Series: Highlighting WiRED's Volunteers

Bess Touma

by Angela Woon

If WiRED created the position of full-time volunteer, it would proudly bestow it on Bess Touma.

A volunteer from January 2001 to December 2007, Touma was instrumental in WiRED’s development and worked tirelessly almost full time without pay, according to WiRED founder Dr. Gary Selnow.

“I love to work and to volunteer, so I found a way to fit them both into my life,” said Touma on how she juggled them simultaneously. “Community service is very important to me so I wanted to get involved in volunteering when I moved to California. My twin sister and brother-in-law are in the same cycling club with Gary, and they told me about him. I started volunteering with WiRED 10 minutes after our first meeting!”

Touma, who was raised near Detroit, Michigan, on Lake Huron, is currently Vice-President for Advancement at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. A graduate from Michigan State University with a bachelor of science in social sciences, Touma obtained her master’s in social sciences from the University of Detroit. Touma is one of 5,000 people nationally with an international certified fundraising executive certification.

At WiRED, Touma launched a formal development program and helped set infrastructure protocols for administrative functions such as acknowledgement letters, reviewing monthly financials, and annual audits.

“I loved it. It helped me know I was alive and could contribute to the world in a small way,” said Touma on being a WiRED volunteer. “It was one of the most rewarding volunteer experiences of my life because Gary is such a passionate, dynamic leader and a visionary, and he pushes hard and does not accept less than perfection. It challenged me in every way possible.”

Touma lives up to the full-time volunteer role in many other ways, giving her time and talent to several organizations. She volunteers on the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation grants review committee, ushers at Grace Cathedral, and volunteers for the Tigger House animal shelter. In addition, she chairs the advisory committee of Veterinary Street Outreach Services and launched a formal development program for them.

Although she enjoyed it and felt honored to be a WiRED volunteer, after six years, Touma decided it was time to move on. “I felt I had contributed what I could and the infrastructure pieces were in place for the next person to take it to the next level,” she said. “And it was good timing, as it was opening year for the conservatory at our new location and was an especially demanding time for me. However, I am honored to still be invited to financially support WiRED. They are very near and dear to my heart.”

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