During these uncertain times, Meghan Palumbo was sure she could be doing more to support her community. But when a friend reached out in May and asked if she would be interested in joining the Board of Directors at Literacy Rochester, she hesitated.
“I wanted to make sure my skill set would benefit Literacy Rochester and I had the time and resources to fulfill the duties of a Board member,” Meghan said. “I knew what it would take to be an effective Board member, having had some experience in the non-profit sector.”
Meghan previously served as a volunteer, then Board member and later as the Director of Development at The Center for Youth in Rochester. During this time, she learned about the challenges related to non-profit work, she honed her grant-writing skills, and she gained insights into what makes a great Board member.
Meghan made the difficult choice in 2017 to leave the organization to pursue a career focused on her first passion, writing.
“When I was a kid, I loved writing and illustrating my own short stories, and I’ve been telling stories throughout my 14-year career in one way or another,” Meghan said. “I tell a story much better on paper than in person.”
Meghan joined a local company as a proposal writer. She joined a professional organization (Association of Proposal Management Professionals) that provided education, best practices and guidance on how to develop winning business proposals. Meghan uses these skills every day in her current role as a remote senior proposal writer for Press Ganey.
“From early on until now, I am sometimes surprised but always grateful for the opportunities writing has brought into my life,” she said.
For Meghan, there is nothing more energizing than finding the right words to tell an impactful story, which is one of the main reasons she accepted the offer to serve as a Literacy Rochester Board member.
“Literacy is empowering on so many levels,” she said. “Imagine the doors that can open for adults in our community who start their journey with Literacy Rochester. Once they gain basic reading, math, English-speaking or digital skills from our volunteer tutors, think of the possibilities.”
Meghan hopes her proposal-writing skills and non-profit experience will be beneficial in support of her role as a Board member.
When Meghan is not writing, she is enjoying the other loves of her life: sleeping, reading and spending time with her family. She lives with husband, Eric, and their two boys, Ari (7) and Andrew (5), who currently aspire to be famous “YouTubers.” Since Meghan is not fully supportive of their goals, she is assisting them with their part-time virtual school work this year to make sure they stay on track with their academics amid the pandemic and develop backup career plans.
