Dear Bpeacers,
 
YOU MAKE US LOOK GOOD (AND BIG)
 
Bpeace looks bigger than we are because of the dedication of our volunteer members--400 of you, and growing.
 
How you engage with us is passionate, energetic and multifaceted. Here's what some of your fellow members are up to these days:

Jumping into multiple projects

Just over a year ago, Bpeacer and Executive Council member Sachal Lahkavani introduced me to
Yilin Zhang (at left), an Advisory Associate at PwC. Since joining us, Yilin has thrown herself into various projects.
 
Along with Sachal, Yilin is developing Excel-based accounting templates tailored to each Fast Runner. She starts by Skyping with Afghan Program Coordinator Balkhi and an Afghan Fast Runner to discuss their needs, then toiling away on her computer to create the right template. Over Skype and email, they work back and forth until the final version is ready. For Yilin, this takes adept consulting, lots of patience, excellent communication skills and, of course, a solid knowledge of accounting.
 
Yilin also joined fellow PwC'er Tyler Igielski on a team led by Bpeacer Bernadette Davis interviewing experienced Bpeace mentors and consultants to extract best practices and lessons learned in order to better prepare our experts to consult with the Fast Runners. 
 

Sharing skills with Fast Runners--and with headquarters

Technology sales and marketing expert Luis Gonzales (at left), founder and managing director of InterConnecta , came to us through our partner Gerson Lehman Group . Luis is graciously sharing his time and skills in two ways. Guatemalan Fast Runner Marlene, co-owner of Sitecpro , wants to introduce the company's electronic-imaging service to new clients. Luis is setting up Sitecpro's sales team on the Zoho CRM platform, which will make the sales cycle and conversion of sales more efficient and effective. This week, Luis is helping the company upload 8,000 contacts into Zoho. Luis will travel to Guatemala in March to train Sitecpro management and sales staff on messaging for lead generation and sales strategy/development.
 
In addition, along with Bpeacer Kasie Whitener, Luis is helping us research and launch an online platform for collecting and managing Fast Runner activities and progress--a critical step in the development of our organization.    
 

Committed to our progress and growth
 
Gita Patel, Vicky Cox, Ceci Cardesa-Lusardi, Aliana Pineiro and Monica Sanz are committed to seeing Bpeace grow and innovate. Over the last five months, each has dedicated significant time and brainpower to two major projects. To identify a new country, they, along with 12 other volunteers, organized into regional teams. Applying their in-depth knowledge of Bpeace and their passion for respective regions, they researched, debated and finally selected countries that meet our criteria--helping us develop a shortlist to look into further.
 
Using their business background and Spanish skills, each of these members, along with 15 other volunteers, also read and scored roughly 35 Fast Runner applications from El Salvador and Guatemala, producing two lists of semifinalists for in-person interviews.

This is just a small sample of how our members keep Bpeace doing what it does best. From your desks, couches, cars (which I don't recommend), phones, computers, in English, in Spanish, in Farsi, in person--you get involved and you make a difference.
 
Contact me or Lauren to find out what more you can do, or if you're not actively involved yet, what opportunities might match up with your skills.

Work hard, play hard, pay it forward.

Marla Gitterman
Bpeace Chief Program Officer