Meet the Board: Karen Healey, President.
Welcome to the first in a series of interviews with the mysterious hooded figures who control Girl-Wonder.org from their secret stronghold hidden within Mt Taranaki. Or, as they are known on the internets, the Girl-Wonder.org Board of Directors!
First up is the President, Karen Healey. That is me.
What are your Board responsibilities?
Being President means that I’m responsible for chairing Board meetings, keeping in the know with what committee chairs and other Board members are up to, and generally being aware of what Girl-Wonder.org people are doing when. Mostly this involves a lot of emailing and waking up at 3am, certain I’ve forgotten something vital.
What experience do you have?
Well, I’ve been bossy all my life. I also have formal experience in committee management and grant application from years of university drama clubbing. I’ve been blogging for eight years, and blogging at Girl-Wonder.org for nearly two. I’m also writing my PhD on superhero comics as a fan-created text.
How did you become involved with Girl-Wonder.org?
Mary Borsellino put out the call and I said “Mary, can I write a column about how angry this stuff makes me?” and she said “Yes! Please do that!”. (And, as I am ever astonished and grateful, a lot of people seemed to find that worth reading.) After that I started getting more and more involved with the forum management and policy creation, and threw my hat into the ring when elections came up.
What do you most hope to achieve for Girl-Wonder.org?
Business-wise, I want us legal; incorporation as a non-profit organisation is a huge priority, and coming along nicely! Ideologically, I want Girl-Wonder.org to expand; to include more creators, more genres, and a wider spectrum of feminisms that tackles the cultural status of women that mainstream feminism has often let down.
How would you respond to falling into a pit of radioactive waste that gave you inexplicable powers instead of cancer?
I would tell everyone within range of my internets. I would be physically incapable of preventing myself from finding the nearest connected computer and typing a string of exclamation marks and ASCI hearts.
Then I’d convince my mother to make me a supersuit by promising to come home for Christmas and do all the laundry.
Complete: If kidnapped by a cackling supervillain in the service of tormenting my heroic significant other(s), I would-
- use my cunning knowledge of the psychotic psyche (gained from reading Batman and watching Criminal Minds) to engender a crippling case of Stockholm Syndrome in my captor, whereupon she would peacefully surrender to the authorities before my heroic significant other got there.
Then we would go out for cake.
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Desperately curious about just how annoying the incorporation process is? Want to know what kind of cake Karen prefers? Other questions?
