Corporation for National and Community Service

Minutes of the Board of Directors Meeting

March 25, 2019

12:30 p.m. EDT

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The Board of Directors for the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) 

convened in Washington, DC on March 25, 2019. The following members were present:

 Shamina Singh, Chair

 Mona Dixon (by telephone)

Chair’s Opening Statement

Board Chair Shamina Singh called the meeting to order and welcomed the other Board member 

and attendees joining in person and on the phone. She noted that the Board terms of Rick 

Christman and Eric Liu had expired and expressed hope that the Senate would act quickly to

approve the pending Board nominations of Victoria Hughes, who previously served on the

Board, and Heather Reynolds, Managing Director of the Lab for Economic Opportunities at the

University of Notre Dame.

Ms. Singh reviewed the agenda. She would deliver opening comments, CEO Barbara Stewart would

provide her report, the Board would consider a resolution to recognize former member Eric Liu

for his service, and four senior CNCS leaders would report on how AmeriCorps helps members 

develop workforce skills and jumpstart their careers. Public comments would follow. As the

minutes of the previous Board meeting had already been approved and were posted on

www.nationalservice.gov, no further action was needed on Board minutes.

Chair’s Comments on the Board’s Retreat

The retreat began with a discussion of the Transformation and Sustainability Plan with the 

CEO and her senior team, including Brian Finch, Director of Business Transformation.

Chief Financial Officer Bob McCarty reported on budget and financial matters, including the

plan to address findings in the FY 2018 Financial Statement Audit. Ms. Singh noted that

addressing the audit findings and strengthening financial management are priorities for the

Board and CNCS leadership, and that progress is being made to resolve the issues identified in

the audit.

The Board met next with Inspector General Deborah Jeffrey. Ms. Singh noted that the Inspector 

General provides important oversight of the agency’s program and operations, and expressed 

her appreciation for the consistent working relationship between CNCS senior leaders and the
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March 25, 2019

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Inspector General's Office. The Board also met with Kelly Daly, leader of CNCS’s Employee

Union, who shared her concerns about matters affecting CNCS staff.

Chair’s Comments on the Transformation and Sustainability Plan

Ms. Singh then shared the Board’s perspective on the Transformation and Sustainability Plan, 

noting the Board’s extensive engagement in and support for the plan. The Chair noted that the 

Board has discussed the plan as it has evolved over the last year and believes it is 

responsible and responsive to the changing needs of the agency and the constituencies 

that we serve. “As I said in our last meeting, the Board shares the goals of the Transformation

and Sustainability Plan and agrees that changes are necessary to build long-term sustainability

and position CNCS for future growth.“

The Chair highlighted that although the world has changed since AmeriCorps and CNCS were 

created 25 years ago, the need for service remains, and evolving the agency and its functions 

while maintaining the focus on public service and public sector programs is and will continue to 

be our primary objective. “The focus and the responsibility of the organization remains on the 

end community organizations and the clients that those community organizations serve.”

The Chair then discussed the importance of the plan in strengthening the agency for the future: 

“National service is built on a strong foundation and has achieved extraordinary results.

There are longstanding challenges that have held the agency back that need to be

addressed for national service to reach its potential.

“The plan addresses issues that the Board has been concerned about for years: improving

the criminal history background check process, modernizing our information technology

systems, strengthening financial management, simplifying branding, and more. The

changes will improve customer service, reduce administrative burdens, fix core business

functions, and make it easier for individuals and organizations to participate in our

programs. Overall...this plan will not change our mission or the commitment or program

funds that flow into states and communities, but it will strengthen the organizational

infrastructure to allow CNCS to better support future growth of national service.
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“The Board appreciates how Barbara and her team have actively sought input from state

commissions, staff, grantees, and projects around the country on how to implement the

plan. We encourage that dialogue to continue. We also appreciate how many staff are

engaged in working groups and other parts of this plan.”

The Chair then directed her comments to CNCS staff, both at headquarters and around the

country who “do an incredible job supporting national service programs.” Ms. Singh noted that 

she understood, from her career in both the private and public sectors, that adaptability,

growth, and technology are essential factors for change strategies, and that although what 

CNCS is doing with the plan is not easy, it is important.

