Paula Goodman: a passionate advocate for women and girls

June is a bittersweet time for AWF because we usually have to say good-bye to Board Members who have completed their terms of service. This year is particularly difficult because our incredible Board Chair Paula Goodman steps down.

Involved with the Foundation for over 10 years, Paula is one of our most passionate advocates! Her first volunteer role started in 2008 by serving on AWF’s Allocations Committee. Even with a busy travel schedule due to work, she made time to attend over 15 site visits, the 3-hour committee meetings during each grant cycle, the annual grantee open house, and the annual meetings and grantee check presentations. A team leader, Paula educated the Committee as a whole about their roles and responsibilities in reviewing the grant applications and making funding recommendations to the AWF Board of Directors, and AWF’s site visit protocol. Several times she led the Committee through extremely tough funding decisions, which often led to masterful compromises.

Eventually, Paula joined the AWF Board of Directors, where she continued to channel her commitment and passion for supporting women and girls. With her experience on the Allocations Committee, she was a natural fit for the Grant Committee; she served for five years total, two of which she served as co-chair of the Committee. Paula continued to be a guide and educator on AWF’s grantmaking, ensuring the integrity of the grantmaking process.

In 2013, after the release of the release of AWF’s Breaking the Cycle of Generational Poverty in Metro Atlanta research, Paula also helped lead AWF’s Community Initiative Research Task Force. Thanks to the work of the task force, the Board developed a comprehensive grantmaking and community initiatives plan centered on the barriers impacting women and girls identified in the research. As a result of the Board’s plan, AWF has become more effective in carrying out our mission.

Elected Board Chair in July of 2014, Paula continued to help AWF make strides in moving women and girls from poverty to economic self-sufficiency. Under her leadership as Board Chair, AWF has redesigned our grantmaking program, implementing a collective impact model that allows us to identify and fund the organizations that are making the greatest impact.

Additionally, Paula has shown her generous spirit by providing gifts to the winners of The Sue Wieland Embracing Possibility Award Shining Example. Over the years, she has provided computers and software to low-income students entering college and household electronics for women transitioning from homelessness to permanent housing.

We are incredibly grateful to Paula Goodman for her Board leadership, guidance and dedication to our mission.

Thank you Paula for all you have done to help break the cycle of poverty for women and girls in Atlanta!