Corporation for National and Community Service

Minutes of the Board of Directors Meeting

September 29, 2014

4:00 p.m. – 4:50 p.m., ET

1

The CNCS Board of Directors convened in Washington, D.C. The following members of the 

board were present:

Lisa Garcia Quiroz, Chair 

Hyepin Im

Matthew McCabe

Phyllis Segal

Chair’s Opening Remarks

Board chair Lisa Garcia Quiroz called the meeting to order and thanked everyone for attending. 

Ms. Quiroz invited members of the public who joined the meeting to comment on the business of 

the board. Anyone wishing to address the board should sign up so that the board may

accommodate those wishing to present. 

Consideration of Prior Meeting’s Minutes

The board considered and approved by unanimous voice vote the minutes for the public board

meeting held July 31, 2014.

Ms. Quiroz then spoke about the incredible momentum that is being seen around the country for 

national service. The momentum was for both CNCS and for the national service movement 

more broadly. Ms. Quiroz noted that since being charged by President Obama to be the lead 

agency on the President’s task force on expanding national service, CNCS has worked with 

partners at every level of government and with some to the nation’s great corporations to launch 

new programs that are bringing diverse multi-generational coalitions of Americans together in 

service to our communities and to the nation. Ms. Quiroz also recognized that CNCS had 

celebrated the 20th anniversary of AmeriCorps on September 12, 2014 and was able to highlight 

all of the work being done and to tell the story of national service. 

Ms. Quiroz said that on a personal note she was very excited to celebrate the 20th anniversary of 

AmeriCorps with all the board members at the White House and she thanked all of the agency 

staff. She recognized their hard work, and their passion and dedication as federal employees. She 

also thanked the CEO, Wendy Spencer, for her leadership in planning and implementing the 20

th

anniversary celebration. Ms. Quiroz also thanked Chief of the Office of External Affairs Ted 

Miller for his hard work in getting the story out to celebrate AmeriCorps. 
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Minutes of the Board of Directors Meeting

September 29, 2014

4:00 p.m. – 4:50 p.m., ET

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Ms. Quiroz recognized that the September 12 events celebrating the 20th anniversary of 

AmeriCorps were an opportunity to place the program in the public spotlight. Tens of millions of 

Americans were able to learn about AmeriCorps. All 50 states were represented that day. She 

recognized some of the facts regarding AmeriCorps: 900,000 Americans have served through 

AmeriCorps in the past 20 years. These members have multiplied their impact by recruiting and 

managing volunteers. Senior Corps has 315,000 volunteers serving in 60,000 locations across the 

country. Further, 1760 mayors have joined the Mayor’s Day of Recognition for National Service. 

These numbers are not just interesting data points, but are really proof that together we’re 

elevating our brand and developing new supporters and service champions across the country. 

Ms. Quiroz announced that this meeting would be the last board meeting for three of the 

remaining four board members. She acknowledged the recent resignation of Jane Hartley, who 

had been confirmed as the U. S. ambassador to France and Monaco. Ms. Hartley brought to her

service on the board a grace and wisdom forged from her days in President Carter’s White House 

and by her long career in public service. She was a terrific and active board member and on 

behalf of the entire board, the board chair wanted to wish her well in her new assignment. 

Ms. Quiroz paid tribute to the board members whose term of service was ending after this board

meeting and thanked them for their contributions to CNCS and to national service. She first 

recognized Hyepin Im, appointed in 2008, as the longest currently-serving board member. Ms. 

Im has made diversity inclusion a touchstone of her service on the board, and is a nationally 

recognized nonprofit leader. The board chair recognized Matt McCabe, the first AmeriCorps

alumnus to join the board. Ms. Quiroz noted that Mr. McCabe had been a great voice for helping 

the board understand and appreciate the millennial generation and how they bring a new and 

good twist to national service.

