Lauren Hardie, Seoul
Treasurer
When I first joined AAJA, I didn’t feel involved, and I was sure I had just thrown away $25 (a lot of money to an unemployed student)!
Then, about two years ago, I renewed my AAJA membership here in Asia, and the opposite has proven true. I’ve gotten increasingly involved and learned a lot from the AAJA-Asia board members who do a great job at communicating to make sure member needs are met.
I hope to continue that culture of communication. As an at-large board member and membership chairperson, I’ve personally reached out to individual members to get an idea of what they hope to gain from membership. Member feedback is why I started sending detailed monthly newsletters, co-organized professional development workshops, and co-hosted a number of social mixers.
While these efforts have been focused on the Seoul sub-chapter, I’m looking forward to extending my energy to all of AAJA-Asia. I want members to reap the full benefits of our group, and I have a vested interest in seeing the accurate and efficient management of our funds.
My missions as the AAJA-Asia treasurer will be to maintain a strict budget, increase transparency of operations, and promote programs that allow our members to explore professional opportunities throughout the region.
My personal goal is for each member to feel that their membership fee of $25, $65 or $100+ was a valuable investment for themselves as well as future members of our organization.
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