WhoIsShe? SHEGIVES Founding Board Member Laura Gassner Otting

Q: What is the most exciting thing happening in your life right now?

A: I just got back from celebrating the 20th anniversary of the launch of AmeriCorps, with Presidents Obama and Clinton, on the South Lawn of the White House.  I was lucky to be part of its founding so many years ago, and was honored to be on the South Lawn with old friends as 500 new AmeriCorps members took that original oath of service. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t shed some tears.

Q: That sounds amazing! So what is something interesting about yourself?

A: I have the distinct privilege of being the mother to a 12 year old Roman history buff, and to the Junior Sartorialist (juniorsartorialist.com), my ten year old TEDx’er fashion blogger who has been written about in over 20 different languages all around the globe. 

Q: Finally, who brought you into SheGives and what do you like best about her?

A: Kirstan Barnett sat me down in a coffee shop about two years ago and laid out this idea of kick ass women getting together in super fun events to support highly vetted nonprofits, and before she’d even finished her first sentence, I said, “What can I do to help?”  To know Kirstan is to be energized by Kirstan; she is idealism and brilliance and fast forward in a bottle.

SheGives connects committed, inquisitive, engaged donors with a slate of diligenced nonprofits in the Greater Boston area. We provide members with relevant data about the nonprofits in our portfolio and an opportunity to meet directly with our nonprofits’ Executive Directors and senior staff in small settings that promote in-depth q&a’s and, ultimately, informed giving. Giving is personally driven, but because we give side-by-side our collective impact is greater. See a list of the vetted nonprofits selected for our slate here.

WhoIsShe is a regular column featuring an appreciative but sometimes irreverent conversation with a SheGives Member.