Consideration of Proclamation for Phyllis Segal

Last, the board chair recognized Phyllis Segal. Ms. Quiroz noted that Ms. Segal is the widow of 

Eli Segal, the first CEO of CNCS, that she was a champion for social justice, and was the first 

head of what is now the Legal Defense Fund. Ms. Segal has been a tireless advocate for making 

national service a national priority. In the lead-up to the AmeriCorps 20th anniversary, CNCS 

presented Ms. Segal with a proclamation commemorating her outstanding career of service. 
Corporation for National and Community Service

Minutes of the Board of Directors Meeting

September 29, 2014

4:00 p.m. – 4:50 p.m., ET

3

Consideration of a Resolution by the Board

Ms. Quiroz noted that after this board meeting, she will be the only board member. She hoped 

that the U.S. Senate would act swiftly to confirm the President’s nominees. Ms. Quiroz said that 

the board had acted to ensure that the agency continues to meet its financial accountability and 

oversight responsibilities, and had written a resolution that outlined all of the work to that end, 

and the circumstances that made the board’s efforts necessary. She called on Ms. Segal, chair of 

the board’s Oversight, Governance and Accountability Committee, to read the resolution. 

Before she read the resolution, Ms. Segal first acknowledged the leadership of Ms. Quiroz as 

“stunning, effective, and inspiring.” She recognized her fellow board members and the 

leadership of CEO Wendy Spencer. Ms. Segal commented that CNCS was a very strong agency 

and the movement for national service was strong because of everybody who had contributed to 

it.

After the resolution was read, Mr. McCabe moved for the board to officially adopt the resolution. 

The motion was seconded by Ms. Im and was carried by a unanimous voice vote.

Ms. Quiroz then called upon CEO Wendy Spencer to provide her report to the board.

Chief Executive Officer’s Report

Chief Executive Officer Wendy Spencer thanked Ms. Quiroz and the board members and then 

reported to the board and public as follows:

 The agency has done some incredible work in celebrating a major milestone, the 20th

anniversary of AmeriCorps. September 12, 2014 was a particularly special day in United 

States history – a national recruitment day for the AmeriCorps 20th anniversary, so-called

because it was a real beacon of light shining on that day, focusing on the 900,000 

AmeriCorps members and the 75,000 new AmeriCorps members who begin their service this 

fall.

 For the 20th anniversary of the AmeriCorps, four former U.S. presidents took part in different 

ways. They came together to celebrate AmeriCorps’ incredible legacy and to thank our 

national service family for ensuring that the legacy endures for future Americans. President 

George H.W. Bush, Barbara Bush, and their son Neil Bush participated in a concurrent 

ceremony at their home in Kennebunkport, Maine, with AmeriCorps members who were 

starting their service in Maine programs. President George W. Bush and Laura Bush shared a 

video that was shown in advance across the country, and President Clinton taped a wonderful 

message. All of the videos can be seen on the CNCS website. The AmeriCorps community, 
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Minutes of the Board of Directors Meeting

September 29, 2014

4:00 p.m. – 4:50 p.m., ET

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led by the state commissions, organized 95 events in all 50 states and in several territories. 

Nearly 100 elected officials, including governors, lieutenant governors, mayors, and 

members of Congress, joined CNCS in lifting up AmeriCorps and national service across the 

country. 

 During the 12 hours of the 20th anniversary celebration, it was trending nationwide on 

Facebook and Twitter. Thanks to the Thunderclap Campaign, 4,231 supporters signed up to 

share a message, congratulating AmeriCorps for its 20 years. Those supporters got the 

message out to 52 million people across the nation at the same moment in time – the largest 

“Thunderclap” ever by a Federal agency and the fourth largest Thunderclap ever for all types 

of organizations. CNCS is very proud that we got that message out to so many people all 

over the world. The White House even permitted CNCS to use its Instagram account. Photos 

were posted on three different White House accounts with 1.6 million followers, and the 

CNCS post received more than 50,000 “likes.”

 Many versatile videos were taped and shared across the nation to commemorate the 20th

anniversary, including from members of Congress and Governors, such as Congressman Dan 

Webster and Governor Rick Perry. There were AmeriCorps ceremonies on the Pine Ridge 

Reservation in South Dakota, at the Mall of America with a thousand AmeriCorps members 

in Minneapolis and St. Paul, and in Miami. The governor of California participated in a 

ceremony at the Presidio, with the Golden Gate Bridge as a backdrop. Kentucky had a 

parade. Philadelphia had a ceremony led by Mayor Nutter. The governor of Alabama 

participated in a celebration in that state.

