daily Co-op’s board election 2020
Annaka Woodruff
Annaka Woodruff is the Appalachian Regional Commission Program Manager for the Georgia Department of Community Affairs; responsible for investing Georgia’s annual ARC allocation across the north Georgia region. Prior to joining the Department of Community Affairs, Annaka worked for the Georgia Department of Human Resources in a variety of capacities, including serving as the Emergency Planner for the State Olympic Law Enforcement Command in 1996. She has worked in the private sector as a research director for a real estate data analysis service, and served as a consultant providing analytic and planning services for various state and private clients. Annaka is an instructor with Canopy Studio in Athens, as well as at the Athens YMCA. She has been a volunteer with Athens Locally Grown, and when her kids were younger, with CCSD. She is currently a board member for the Georgia Ballet and understands the grave challenges facing small organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic.Annaka was educated at Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology, in political science and city planning and is a Certified Economic Development Finance Professional through the National Development Council.
Why would you like to serve on the Daily Groceries Co-op Board?
I believe in cooperative organizations, and in their unique ability to serve their communities as well as just their customers. I also believe that every community deserves access to fresh, local affordable food options, and that local growers, food producers and artisans should have an outlet to sell their goods.
How can you and your life experiences bring value to the Daily Groceries Co-op board?
I’ve spent my entire career working with rural governments, non-profit organizations and community groups that have coalesced to address concerns or gaps in their neighborhoods. I understand the value of collaborative work; and also have the patience and goodwill necessary to make group decisions to benefit a greater good.
Describe your experiences working collaboratively in a group setting.
Both in my professional career and my volunteer life, I’ve served in every group role imaginable. I’ve worked as the facilitator, group leader, worker-bee, and sometimes as the devil’s advocate. My experience working with state and local governments has helped understand the collaboration process; my experience working with non-profits has helped me understand the power of group decision making.
The Daily Groceries Co-op Board does not deal with operational matters. It does deal with overall policies that identify and guide the mission of the organization. How do you see the board maintaining and expanding on the broader vision for the Co-op?
A good board acts as an umbrella, under which the day-to-day operates. Boards set the vision (after careful data analysis and seeking the needs/desires/wants of its membership) for the future – a board should constantly be asking itself where do we want to be in five years? Are the policies we’ve got in place going to get us to that vision? If not, what will we do to adjust?
How can Board members better represent the opinions of the membership and the larger Athens community?
Actively seeking public input is time consuming AND essential. An effective board takes the steps to make sure it is addressing the needs and vision of its greater membership. The most effective boards I’ve worked with have generally set five-year goals, and then done annual evaluations on progress toward goals. These goals have been crafted AFTER listening to its members and other stakeholders. As the Cheshire Cat says to Alice, when she’s lost and asking for directions, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any old road will get you there.” It’s the responsibility of a board to know where it’s going.