The Chair acknowledged that some staff face difficult choices about their future and reiterated 

the CEO’s hope that as many staff as possible will stay with CNCS to help build a stronger, more

sustainable CNCS for the future. “We need your talent, we need your experience, we need 

your expertise, we need your heart, and we need your intellect for all that we’re embarking

on over these next few years.”

The Chair praised the CNCS staff as some of the most mission-driven professionals she has ever 

met. She concluded her opening statement by saying, “I'm confident about the future and your 

ability to make changes to strengthen the agency and increase the positive impact of national 

service in communities and in the nation. Again, I say it's the responsible thing to do... I will,

and the Board will, continue to be engaged in the Transformation and Sustainability Plan going 

forward.”

Ms. Singh then thanked CEO Barbara Stewart for her service over the past year and invited her 

to give her report. 

Chief Executive Officer’s Report

CNCS CEO Barbara Stewart thanked the Board members for sharing their guidance, insight,

service, knowledge, and experience with CNCS. She briefly recapped her first year as CEO,

highlighting the chance to meet hundreds of AmeriCorps members and Senior Corps
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volunteers, State Commissions, grantees, project sponsors, partners, and others who believe in

CNCS’s mission. She has felt privileged to see firsthand, and sometimes participate in, the 

wonderful work the agency’s programs do, especially in critical areas of need, like tackling the

opioid crisis, helping veterans stay in their homes, tutoring and mentoring youth, preventing

elder fraud and abuse, assisting in disaster relief, and improving workforce preparedness.

Ms. Stewart made the following points about CNCS, its needs, and the Plan:

“Over the past 25 years, national service has produced extraordinary results helping 

countless Americans succeed in school, find productive work, escape poverty, and achieve 

their potential in life. Millions of Americans have experienced the transforming impact of 

national service, changing their lives in powerful ways and helping them to accomplish 

things that they never thought possible. We've seen national service embraced by 

America's nonprofit and voluntary sectors, and then our core principles of local control, 

public-private partnerships, and citizen problem solving are right on track. 

“But as great as our programs' initiatives are, national service continues to be challenged. 

I quickly learned a lot about the challenges we face when I testified before the House 

Education and Workforce Committee last April, two months after I joined CNCS. When 

people talk about baptism by fire, I suggest that event fit the description. The things I 

heard at that hearing affected me deeply and helped me understand that national service 

is a national treasure and that my top priority as CEO is to make it stronger and more 

sustainable for the future. 

“This is why we took the initiative to face these challenges head on by introducing the 

Transformation and Sustainability Plan last May. We developed this plan after months of 

intensive review of CNCS programs and operations informed by a wide range of ideas and 

evaluations from staff, grantees, members, Congress, the Office of Management and 

Budget, the Government Accountability Office, and the Office of Inspector General. The 

feedback we received from Congress in the oversight hearing and through other meetings 

factored into our plan. However, most of the goals were originally envisioned in prior 

administrations and by our career team here at CNCS. 
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“After announcing the plan, we spent several months in listening sessions, listening to staff, 

grantees, program sponsors, and other stakeholders across the country. More than 500 

people attended our seven in-person and telephonic listening sessions last summer, and we 

received written comments from more than 260 individuals and organizations. Since last 

fall, we've also met with nearly 100 members of Congress and their staff about the plan. 

This input process continues today and is a valuable resource as we implement the plan.

“The Transformation and Sustainability Plan is a comprehensive roadmap to improve how 

we serve our customers, meet community needs, and position national service for greater 

impact and growth. Specifically, the plan outlines major steps the Agency will take to 

ensure our core business functions are accountable and effective, to make it easier for 

individuals and organizations to participate in our programs, to strengthen our impact in 

communities by prioritizing evidence-based models, and to align our workforce and 

workplaces to better serve our customers, meet evolving needs, and ensure efficient use of 

public funds.

“It's important to note, as Shamina did earlier, that none of the changes in the plan take 

away from the programs, funds, or national service participants going to states and 

communities. The ultimate way we will measure success is by creating a stable platform 

for growth of CNCS programs and initiatives.”

Ms. Stewart then reported on progress the agency has made on the plan, including: 

 Fixing core business functions to increase capacity and better support grantees. Steps include

substantially strengthening accounting systems and addressing recommendations identified in 

the FY 2018 financial statement audit; and bringing on a new vendor to support grantee

compliance with the National Service Criminal History Checks, which over time, will

improve compliance, reduce burdens on grantees, and increase efficiency in monitoring.

