Boardable has been growing rapidly in the past year, going from 7 full-time employees to 12 currently. As part of our mission to serve nonprofits and their boards, a well-rounded team full of people willing to do whatever is needed was crucial. That’s why when it was time to hire a Vice President of Marketing, Julie Perry was the natural choice.
Julie, top right, volunteering as a Team Co-Leader with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis in its annual Women Build initiative.
A Track Record with Boardable
When asked why she was excited to start at Boardable, Julie pointed to the year and half she had already worked as a contracted marketing director for the company.
“I’ve been working as an outside contractor with Boardable since January 2018 and have loved working with this incredible team. What’s exciting about coming aboard full time in this VP role is that our marketing team can now fully step on the gas. I’m thrilled to make Boardable my sole focus, as the positive feedback from our customers and our recent surge in growth are proof that we’re having a big impact.
“Helping nonprofit organizations discover and adopt technology that makes serving their communities easier and more engaging is very satisfying. We have a super passionate group of people working to help some amazing organizations, and together, we have a lot of fun.”
Besides her experience with Boardable, Julie brings a broad and deep knowledge of marketing in various industries. Perry has more than 13 years of experience as a director of marketing and more than 20 years of experience in the marketing field. With both agency- and brand-side experience, she has worked at BLASTmedia, BlueSky Technology Partners, Givelify, and served as a marketing consultant with several other tech- and marine-industry companies, where she launched and developed marketing strategies, defined campaign measurement, and managed CRM-lead programs.
As a marketing committee member for the U.S. Superyacht Association for the last four years, Julie was recently elected to serve on the USSA’s Board of Directors as the Marketing Co-Chair. Established in 2006, the USSA is a trade association that champions the economic impact of the superyacht industry in the United States through advocacy, education, marketing, events, and destination building. Julie has been connected to the superyacht industry since serving as a yacht stewardess back in the late 90s / early 2000s. She even wrote a book about her experience and through her book’s website continues to educate and assist young adults in discovering the rewards of traveling the high seas working as superyacht crew.
Julie Perry, third from the right, serves as the Marketing Co-Chair for the U.S. Superyacht Association Board of Directors.
Boardable Looks for More Than Just Technical Expertise
Nearly every employee at Boardable is a member of a nonprofit board or volunteers extensively. Julie does both. When asked why this kind of nonprofit experience outside of work matters, she was passionate about why the technical expertise and real-life experience matter.
“When it comes to marketing any product, if part of your market research comes from your own personal experiences, it makes your job not only easier, but more authentic. As a volunteer with both Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis and Girls Inc. of Indianapolis, I’ve gained valuable, first-hand experience with the type of impact philanthropic organizations have in our communities—I’ve seen and felt that downstream effect that nonprofit staffs and boards have on their volunteers and supporters.
“Further to that, my four years serving as a board committee member, and more recently, as an official board member for a marine-industry trade association informs my work at Boardable on a daily basis. I understand those distinct challenges that come when you have a group of passionate volunteers trying to make a difference as a cohesive unit. Our 20 board members are spread across 12 states. When it comes to things like coordinating schedules for meetings, communicating and sharing vast amounts of information quickly, and trying to organize events and educational opportunities for over 400 association members across 23 countries, I am constantly spotting areas where I think, ‘how can this process be made easier so we can stay focused on our collective mission?’ or ‘how could technology reduce this pain we feel in coordinating this initiative’?
“And on the flip side, listening to feedback and input from our Boardable customers gives me inspiration and ideas for how to better serve the association members I’ve been elected to serve. I love my volunteer work, and I love my ‘paid job’ work—the fact that the two jobs inform one another drives me forward in both.”
Julie, right, volunteering with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis in their annual Women Build initiative.
A Quickly Growing Team
When Julie first started at Boardable, she was managing contractors and had no full-time staff. She now expects to have a total of three full-time marketing team members by the end of the year, and more in 2020. With her impressive background and her passion for Boardable’s work, Julie is poised to be a huge part of the company’s future success.
Want to know how your nonprofit board of directors and staff can be more productive and efficient through the use of technology? With Boardable’s board portal, you can centralize board information and communications, where everything (and everyone) is just a couple of clicks away. Click below to get started with Boardable.
