Candidate for Treasurer:
James Villanueva
Hello FBANC friends and colleagues! I hereby submit my candidacy for the position of Treasurer for the 2023-2024 FBANC Board.
I am very thankful for the FBANC community since I moved to California five years ago. It is where I’ve met many close friends and where I’ve enjoyed many gatherings for social and professional events (especially with Filipinx food involved). It is also where I have spent much time and effort considering and confronting issues affecting the Filipinx community in Northern California during the pandemic and have continued to feel the need to “Be the Change” and give back to this community that has made me feel at home. Since 2019, I have served on the FBANC Board of Directors, most recently as the Mentorship Committee Co-Director, and would greatly appreciate the opportunity to continue serving on the Board.
As Mentorship Co-Director, a major endeavor we took on was bringing our law student conference, Komunidad, back to a completely in-person event. With the assistance of my Co-Director and the many Filipinx law student leaders in the Northern California area, we were able to host a full day in-person conference where law students had the opportunity to network with attorneys, participate in panels, and hear from inspirational speakers (as well as enjoy some catered Filipinx food). In our goals for mentorship, we focused on the mentorship program and the Komunidad conference; continuously building our pipeline of Filipinx lawyers and future leaders of FBANC, California, and wherever else life outside of law school may take them. I have greatly appreciated this opportunity to serve as a Mentorship Co-Director and I look forward to participating in the mentorship program and Komunidad for years to come. Putting into practice these last four years of experience as an FBANC Director, I am ready to take my next step to lead this organization as its Treasurer.
As Treasurer, my main goal will be to ensure that FBANC remains fiscally sound while still enabling the organization to provide the various events, and new events, that everyone has come to know of FBANC. The FBANC organization must ensure longevity through fundraising and savings, but it must also continue using its funds to support its community and provide value to its members. I will continuously review our budgets and ensure that we are appropriately using what has been allocated.
My secondary goal will be to ensure that we continuously have the ability to support our law students in attending our events. I recognize that sometimes travel and costs for traveling become barriers to attendance for students that are on a budget or time crunch. As Treasurer, I will set aside law student funds for various events specifically for travel and transportation because the distance or ability to travel throughout Northern California shouldn’t be an impediment for students to the great opportunities for networking, community, education, and more that FBANC events can provide.
Using my previous experiences as a treasurer in other organizations and leaning on the experience of the FBANC Board including the previous FBANC Treasurer, I know I am well equipped to manage the budget and ensure we have a successful year. FBANC strives to put its members and its community first and it is my hope that I can continue to be a part of this legacy to build a strong organization for the future leaders of FBANC to come. Thank you for your time and I hope to have you vote for this upcoming election for the 2023-2024 FBANC Board.
Sincerely,
James Villanueva