Hillary Boucher

Community building is not a trend, but the central way that people live, thrive and organize. As social technology revolutionizes business, healthcare, education and social justice we are realizing that acknowledging and leveraging the power of community and relationships can help our organizations and businesses work more effectively and efficiently.

As community manager at The Community Roundtable, a peer network of community, social media, and social business practitioners, I have a unique view of the fundamental cultural changes taking place, as well as the logistical imperatives that professionals and organizations face in the current social environment.

As community manager I work closely with members to connect them with appropriate resources and ensure they are receiving value from the network. Some of my responsibilities include:
-facilitate one-on-one member podcasts
-organize and facilitate member roundtable calls led by industry experts
-track, analyze and drive engagement
-work cooperatively with my team
-identify emerging themes & share with our research team

Bottom line: I drive programming, encourage relationships and collaboration, and create and curate applicable resources.

My personal social justice attention lies in the maternal health sector. Part of the growing health 2.0 movement, maternal health is especially positioned to benefit from effective organizing since maternal death is the greatest health inequity of the 21st century.* Here in the US we spend $98 billion on hospital bills related to childbirth and yet women in the US are more likely to die of pregnancy related complications than in 49 other countries, including nearly all European countries, Canada and several countries in Asia and the Middle East.**

* Population Issues in the 21st Century: The Role of the World Bank. The World Bank, Washington, DC 2007. http://bit.ly/Wkrtb3
**Amnesty International: Deadly Delivery http://bit.ly/iD3rda