Bidding Elaine a fond farewell
12 August 2024
The Fast Forward Team were sad to say goodbye to our Director, and Chair of the Board, Elaine at the last Board meeting.
Allie Cherry-Byrnes, Our CEO added:
“On behalf of the staff team, I’d like to thank Elaine for her commitment and support to the organisation both as a Board member and Chair for the last 4 years. She brought her experience of policy making and facilitating the participation of children and young people to support the work of the team, in particular in establishing our Shadow Board. She’ll be missed, but we know she’ll keep in touch.”
We asked Elaine 8 questions to reflect on her 8 years of experience – from the ‘sticky’ moments to the advice she’d offer to budding board members!
Why did you join the Fast Forward Board?
I was aware of Fast Forward’s amazing work through my role as a Health and Wellbeing teacher and I was looking for a new challenge, something I hadn’t done before. I guess the planets aligned and the opportunity arose just as I was looking. Alastair the former CEO reached out and the rest is indeed history.
What did you hope to bring to the role of Director?
I had been teaching in secondary schools for over 14 years, with a focus on Health and Wellbeing. I hoped to be able to share my knowledge of education and share what I was hearing from young people about what was important to them and happening in their lives.
What did you gain from the role of Director?
I wanted to support the excellent work of Fast Forward and share their expertise far and wide. I hoped to gain experience and knowledge relevant to my own work with children and young people, especially around Health and Wellbeing. I also knew there was a whole load I didn’t know about running an organisation, linked to HR and Finance. I think I managed to achieve all of those hopes. It was certainly a sharp learning curve around Finance. I know more about pensions now than I thought possible!
How was being the Chair different?
I was nervous taking on the role of Chair, especially as my predecessor Dave had been so successful in the role for a good length of time. But I reassured myself with the knowledge that all decisions are made collectively by the whole Board. It became clear very quickly that what I needed to give was my time, including more contact with Allie the CEO, attending Fast Forward events etc. I was happy to do so, it did not feel like a burden.
What was most challenging aspect of being on the Board?
There are always ‘sticky moments’ around funding, staffing etc when running an organisation. By working as a team we always found a solution we felt good about. But by far our biggest challenge was of course reacting to Covid and lockdown. How was it going to work practically for all staff? How were we going to make our resources and sessions accessible for all our stakeholders? I am very proud to say everyone at Fast Forward rose to the challenge. We were on Zoom and Mentimeter within hours!
What was the best aspect of being on the Board?
Ultimately what I feel is very proud. I am proud of all the staff and all the work Fast Forward has delivered and continues to develop. Fast Forward is quite a small organisation with a national reach, with a great range of creative projects. It supports so many aspects of the community around Health and Wellbeing.
What advice would you give someone who is thinking of joining a Board?
Do it! You don’t have to know everything, it is all about being part of a team. It does involve a time commitment, but the commitment is worth it. There is so much to gain and it is a two-way gain. It is very satisfying to play a small part in supporting the important work of an organisation.
What are your plans now?
Right now I am happy to continue working hard in my day role as Participation Officer at the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland office.
I definitely want to keep in touch and up to date with Fast Forward’s work. I look forward to seeing how the organisation develops and continues supporting young people’s wellbeing across Scotland.
In the future I may very well look for another voluntary role similar to this as I gained so much from this opportunity.