With excitement, we welcome Mara, Sam, and Sarah, who recently joined the PALS Board of Directors. We are eager to see the impact they will make on PALS.
PALS Board Members come from all over, and mostly through being part of the PALS community. Board Members are able to help PALS grow our mission and our work by ensuring the strength and sustainability of the organization. We strive to have a Board of Directors that represents the diversity and breadth of community within our PALS family.
Hear more about each of them!
Tell us a little bit about yourselves.
Sarah: I’m originally from Chicago but have lived in the Bay Area for over 20 years, currently, south of San Francisco near Stanford University. Despite living out here for so long, I still feel I am a midwesterner at heart. We live near a lot of hiking trails and one of my favorite things to do is hiking with friends. I became a member of PALS when my daughter became a Participant.
Sam: My name is Sam Heller. I live in Allentown PA. My favorite hobbies are reading and learning how to cook. I like to be more independent. I have been part of PALS as a Participant and Volunteer Leader since 2004.
Mara: My name is Mara Smith and I live in Mount Holly, NJ with my husband, Ken. I work as an attorney for Bristol-Myers Squibb and am a total health law and policy nerd. I am a proud cat mom to my two cats, Charles and Groot and in my free time, I love running, practicing yoga, and going on hikes. I joined PALS after hearing about the mission through a friend, Tim Shriver.
How did you become involved in PALS?
Sarah: Our first experience with PALS was when my daughter attended the program in Monterey, CA when she was 14. We have been big fans of PALS ever since.
Sam: I've been involved with PALS for 15 years.
Mara: I became involved in PALS when my good friend Tim introduced me to the organization. I fell in love with PALS, the community, and the mission and am so excited to be a member of the Board!
What is something people would be surprised to learn about you?
Sarah: I ran for Town Council in my community in 2020 and currently serve as Vice-Mayor.
Sam: People can be surprised about how I set some good goals each week and build more camps.
Mara: I was adopted at six weeks old and my brother was adopted a year later from Korea, so no one in my immediate family is biologically related.
What excites you most about joining PALS as a Board Member?
Sarah: I have served on a variety of non-profit boards over the years and am passionate about helping organizations with operations and optimization for growth and efficiency.
Sam: The reason I got involved with the board of PALS is to learn new skills and how to build friendship. It would be really cool to get more members on the board of PALS that would be so awesome.
Mara: I am most excited to be joining PALS as a board member because this is an opportunity for me to use my legal and leadership skills to support the growth of an organization that serves so many amazing individuals across the country. PALS provides not only a community of belonging but also supports having a lot of fun, something that I think that we often forget is so important to our mental and physical health.
What inspires you most about PALS and our mission of inspiring a world of belonging?
Sarah: I love the creative fun experiences and excursions the programs offer for young adults, and the opportunities for independence that the programs provide. I also love PALS’ prioritization of inclusion while celebrating differences.
Sam: The one reason to inspire PALS by building friendships and getting involved with the PALS Community.
Mara: As someone who grew up in a community where I always felt like an outsider and different than my peers, PALS inspires me in the way that PALS welcomes everyone as they are, with values that align with the way I aspire to live my life after knowing from my own experience what it feels like to be excluded.