Tiffany Howard, DTM

Relevant work experience and how it relates to Toastmasters and your role as a Board Member:

Serving in several managerial roles over the last 20 years within Fortune 500 Companies mentoring, coaching and supporting up to 25 direct reports at a time. In charge of company spend, inventory management and marketing budgets in excess of 100 million with direct correlation to company profitability . Detailed project management skills in change of process development and strategic implementation across several corporate departments. I work directly with executive teams within my organization and in needing to provide reporting and analysis to them weekly to ensure we are meeting all intended goals.

What experience do you have in strategic planning?

Since 2020 strategic planning in my corporate organization has had to be on the forefront within in all departments, however with being in Procurement and Supply Chain it has been particularly important. We have been challenged with limited inventory availability and flow which has decreased our potential levels of profitability. I have been a part of several committees and implementation teams over the last 3 years directly responsible for coming up with new and innovative ways to continue providing products to our customers on a regular basis. This has allowed us to make sure and continue to meet our annual budgets and profitability goals, while also decreasing our on hand inventory and carrying costs. This has in turn allowed us to become more profitable. We have had to be innovative and willing to regularly change our processes in order to service our customers. We have come up with promotions and ways of repurposing in times of supply chain challenges. Due to our ability to plan accordingly and make continued changes where necessary we are finally reaching profitability goals equal to and exceeding pre-pandemic.

What experience do you have in the area of finance?

Working within Procurement and Marketing for over 20 years I have had the responsibility of working to develop and maintain several budgets while also being directly responsible for company spend, contract cost negotiations, product line development and placement and inventory reductions. All of these tasks directly correlate to the profitability levels within the companies I work for and in making sure we achieve all budget levels.

What experience do you have in developing policies?

My current organization is extremely invested in having clear and concise policies and procedures within all our departments. I have been a part of several committees and implementations that have required creating new policies and maintaining all levels of our procedures and then making sure that they are rolled out and carried through within our teams. I have also worked directly with developing a corporate employee handbook and reviewing all policies and procedures within to ensure compliance.

What lessons did you learn from previous leadership positions?

I continue to learn from all leadership positions I hold both within and outside of Toastmasters. I have learned how imperative listening skills are and how much more effectively teams work together when they are listening to one another. Communication is also key and so many times the most effective leaders are those who are listening and communicating with their team members. I have learned the art of knowing all the different learning and communications styles of the members within my teams which has helped increase productivity and success rates. I have learned how to mentor and coach others more effectively and how to build more effective leadership pipelines. Development of others is key. One of the most important learnings I have had is in how to navigate conflict resolution more effectively.

What experience and key strengths would you bring to the Board of Directors?

I am a strategic thinker and planner. I am able to help with the assessment of situations and in determining ideas and course of action. I have experience with project management and in effectively leading committees and teams to reach intended goals. I communicate effectively and professionally in all situations and have the ability to listen and work well in all team environments. I have a vast understanding of Marketing and trends as well as having been active as a Region Advisor for the last 2 years I understand the challenges and concerns within our Districts first hand. I am personable and able to mentor and coach others easily and effectively.

Why do you want to serve as an International Officer/Director?

I want to continue to give back to Toastmasters and its members. I have learned so many fundamental skills from this organization and I want to have more opportunities to to pass along those skills to others. I would like to help the Toastmasters organization to grow and flourish further and build back stronger as I know it can. I would also be grateful for the opportunity to continue growing and developing as a leader personally at the International Director level.

What volunteer experience do you have outside of Toastmasters?

I have volunteered at animal shelters and Keep America Green programs. I have also volunteered and served within my sorority alumni council, as well as several years within Girl Scouts of America as a Troop Leader.

Have you worked with other Boards of Directors outside of Toastmasters? If so, describe your experience.

At my university, I served on the executive board for my sorority as well as on the board of directors for the Panhellenic council. I have also served on the Alumni Board of Directors) I currently serve as a member of the board of governors for our local American Pool Players Association that I am a part of. We currently are tasked with understanding and carrying out all rules, policies and procedures to our members, as well as evaluating and discussing monthly any policies that need to be reviewed and possibly amended.

In your opinion, what are Toastmasters International’s major objectives and how would you work to achieve them?

In short the major objectives of Toastmasters is to help in building and supporting our members to be stronger communicators and leaders. Overall our goal is to reach as many people as possible and introduce them to Toastmasters and what it has to offer, I would work hard to help inspire members in achieving this goal and helping all members feel confident and empowered to develop their skills further. I find that with as many people that have heard of Toastmasters there seem to be just as many that have not, I would like to work more with spreading our mission and core values to everyone.

---