 The board and public attendees were urged to think about the magnitude of the AmeriCorps 

recognition on that special day. Four presidents honored our agency, AmeriCorps alumni,

and new AmeriCorps members, and in doing so sent all of us a signal of what we should live 

up to. All the celebrations were bipartisan in nature and all recognized engagement for 

national service. Everyone needs to take the celebration seriously and allow it to supercharge 

a move forward so that everyone can continue to do a great job and carry the banner of 

AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and national service. All of the programs are cherished, and it is 

important that we all do a good job with federal tax dollars and with matching funds across 

the country.

 Specific work that continues to be of importance includes the effort to empower boys and 

young men of color and connect them to a job, educational opportunities, and mentors. This 

includes the work CNCS is doing with the Department of Justice to launch a Youth 

Opportunity AmeriCorps to engage youth from underserved communities through national

service programs as AmeriCorps members. It includes CNCS working with the Department 
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Minutes of the Board of Directors Meeting

September 29, 2014

4:00 p.m. – 4:50 p.m., ET

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of Agriculture to launch a partnership to connect youth and conservation to AmeriCorps 

service opportunities focused on restoring the nation’s forest and grazing lands.

 A week before the board meeting, Ms. Spencer attended the National Historically Black 

Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Conference, where she addressed the attendees. She 

stood along with three other administration officials: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau 

Director Richard Cordray, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, and Peace Corps Director 

Carrie Hessler-Radelet. Together, these administration officials took a ceremonial pledge to 

help national service members reduce student debt and to support a public service

forgiveness program, through which Americans can reduce their debt by serving our nation. 

It was a special moment. They were joined by Dr. William Harvey, President of Hampton 

University and chair of the President’s Advisory Board of HBCUs, and by Dr. George 

Cooper, executive director of the White House Initiative on HBCUs. Ms. Spencer 

encouraged the college presidents to apply for the President’s Higher Education Community 

Service Honor Roll. She emphasized at the conference that the entire Obama Administration 

was committed to working with the HBCU presidents, professors, and staff to ensure that 

more of their students and alumni are given every opportunity to succeed in college, in life, 

and in their careers.

 Senior Corps program successes: The Senior Corps Foster Grandparent program has made a 

difference for the students in the community of Syracuse, New York. The Syracuse City 

School District is investing $350,000, which CNCS will match in a dollar-for-dollar

augmentation grant, for a total investment of $700,000 next year. This will place a Foster 

Grandparent in every first and second grade classroom in the district. CNCS will focus on 

performance measures and the impact the foster grandparents have in the classroom. Strong 

evidence is critical to making the case both for providing children with caring support as 

early as possible and for Senior Corp as a particularly effective and efficient way of giving 

students the guidance they need to excel.

 This type of local grassroots partnership between a school system and CNCS is exactly the 

kind of initiative the President envisioned with the Task Force on Expanding National 

Service. It uses local resources and combines them with federal resources in a very costefficient way.

 We are seeing encouraging news that even more Americans are looking to the great work of 

the Senior Corps RSVP volunteers. CNCS has received a record number of RSVP 

applications. This growing demand is fueling greater competition, which in turn means better 

program design and better outcomes for the Senior Corps volunteers and for the communities 

they serve.
Corporation for National and Community Service

Minutes of the Board of Directors Meeting

September 29, 2014

4:00 p.m. – 4:50 p.m., ET

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 Senior Corps is working with the CNCS Disaster Services unit to develop an 

intergenerational program that engages both seniors and young Americans as part of FEMA’s 

National Youth Preparedness Initiative. This initiative will support CNCS’s longstanding 

effort to build stronger ties between national service and local emergency management 

offices. It also builds stronger ties with nonprofits like the American Red Cross, in support of 

its National Home Fire Preparedness and Prevention initiative. AmeriCorps members are a 

part of the force that has committed to installing 500,000 smoke detectors per year for the 

next five years, and bringing this lifesaving tool to another 2.5 million homes and businesses.

 It is the fifth anniversary of the Social Innovation Fund (SIF). Earlier this month, CNCS 

announced an investment of $33.7 million in seven of the nation’s leading grant-makers. The 

investments will help grow iterative, evidence-based organizations that work on youth 

development, economy opportunity, and healthy futures. CNCS also announced $18.1 

million in SIF continuation funding to help existing grantees sustain program growth. In two 

days, CNCS will announce the results of another SIF grant competition, the groundbreaking 

Pay for Success grant competition. By the end of 2014, SIF and its non-federal partners will 

have granted more than $700 million to groups and organizations that are committed to 

finding the best solutions for their community’s challenges. SIF represents a $243.3 million 

federal investment, which is expected to leverage more than $540 million in non-federal 

matched commitments. This is a beautiful part of this program; it is a great partnership of 

public and private organizations.

