Paula Liang was the seventh Member of WGA to serve as president. During her tenure, the Delores Barr Weaver Fellowship program was officially rolled out and a new focus area was chosen.
You can read more about Paula’s reflections and takeaways as president below.
You were president from 2015–2016. What prompted you to take a leading role in the organization?
We moved to Jacksonville in 2011, and I was fortunate to live right near Sandy Cook. She took me to lunch, told me about WGA, and I wrote a check on the spot. I was asked to join the grants decision team in 2012 because I had previously been on the other side of process as development director of a small agency in Connecticut. The person who was chairing the decision team had to step down, and I became chair. Then I was asked to be president-elect in 2014 — which I at first thought was a joke. But it ended up being an incredible experience.
What significant happenings took place during your presidency?
One of the two most significant happenings was rolling out the Delores Barr Weaver Fellows program — which was developed under Julia Taylor’s presidency. We brought in 15 interesting young women as our first class of Fellows, including our current president Sabeen Perwaiz, and this also brought in their network, which was and is much more diverse than mine. It was amazing to watch these young women, who may not have run into each other had it not been for WGA, connect with each other and become involved in each other’s lives, even developing playgroups as time went on.
The second significant happening was deciding the next focus area. We had done Mental Health for five years, and our biggest impact was shining a light on the lack of funding and the needs of the segment. There weren’t headlines in the paper on mental health before we funded it.
As is the WGA way, we did academic research, created a report called Voices of Hope, and had a number of member meetings to talk about the three areas that had been identified and decide which one to move forward with. Breaking the Cycle of Female Poverty was chosen for our next targeted focus area.
What are your favorite memories from your time as president?
My favorite part was actually being president-elect under Julia Taylor. Getting to sit next to her and watching her run things was an invaluable experience. I was new to the South, and I learned how to have a point of view but use your indoor voice.
What is an important takeaway from your time as president that Members may find interesting and relevant?
After being president of WGA, I became involved on a national level — in Philanos and also in Philanthropy Together, funded by Bill and Melinda Gates. I got to see many different kinds of giving circles and different ways of doing things. And what I’ve realized is that WGA is one of the oldest, largest, and most impactful giving circles in our country.
In particular, our Legacy memberships have been a model that other groups aspire to and have implemented. Our focus on our endowment has helped people understand the power and sustainability that makes WGA so impactful and forward-thinking.