Sue Carter, Executive Director of Volunteer San Diego and Matt D'Arrigo, Founder & Executive Director of A Reason To Survive (ARTS) recently returned from HBS.  Here are excerpts from emails they both recently sent the board:

 Sue wrote--  

What an incredible week at Harvard! Thank you so much for the opportunity to be a part of SPNM. Though the schedule was intense, it felt like an indulgence to spend an entire week discussing and debating strategy with our professors and classmates. As the week wore on, I came to realize how small Volunteer San Diego was in comparison to other attendees and the case study organizations, and yet we share many of the same issues. We, too, face challenges of impact, clear strategy and scalability. I was pleased to find that we're asking ourselves the right questions even if the answers are elusive at times.

I'm still absorbing much of what we learned. Matt and I agreed to get together soon to compare lessons gained. We had the good fortune to be in the same large group, which helped provide a common foundation to explore the issues between classes.

I'm excited by the implications and impact of the course - for VSD, for the nonprofits we partner with, for our relationship with our national office, and for San Diego, as we connect with the HBS Alumni Club and SPNM graduates.

It was an honor and privilege to represent San Diego. Thank you for your confidence in me. I look forward to our continued conversations and work together.

 Matt wrote--

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! Just got back from Harvard – didn’t want it to end. What an incredible experience and opportunity – it helped me in so many ways – probably most of which I have not realized yet. It will take a little while to process all the information but I had many “A-Ha” moments during the week.
Please forward this to anyone who played a role in selecting me to go. I am so excited and re-energized. I look forward to the local SPNM alumni getting together on a monthly basis to really leverage all we have learned and make our organizations and the sector better.
Thank you and the HBSC for stepping up and providing this opportunity.