 In the coming months, all this important work will continue to grow. CNCS will continue to 

engage partners to expand service in local communities as part of a new program called 

Operation AmeriCorps. CNCS will deploy AmeriCorps members to communities across the 

nation to help them address a specific local challenge in one of two funding priorities. CNCS 

will focus on quick results and strong evaluation. Operation AmeriCorps will, for the first 

time, bring one, two, or all three of the AmeriCorps programs into a single application in a

pilot program. While each program will keep its traditional structure, CNCS will coordinate 

monitoring and oversight across all three programs to make this important initiative efficient. 

Local leaders representing U.S. cities, counties, towns, and school boards, among other

entities will be able to design a comprehensive project that engages AmeriCorps State and 

National programs and focuses on all three of the CNCS AmeriCorps programs. Ms. Spencer 

looks forward to seeing the applications; it is an initiative that shows wonderful promise.

 The Employers of National Service initiative was announced by President Obama and 

launched at the White House on September 12, the same day as the celebration of the 

AmeriCorps 20th anniversary. Through this initiative, CNCS continues to engage with and 

encourage employers in the business and nonprofit communities, and at all levels of 
Corporation for National and Community Service

Minutes of the Board of Directors Meeting

September 29, 2014

4:00 p.m. – 4:50 p.m., ET

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government, to provide opportunities for national service participants to emphasize their 

valuable experiences and skills during the hiring process. Employers of National Service 

encourages employers to create recruitment and hiring opportunities for alumni of 

AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, and other national service programs. Employers can, for example,

add language to job postings, or a checkbox to job applications so alumni can note their

national service experience and describe their experience. Many employers have told Ms. 

Spencer that they are excited about this initiative and that they value those who have served 

their country through national service, in addition to veterans. The Peace Corps, AmeriCorps 

Alums, and the Franklin Project are also engaged in this effort. CNCS is working to recruit as 

many employers as possible to join this initiative. A number of large organizations have 

already signed up, including charter members such as Disney, Comcast, NBC Universal, 

CSX Railroad, the American Red Cross, and Habitat for Humanity.

 In the coming year, CNCS will celebrate the 50th anniversary of AmeriCorps VISTA and the 

50th anniversary of the Foster Grandparents program. It is clear that national service is strong 

and getting even stronger, and we look forward to continuing work with our partners and 

service members to advance the CNCS mission and ensure that national service volunteers 

and social innovation are even more central to solutions that meet the nation’s challenges.

 Ms. Spencer recognized each board member for their work, their inspiration, and their 

commitment to national service. The resolution that the board passed was important, as it 

confirmed that the board reviews the work of the agency. CNCS has to be sure that it is a

good steward of federal tax dollars and that it has oversight and accountability in place. 

CNCS works very closely with the Inspector General’s Office and the Office of Oversight 

and Accountability to send a message every day to grantees and partners that it is a good 

steward of the taxpayer’s money and that we take that responsibility very seriously. Ms. 

Spencer ended her report with thanks for the board’s support. 

Ms. Im said that as the longest serving board member, she wanted to share her gratitude for the 

opportunity to work with such great staff and leadership, and that it was exciting to see that the 

very things the board had been wrestling with – whether it’s diversity or expanding service –

all seem to be growing and becoming stronger. Ms. Im thanked Ms. Spencer and Ms. Quiroz for 

their leadership and thanked her fellow board members for their contributions.

Ms. Quiroz concluded the board meeting by thanking the members of the board, the CNCS staff, 

and the members of the public who have joined in person or by telephone. She noted that the 

meetings of the board are always important gatherings to strengthen and advance the work of 

CNCS and to ensure that everyone’s engaged to help the agency meet its mission to improve 
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Minutes of the Board of Directors Meeting

September 29, 2014

4:00 p.m. – 4:50 p.m., ET

8

lives, strengthen communities, and engage in service and volunteering to get things done. She 

adjourned the board meeting at 4:50 p.m.