[SBA Elections] On Behalf of Kourtney M. Bell for SBA President
USF SBA Elections
[This message is being sent by the SBA Election Committee. Note: Each candidate is permitted to send three messages to class google groups during the campaign (March 21st - April 4th). Please report violations, if any, to usflawe...@gmail.com.]
Dear USF Peers, Friends, and Colleagues,
I hope all is well and that everyone has had a positive week so far. Last week, many of you had an opportunity to either speak with me directly or read about my vision for USF Law as SBA President via email, social media, etc. I would like to now take this opportunity to inform those of you who are not familiar with me about my experiences and motivation for running for SBA President.
Experience
From January 2009 – August 2011, I worked in a variety of positions at the California State Capitol Building. These positions include: Legislative Assistant, Campaign Field Organizer, and Executive Fellow. While my responsibilities differed in each position, a few things remained the same throughout:
1) My most important responsibility was to work vigorously for the people my office represented, the citizens of California, ensuring that their voices were heard and preserving their faith in the political process.
2) To produce the best results, it was vital to always support existing relationships and always strive to build new relationships with stakeholders when necessary.
3) When bills, measures, or budget proposals were in opposition to the beliefs of the citizens of California, after making every attempt to both work and compromise with the people on the other side of the bargaining table, we fought zealously by both employing strategic marketing and community outreach campaigns to gather a critical mass of support from all stake-holders, which included our constituents.
In addition to working in the California State Capitol Building, I also Chaired the California State University, East Bay Lobby Corps and Elections committees. As Chair of Lobby Corps, I worked to improve the bond between our city and local politicians, created the foundation for a legislative internship program for students, and successfully gathered support against fee increases on a commuter campus, where student participation is traditionally low. As Elections Chair, I brought integrity to our election process by removing bias members from the committee for infractions. In that capacity, I also increased participation by hosting new and innovative candidate forums, selecting new polling sites, and removing unnecessary voter restrictions.
As a first year law student, I served as the 1L Rep for both the USF Law Democrats and the Black Law Students Association (BLSA). In addition, I also volunteered for the Public Interest Law Foundation’s Street Team, where my team was recognized for securing the largest amount of donations.
Finally, this year I served as the President of BLSA. At our Regional Convention, we received Chapter of the Year over UC Berkeley, Stanford, UCLA, USC and several other schools ranked substantially above us. In addition, it has been a priority for us to create new networking opportunities for our members, and I am proud to say that this year we have provided three major networking events, with a fourth one coming up this Friday at the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office.
Motivation
My motivation for running for SBA President is simple; I want to provide SBA with the best leadership possible as we transition from our first centennial and embark upon a new era of leadership, scholarship, and tradition. I believe that I have the ability and experience to do so. While I am not currently a member of SBA, I believe that my experience as an executive and my political background will allow SBA to excel in new and innovative ways. I believe that limits, like fears, are often just an illusion. My goal is not to come into SBA and tear it down. Rather, my goal is to refocus the organizational mission of SBA to increase both our presence and decision making influence with the Dean and the USF Law Board of Trustees. We will do this through a combination of relationship building, increased outreach methods to alumni, and better utilization of presently available tools.
Conclusion
I have been an extremely active student on campus concerning issues regarding Student Organizations, Academic Performance, and so much more. In addition to my participation on campus, I also have a substantial amount of real world experience in politics, community organizing, and political outreach. I know how to rebrand the image of an organization. I did just that this year with BLSA, and as your SBA President I can do it again. Together we will both increase student moral and our reputation in the community as a whole.
Sincerely,
Kourtney M. Bell
BLSA President 2012-2013
#Realleadership