof-read and formatted and delivered. Also responsible for managing list, and adding/removing contacts as needed, attempting to update email addresses for contacts that have emails bounce.
  • Social media coordinator: Manage content and engagement on three social media platforms: LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. Will need to make graphics in Canva, schedule posts in Later, problem solve issues that arise. Content should come from other member chairs, will just need to be formatted and posted.

Membership Committee

Chaired by Nickole Murphy

This committee is responsible for managing the member application process, ensuring member requirements are met, and helping members get connected to resources within the group as needed.

Programs Committee

Chaired by Tiffany Bergsma-Evans

The programs committee is responsible for finding and procuring speakers for our monthly meetings- a task easier said than done. This committee is not currently seeking new members.

Scholarship Committee

Chaired by Christina Murray

This committee is responsible for managing the scholarship application process and reviewing each application that comes in. Serving on on this committee involves a concentrated time commitment during the application review timeframe, but doesn't require availability all year long.

Charity Committee

In past years, we supported local nonprofits. Going forward, we are prioritizing funds toward scholarships.

This committee was responsible for overseeing the process of charity applications (from members) and grant requests (from non-members, usually direct from the charity) They are responsible for determining which charities fulfill the criteria set forth by the board and overseeing the voting process. This committee stays in contact with the charity recipient to keep in the loop and report back on how funds were put to use.

Governance Committee

This committee is composed of our President Lindsey Gerhard, Vice President Connie Bentley, Secretary Kaitlynn Gilmore, Treasurer Renee Aase, and Scholarship Chair Christina Murray

This committee is responsible for overseeing the processes that WWiB operates under, creating and updating the membership handbook, and reviewing and approving committee charters.