Meet the
Community Leads Committee
Supporting the work and people of TPG
Last updated March 2024
If you’ve been part of Technologists for the Public Good (TPG) for a little while, you may have seen members of our Community Leads Committee (CLC) answering questions and sharing information in our Slack space – or hosting events, such as Demo Days.
But, you may still be wondering – what does the CLC actually do? And what are the opportunities to get involved?
What is the CLC?
The Community Leads Committee (CLC) is a group of volunteers from the TPG community collaborating with our Staff and Board to support the organization’s work and create resources and connections for our members.
The Committee works on projects that are aligned with TPG’s mission and current priorities, including:
Planning and hosting events – such as Demo Days and meetups
Contributing to discussions and projects to improve the member experience – from general strategy to educational initiatives to inclusion / equity and more
Helping to spread the word about events and opportunities – through newsletters, social sharing, and other communications
Being responsive to community conversations and needs – starting conversations, connecting members, and ensuring TPG's Code of Conduct is upheld
Who’s on the Committee now?
The CLC is a small group of members with all kinds of backgrounds and experience. Volunteers participate in the CLC on a rolling schedule, so the makeup of the Committee evolves over time. You can learn about the current members here.
Benefits to joining
CLC members typically say the most rewarding part of the experience is the opportunity to support our community of emerging technologists who are working to do good. The Committee actively powers TPG activities and programming – helping talented people find jobs, connecting members to resources, and facilitating knowledge-sharing through events and conversations.
Additionally, serving a term on the Committee allows you to:
Gain professional experience working on nonprofit operations, organizational strategy, community management, and communications
Make a tangible impact on the organization’s operations at an early stage of TPG’s growth
Learn more about the technology and government fields in hands-on ways, from discussions, connections with members, and events
What qualifications do I need?
First, you need to be a member of the TPG community.
The following experiences and skill sets are helpful for prospective volunteers to have in order to contribute and get the most benefit from the experience:
Experience with (or desire to learn about) the public interest tech community
Commitment to centering equity in the delivery of public service
Domain expertise that can help deliver on projects for the benefit of the community (such as past operations, technical, design, or communications experience)
Communication, customer service, critical-thinking, and/or interpersonal skills
Willingness to help “get the work done”
Even if you don’t have all of the preferred qualifications, remember that being motivated to support our community and a willingness to work on TPG’s current priorities and projects are the most important.
What’s the time commitment?
We keep a flexible and empathetic approach among ourselves as Committee volunteers, understanding that other priorities can be pressing at times. However, we also hold ourselves as accountable as possible to the following standards in order to support TPG and our fellow CLC members:
5-10 hours per month dedicated to projects, deliverables, and meetings; we meet regularly every two weeks
Serve on the committee for 1-2 years (so you have time to make significant contributions and maintain context)
Want to help TPG's mission, but can’t quite commit to the committee?
We keep a list of folks who want to be “on call” for shorter-term volunteer opportunities, such as:
Specific tasks for supporting a TPG event (online or in-person)
Helping with one-time initiatives or efforts where extra hands are needed
Using your particular skill-set to support a time-boxed TPG project
Raising your hand for this type of work isn’t a set-in-stone commitment – but it tells us you’re interested and have the time to help. As opportunities come up, we’ll contact you to see if they are a good fit with your available time and expertise.