Letter of Intent for Secretary - Gayathri Arumugham

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Professionally, I have two careers: one as a non-profit management specialist, and the other, my artistic career, as a Bharatha Natyam dancer, teacher and performer.  I have over ten years experience working in non-profits, and my expertise includes strategic planning, finance, operations, and development.  Currently I am the Associate Director of Development at the Immigrant Learning Center in Malden, MA.  My past work experience includes consulting for the US Department of Education, and working at various community-based, educational and youth-serving organizations in New York City and Boston including City Year, Notre Dame Education Center, Dorchester House, APICHA and iMentor.  I received my MPA from the Wagner School of Public Service at NYU and my BA from the University of Michigan. 


As a Bharatha Natyam dancer, I have been dancing and performing for nearly 20 years, and teaching for ten years.  I have performed and taught dance in Mexico, Spain, Canada, and all over the US.  Some of my performance and teaching venues include the Massachusetts State House, Dance Month in the Schools, the American Museum of Natural History, and CBGBs.  I was an Artist In Residence at the University of Michigan, Center for World Performance Studies in 2005, and I have been featured in many magazines and online publications including Nirali and Milenio.  I also devote much of my time to performing at fundraisers for various non-profits. 


My favorite extracurricular activity is mountain biking.  Other favorite pastimes of mine include watching foreign movies, reading books in Spanish, travelling, and cooking.  I also recently joined the advisory committee for ASPIRE, a mentoring and leadership program for Asian American girls based in Boston.


I attended the National Conference over Labor Day weekend and was very impressed with the way that NETIP had diversified its membership as well as programming since my initial involvement with NETIP in 1996.  I signed up for the conference so that I could have the opportunity to see Desh Deshpande speak, and then I spent the entire weekend at the conference, networking, attending workshops, and making friends. 


I am interested in serving as NETSAP Boston's secretary, and I believe that I would bring a great deal of both experience and energy to this position.  I am extremely organized, detail-oriented and an experienced event-planner.  I am responsible for helping publish my organization's newsletter, and have experience working with volunteer groups.  As someone with a great deal of experience in non-profit management as well as connections to the Boston non-profit community, I believe I could help NETSAP grow and build organizational capacity through strategic partnerships, sponsorships, and grant opportunities.  I would be honored to be a part of NETSAP Boston's Executive Board and believe I could contribute a great deal to NETSAP's mission and vision.   


Thank you
Gayathri Arumugham