Board Member Focus: Warren Surcouf

“The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.” 
—Kenneth Blanchard

How did you become involved with this ReNEW Schools?
I first applied to the Top Shelf at the request of a friend and fellow YLC board member, Derrick Rogers, who was extremely involved with the organization.  I was asked to be a part of the Development and Marketing Committee because my previous job and volunteer experiences have been in those fields.
 
Why did you say yes when asked to serve?
ReNEW has shown that there are youngsters in the community that aren’t given an opportunity to develop/learn skills that will benefit them for the future whether that be in college or the workforce. ReNEW takes on an inventive way of embracing students that have been abandoned in their schooling and gives them another opportunity rather than allowing them to fall by the waste side.
 
What was compelling about the opportunity?
Fundraising and event management are always important for schools especially ones that are relatively new.  Working with ReNEW’s Development & Marketing Committee gives me an opportunity to offer my experiences in both of these fields to support a significant, innovative organization.
 
What leadership roles have you had while serving on the board?
While serving on the Development & Marketing Committee, I helped oversee the planning of the Chili in the Channel Event in February which was a huge success.  We raised a substantial amount of money for the students of ReNEW while serving some of the best chili our competitors had to offer.  I look forward to growing and planning for next year.  
 
Is there anything you know now that you wished you had known before?
Whether it is a young teenager who didn’t have a chance to finish high school because she was raising a child like (ReNEW Accelerated High School) or a young boy who has the ability to pursue his dreams of becoming an engineer by competing in a Robotics competition (ReNEW SciTech), these students have a new lease on life. ReNEW gives them an opportunity that before didn’t exist.  I wish I knew how innovative and beneficial ReNEW was to our community because I would have gotten involved a long time ago.

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The Top Shelf
The success of a charter school hinges largely on the decisions of its governing board. The Top Shelf enhances the capacity of charter school boards through professional development, board recruitment and community engagement.