Our Leadership Corps

BISHNU TAMANG—Outreach and Recruitment

Bishnu is from Nepal, where she worked as a teacher. She came to the United States in 2009 and has lived in Brookline since 2015.

In addition to being the caring mother of a nine-year-old son, Bishnu also is studying at Southern New Hampshire University and working as a professional Nepali interpreter and translator.

In January 2021, Bishnu was appointed to the Brookline Commission for Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Relations (CDCIR), and she also is a member of the Brookline Immigration Advancement Committee.

Bishnu joined Women Thriving, Inc in 2015, and as a Thriver, she has taken nearly all the Thriving workshop series intending to develop her leadership skills. In particular, she has been a part of a series involving public speaking, digital storytelling, and leadership skill-building. In addition, Bishnu has represented Women Thriving at fundraising events and in her outreach work within her Brookline public housing. As part of her outreach work, Bishnu uses her technology skills to promote Women Thriving offerings, including her understanding of social media and community events. Bishnu is a Women Thriving Board of Directors member, a Leadership Corps member, and a community outreach coordinator. She played a significant role in developing Asian/Asian American women’s groups within Women Thriving. Bishnu facilitates monthly meetings, which give women from this community an opportunity to discuss issues, share needs and concerns, and receive support. Bishnu also manages the Thriving English language class and parenting workshop series for Asian mothers and caregivers.

PAULA TORRES-OUTREACH AND SUPPORT

Originally from Portugal, Paula has lived in Brookline for twenty years and is fluent in Portuguese, Spanish, and English; for the last year, works for a local mortgage company as a business development specialist. She has been involved in Thriving for the past four years taking workshops, emceeing dinners, and offering her translating skills. She actively recruits other -Spanish-speaking women to participate in Women Thriving activities and serves on the Women Thriving Board of Directors. Paula is married and has two sons who attended Brookline schools.

 committed to engaging more and more women and girls with limited income in leadership development opportunities such as: co-facilitation of workshop series, cultural community groups, Thriving Working Groups, and community summits and Listening and Learning Dinners (when we can meet in person again), taking the lead in projects, e.g., planning workshop series and interviews of “Courageous Women Leaders”; and seeking donations for fundraising. We have also begun, through our Leadership Corps, to create leadership pathways—specially created, paid leadership opportunities matching interests and talents, e.g., outreach and recruitment, communications, language support and translations, and workshop series facilitation.

In March of 2020, we established our first Leadership Corps, comprised of seven highly motivated and involved women who are now taking on much greater responsibilities in their work with Thriving, charged with reaching out to other Thrivers, friends, and neighbors who are struggling. Women Thriving received some initial, start-up funding from the Brookline Community Foundation for training and small stipends for our group. Since March of 2020, in these times of the coronavirus, the group has stepped up far beyond original expectations in order to support other women in need, faced with the stress of isolation and worry about caring for themselves and their families on a day-by-day basis. The group will not only continue their own training in leadership, technology use, public speaking, and more, but are now organizing and facilitating online (Zoom) discussions with women in extreme need of opportunities for community, calm, laughter, troubleshooting, and resources. Some of our Leadership Corps members took a leave of absence starting in the fall of 2020 to care for children during remote learning.  We hope to create a second cohort in Fall 2021.  See more about these women under OUR TEAM.