 Other steps have been taken to simplify processes and reduce burdens. Senior Corps

implemented a new rule that significantly reduces administrative burden and duplicative

work for grantees. AmeriCorps State and National increased flexibility by eliminating the

20-member minimum policy, streamlining the grant application and performance
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measures, and making changes to support fixed-price grants. AmeriCorps VISTA

implemented a quarterly deadline for concept papers to apply for VISTA members, which

increases opportunity and timing certainty for organizations.

 The first group of state offices will shortly transition to temporary full-time telework, 

which will support a smooth shift to regional offices, save money, and help retain program

and grant officer positions longer. Regional offices offer a simplified point of contact to

help organizations use the full menu of national service programs and administer their 

grants, allows CNCS to provide better customer service, ensures that national service

investments go where they’re needed, and puts more resources in the field to support

grantees, sponsors, and local communities.

 CNCS is hiring for positions at headquarters and the regional offices to support the new

structure and roles. The internal hiring process is starting. There will be more than 150

full-time, permanent jobs, 97 percent of which will initially be CNCS employee preference.

CNCS highly values the experience, creativity, capability, and expertise of the CNCS staff and 

wants as many staff as possible to remain 

 The agency is also filling key leadership roles. Erin McGrath, who has extensive 

knowledge of AmeriCorps and Senior Corps, will be the new Director of Regional

Operations. Linda Southcott, currently Deputy Director of the Department of Veterans

Affairs Supportive Services for Veterans Family Program and deeply experienced in grants 

management and strategic planning, will lead the Office of Monitoring. The agency is 

reconstituting the Department of the Chief Operating Officer to strengthen core business

functions and improve accountability and effectiveness, with Dana Bourne serving as 

Acting Chief Operating Officer.

Ms. Stewart then gave brief program updates, including:

 AmeriCorps State and National will complete its application review process this month and

begin notifying organizations about $250 million in new and recompete awards.

 Last week, 200 AmeriCorps VISTA members completed the first revamped in-service training in

Charlotte, North Carolina.

 In two weeks, 42 Pacific Region AmeriCorps NCCC FEMA Corps members will graduate, and

more than half already have pending job offers. This is a tremendous testimony to how our
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programs provide pathways to employment. 

 Senior Corps recently awarded more than $13.6 million in funding to 170 organizations to 

support more than 50,000 RSVP volunteers. CNCS released a new report that found that 

Senior Corps volunteers are happier and healthier after just one year of service, thanks to 

reduced isolation and increased activity, and that the service Senior Companions give has

substantial physical and mental health benefits for the adults they serve and for their

caregivers. Senior Corps Director Deborah Cox-Roush and the Senior Corps team deserve 

congratulations for their work with the Department of Justice in the Elder Justice Initiative to 

prevent senior fraud and abuse.

Ms. Stewart concluded her report by noting that the 25th anniversaries of CNCS and AmeriCorps

are major milestones that merit a look back on our history and forward to our future, stating: 

“After the National and Community Service Trust Act was signed in 1993, CNCS was formed from 

programs both established and new to make a positive impact on communities. While our 

programs' initiatives each have unique histories and identities, it's the strength of our collective 

effort that makes national service so powerful.

“The months ahead will witness change to our structure, but not to our mission. Our mission to 

improve lives, to strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through service and 

volunteering — that mission will remain the same. Our goal is to create a stronger future for 

national service, one that can demonstrate the value and vitality of national service programs that 

are proudly serving in 50,000 communities across America.”

Chair Singh thanked Ms. Stewart for an excellent report and for her leadership.

Recognition of Service

Ms. Singh next announced that the Board would recognize former member Eric Liu for his

service on the Board and to the nation. She noted that Mr. Liu served with dedication and

distinction as a member of the Board from July 2015 to December 2018 and has been a

powerful voice for service and civic engagement, helping raise public awareness about the

impact of national service and how service can unite and strengthen our country. Ms. Singh 
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asked for a vote on the resolution. Both members were in favor; the resolution was approved. 

