Volunteer Spotlight: Treasurer, Mentor, Josette A. Hill

Josette A. Hill, Mentor and Chapter Treasurer and DEI Champion

These profiles highlight some of the volunteers who are the lifeblood of SCORE. Without every volunteer, we wouldn’t be able to provide you with the help and resources to start and grow your business. Josette mentors clients in the Eastern Connecticut chapter and conducts workshops on financial topics. She is also chapter Treasurer and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion champion. If you would like SCORE assistance with your small business or want to share your knowledge and skills with our clients, request a mentor here or volunteer here. 

What first attracted you to SCORE?

Clients of my accounting firm frequently approached me for advice on business topics outside my professional specialty, and I would research the required information. In SCORE, I found a vast repository of business skills and experience. Whether my client needed help with writing a business plan, recruiting highly skilled employees, email marketing campaigns, or securing governmental financing, our SCORE chapter had an expert in the field. In addition, SCORE provides workshops – live and archived on our website – on virtually every business topic imaginable. I also found that SCORE enabled me to assist more small-business owners in its network of clients locally and, via Zoom, across the country. The ability to help so many small-business owners has been and continues to be extremely fulfilling.

As chapter DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) champion, what does the term mean to you?

It means two things in the SCORE context: Providing professional and business advice to all who seek it, and recruiting a cadre of mentors with the broadest possible range of skills and experience. Diversity includes differences in skin color, sex, and other personal characteristics, but extends beyond that to include a variety of backgrounds, life and professional experiences, and bases of practical business knowledge. I found the DEI values at the core of our chapter when I came aboard, and I appreciate the opportunity to reinforce and enhance them.

What has been your proudest moment at SCORE?

During the height of the COVID pandemic, I gave a webinar on the PPP, the US Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program. After the event, a business owner came forward seeking to become a SCORE client, requesting me by name as his mentor. The positive reinforcement from helping small-business owners achieve their goals, working with them one-on-one or as part of a SCORE mentoring, team is rewarding beyond measure.

About the author

Hugh Ryan is a retired corporate communications and investor relations executive and entrepreneur. He mentors and generates local publicity for the Eastern Connecticut chapter. (hugh.ryan@scorevolunteer.org)

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