Vigilante Kindness Board of Directors

Founder & President: Alicia McCauley

• In Real Life: Alicia is a teacher, a writer, and a Teacher Consultant for the Northern California Writing Project. You can see and hear Alicia speak on the topic of Creating a Classroom Culture of Kindness on the Educator Innovator webinar series. Alicia has been travelling to Northern Uganda since 2012 and she has three sons who live in Uganda. Alicia is on the board of directors for her local writing group, Writers Forum. She has been published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Think Possible, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Merry Christmas!, What Teaching Means: Stories From America’s Classrooms, Enjoy Magazine, The Valley Post, A News Cafe and on the Writers Forum site. Alicia’s adventures in teaching and Vigilante Kindness have been written about in Enjoy Magazine, on A News Cafe and in the book Awkward: A 30 Day Challenge.
• Gifts & Talents: Alicia is gifted in writing, storytelling, teaching, carrying sacks of pooping pigs on the backs of motorcycles, and riding her bicycle really slowly, but pretty far.
• Things You Never Needed to Know: Alicia can make balloon animals. She also once jumped out of a plane with a cursing Russian named Yuri strapped to her back.

Secretary: Open Position

• We’re in need of a Secretary. Skills should include the ability to take minutes four times a year during our quarterly board meetings. Applicant must have a willingness to assist with tasks like end of year filings, composition of donor letters, and an interest in assisting with VK events. Residence near Redding, CA. and a desire to travel to Uganda are preferred. Applicant must be able to serve in this position for at least two consecutive years. If you’re interested in applying for this position, please complete the application.

Treasurer: Open Position

• We’re in need of a Treasurer. Skills should include the ability to create and maintain a spreadsheet of financial activity and to reconcile that financial record with our bank account. Applicant must have a willingness to assist with tasks like end of year filings, composition of donor letters, and an interest in assisting with VK events. Residence near Redding, CA. is a must and a desire to travel to Uganda is preferred. Applicant must be able to serve in this position for at least two consecutive years. If you’re interested in applying for this position, please complete the application.

Director At Large: Jenna Benton

• In Real Life: Jenna Benton was raised in Redding, California but now resides with her high-school sweetheart David (lovingly nicknamed The Lumberjack) in Southern Oregon. David and Jenna have been married 26 years, and have 4 children and 2 grandchildren. Jenna is a speaker and author of ‘Awkward: a 30 Day Challenge’, a book that explores personal growth with a 30 day challenge to lean into uncomfortable situations and embrace all things awkward. This year she launched her first podcast, The Awkward Project. Jenna works for Jackson County Health and Human Services in the accounting department. She serves on two non-profit boards and assists a third. She is passionate about justice and compassion and the fight against human trafficking. For more about Jenna, you can visit her website at jennabenton.com
• Gifts & Talents: Jenna discovered her love of creativity at an early age, and spent her childhood building secret forts, making up stories and devouring books. Although she crunches numbers by day, her true passion is storytelling. She also enjoys traveling, mentoring and singing really loudly in her car.
• Things You Never Needed to Know: Jenna has seen every single episode of Star Trek: Next Generation. She once rear-ended a cop. She’s a coffee fanatic, loves live theater, and could eat cilantro for every meal.

Director at Large: Laura Gore

• In Real Life: Laura has been on both sides of funding streams, working for funders as well as grantees. Currently, she works as a Research Program Specialist with the California Department of Health and Human Services. Laura enjoys spending time at home with her hilarious dog, Sting. She also loves to travel and once took a trip with the sole purpose of seeing the longest continuous burning lightbulb, the site of a crashed UFO, and the Computer History Museum.
• Gifts & Talents: Laura finds crunching numbers fun and is used to receiving strange looks when she gets excited and rambles on about data. Her other gifts include seizing opportunities, hunting down answers, and being very, very persuasive.
• Things You Never Needed to Know: Laura was a competitive archer and has taken first at many archery shoots. She has ridden a bicycle from Hue to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam with her father. She once served a two-minute stint in solitary confinement at Alcatraz.

Vigilante Kindness is always looking for volunteers who possess talents in the areas of:

• fundraising & grant writing
• web design
• non-profit experience
• community service
• public relations & communication
• special events
• outreach & advocacy
• art instruction

If you’re interested in being on the Board of Directors, please complete the application.

If you’re interested in becoming more involved in Vigilante Kindness, but don’t see your skill set listed above, we want you, too.  Maybe you paint.  Or write.  Or take photographs.  Or ride your bike really far.  Or knit hats and scarves.  Or make jewelry.  Or make music.  Or make jam.  Or teach Zumba.  Or cut hair.  Whatever your gifts and talents are, we recognize them as something valuable, we recognize you as someone who is valued.  We see you.  We want you to consider the possibility of joining our adventures of Vigilante Kindness.