Introduction of Senior Leaders

Ms. Singh introduced four senior CNCS leaders to speak on how CNCS programs develop

workforce skills in members and prepare them for careers. The speakers were Mary Hyde,

Ph.D., Director of the Office of Research and Evaluation; Chester Spellman, Director of

AmeriCorps State and National; Gina Cross, Acting Director of AmeriCorps National Civilian 

Community Corps; and Eileen Conoboy, Acting Director of AmeriCorps VISTA.

Remarks by Mary Hyde, PhD., Director, Office of Research and Evaluation

Dr. Hyde began her presentation with three personal stories that illustrate how pervasive the

AmeriCorps experience and service-to-work story are. She then reported on key findings from 

research on AmeriCorps:

 Data from the annual member exit survey show that, at the end of their service year, a

majority of members report that serving in AmeriCorps is a professionally defining

experience.

 87 percent of AmeriCorps host sites help members find a job after their service term.

 In a survey of AmeriCorps alumni, 80 percent say AmeriCorps benefitted their career path. 

Another 51 percent said that serving in AmeriCorps opened a career path they might not

otherwise have considered. Of alumni employed within six months after their AmeriCorps

service, 42 percent found a job via a connection they made in AmeriCorps.

 Findings from three independently-conducted studies tell us that employers agree that

AmeriCorps alumni have desirable workforce skills. In one, a randomized résumé study,

AmeriCorps alumni résumés were about twice as likely to advance to an interview in an

actual hiring situation as non-AmeriCorps résumés. Of the supervisors contacted in the study, 

41 percent hired AmeriCorps alumni, and of that group, 53 percent created new positions

specifically for the AmeriCorps alumnus.

 The Employers of National Service Initiative has 580 public, private, and nonprofit

employers participating, who collectively provide about 2.3 million jobs.

Remarks by Chester Spellman, Director of AmeriCorps State and National
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Mr. Spellman lauded the benefits of AmeriCorps for members as they enter the workforce:

 During their service terms, members gain valuable experience and soft skills such as

leadership, resilience, creativity, and problem-solving that make them more attractive

candidates in the job market and prized employees after hiring.

 AmeriCorps programs help 75,000 AmeriCorps members each year – and more than 

one million since 1994 – find careers in public, private, and nonprofit fields, including 

education, healthcare, the building trades, environmental stewardship, and public

service. Opportunity youth and our nation’s veterans particularly benefit.

 AmeriCorps service programs help youth who are out of school and unemployed get

their GED and develop marketable skills. Their service can lead to jobs and change the

direction of their lives. More than 50 percent of previously unemployed, economically

disadvantaged AmeriCorps members find jobs after completing AmeriCorps service.

 Green City Force is an AmeriCorps grantee that gives young adults experience in

environmental sustainability and conservation that often leads to employment. In 2017,

88 percent of Green City Force AmeriCorps members who completed service found a 

job. A community partner recently said about the partnership: “Compared to many

other applicants, these young people were better prepared, more poised, and wellmannered. All displayed a positive work ethic, eagerness to learn and achieve, and

excellence follow-through.” This partner is now an Employer of National Service.

 We want to lower the hurdles our veterans face as they transition from military service

to civilian life. AmeriCorps programs help them through this phase by helping them 

continue their education and translate their leadership skills and resilience to the

workforce.

 The Corps Network’s 2019 Member of the Year Elamon White joined the VetsWork

AmeriCorps program after serving as an officer in the U.S. Navy. Service in VetsWork's

environmental program gave Elamon the skills she needed to pursue her passion,

environmental conservation, and she later landed a job with the U.S. Forest Service.

Remarks by Gina Cross, Acting Director of AmeriCorps NCCC

Ms. Cross described for the Board how in NCCC, life after AmeriCorps begins on members’ arrival

day and continues throughout their service term:
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 NCCC’s team-based structure gives all members continual leadership development.

Graduates of the programs gain practical experience and a chance to develop core

leadership competencies such as flexibility, resilience, conflict management, team

building, problem-solving, oral communications, and interpersonal skills. Members’ 

intensive growth prepares them for bigger leadership challenges in any field they

pursue for the rest of their career.

 Members can pursue specialized training in areas such as disaster relief, construction,

and wildland firefighting. Members have found employment with the Forest Service

and the Bureau of Land Management when completing their service hours on public

lands or completing their Red Card certifications.

