In today's press release NPR announced the selection of two very impressive folks as new board members. According to the release, "The NPR Board of Directors is responsible for the governance of our 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. The Board sets the policies and overall direction for NPR management, monitors the performance of NPR, and provides financial oversight."
All good you say, so what's the problem? My problem is certainly not with the caliber of these two new members. As I noted and as the press release, reinforces, these folks are uber qualified for the job. What is my problem is that these folks are pretty committed to other boards not to mention their full-time jobs.
"Ms. Alberti-Perez spent most of her career at Penguin Random House and currently serves on 2 non-profit boards and 3 corporate boards. Margaret Low serves on the board of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. She is vice chair of the board of The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and a board member of Wallace House Center for Journalists at the University of Michigan, home to the Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellowships.
I know about the adage that if you want to get something done call-on a busy person but really, just how many boards can one individual serve and not have competing demands (not necessarily conflicts of interest)? And really, you mean to tell me there aren't almost equally talented individuals who aren't booked who can serve?
Pardon me for my disbelief but I don't buy the story that a criteria for board service should include the number of boards you currently serve.