Board Director Training: Startups & Nonprofits

Join an interactive board training designed for current and aspiring board members of both venture-backed startups and nonprofit organizations. We’ll cover the practical responsibilities that make boards effective: fiduciary duties, governance and oversight, strategic guidance, financial literacy, fundraising, executive partnership, and navigating conflicts of interest. Whether you are joining your first board, building a stronger board for an organization you support, or looking to sharpen your impact as an experienced director, this session will offer frameworks, real-world scenarios, and actionable tools you can use immediately. If you are a founder looking to build your first board, you are welcome to attend as well. Come ready to learn, exchange perspectives, and build the confidence to contribute meaningfully in the boardroom. We will discuss how you can land a board seat and navigate pathways in your career as well. This is a series of four sessions: Oct 12, 1:30pm-2:30pm PST: Introduction to Boards & how to land a board seatOct 19, 1:30-2:30pm PST: Startup Board GovernanceOct 26, 1:30-2:30pm PST: Board Meetings, Ops and CommsNov 2, 2026 1:30pm-2:30pm PST: Transactions, transitions and end of lifecycle Governance Once you RSVP for this, you will be sent a calendar invite for the remaining sessions. Recordings will NOT be available, live sessions only. This will be led by Mala RamakrishnanFounder & Managing Partner, Progressive Ventures Mala Ramakrishnan is the founder and managing partner of Progressive Ventures, a seed stage venture firm, that fuels the next wave of AI innovation. She is also the founder & president at Founders Creative, a non-profit with over 40,000 founders, investors and executives out of Silicon Valley that elevates under-represented technologists. Mala is an entrepreneurial leader with three successful exits and  20+ years experience in leadership roles in product, engineering, and marketing in companies of varied sizes. Mala holds a Masters in Computer Science from Stanford University and Masters in Information and Data Science from UC Berkeley.