 NCCC FEMA Corps started partly based on a need to replenish an aging workforce.

 Seven years into the program, these teams are an integral part of FEMA’s response. 

FEMA sees them as technologically-savvy masters of the information age. Numerous 

FEMA Corps alumni have become permanent FEMA staff. 

 All of CNCS’s disaster work contributes to workforce development. Jennifer Murphy, the 

lead on our Disaster Services Unit, presented at a FEMA regional conference last week 

and learned that several alumni are working in positions of prominence with our

partner organizations and agencies – the EPA, the Red Cross, just to name a few.

 Tax preparation is another chance for teams to gain experience and certification. This not

only gives them the benefit of a pathway to employment, it has a direct economic benefit 

for low-income communities.

 NCCC alumnus Randy Al-Ghawi served with Ms. Cross at an event the previous week. During 

their service, Randy said he was sitting for the Foreign Service Exam the following day, 

and that his experience as an NCCC team leader had not only factored into his decision to

pursue this opportunity, it had taught him what he needed to succeed in the interview. He

scored a 5.5 out of 7 and will be join the fellowship program upon his completion of

service.

Remarks by Eileen Conoboy, Acting Director of AmeriCorps VISTA

Ms. Conoboy highlighted several points about the VISTA program related to workforce

development:
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 VISTA benefits from age diversity. The average age of a VISTA member is 28; nearly

seven percent of VISTAs who are serving are older than 50. VISTA needs and values the

experience mid-career and post-retirement Americans bring to their year of service,

just as we need the ideas and passion of those fresh out of high school and college.

 The VISTA program provides intensive training to members through monthly webinars

and in-person in-service trainings. Topics range from grant writing and fundraising to

volunteer recruitment and management and many of the soft skills Gina just

mentioned. Between this training and the professional development opportunities

provided by their sponsoring organizations, VISTA members come away with new or

refined skills that are so needed in today’s job market.

 About a third of VISTA members relocate to serve. The cross-cultural competencies

people gain through the AmeriCorps programs stay with them and are invaluable in

competing for 21st Century jobs.

 VISTA members who successfully complete their year of service can be hired into a

federal job through a fast-track mechanism called Non-Competitive Eligibility. It’s an

excellent benefit for VISTA alumni, and it brings talented, mission-driven people into

the federal workforce. We hope one day the same benefit will be offered to all

AmeriCorps alumni.

 The approximately 8,000 VISTA members who serve our country serve in nearly 800

nonprofits. They raise money for local job training centers, recruit volunteers to help

veterans make a career shift, promote college access programs, and so much more to

ensure that people have access to the economic and education ladders that too often

are just out of reach. More than 40 million people in the United States live in poverty 

today. Our mission matters more than ever.

Ms. Conoboy then introduced a short video that highlighted workforce development in action.

Final Comments by the Board Chair

Ms. Singh thanked the senior leaders for their presentations highlighting the skills and

experience AmeriCorps members gain during their service that prepares them for jobs and

careers. She noted that when we speak about national service, we most often talk about the
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positive effect on beneficiaries and communities, improvement in student reading levels,

disaster survivors served, or seniors who get to live independently. But national service also

has a powerful effect on the members themselves, and we should continue to point this out.

Ms. Singh observed that frequently, the barrier to filling the more than seven million unfilled 

jobs in the U.S. is a mismatch between positions and prospective employees’ skills. National

service helps close the skills gap, including in high job-growth sectors such as teaching, health

services, and construction. She noted that her own employer, Mastercard, became an Employer

of National Service several years ago because it knows that AmeriCorps and Peace Corps

alumni have excellent skills and experience. Mastercard talks about having IQ, EQ – meaning

emotional intelligence – and DQ, the decency quotient. People need those skills to succeed in any 

company, and companies know that job candidates coming out of AmeriCorps or Peace Corps have

them. Ms. Singh hopes more companies will recognize that AmeriCorps produces hard-working,

mission-driven leaders and will sign on as Employers of National Service.

There was no public comment period, as no one had signed up to comment, and no one came 

forward to comment at the meeting. 

Ms. Singh thanked the members of the Board, the CNCS staff, and members of the public for

joining the meeting, noted the importance of the discussion, and adjourned the meeting.