After two wonderful years, we bid farewell to Carrie Hobbs Guiden as our NCE Steering Committee Chair. Carrie reflected on her tenure as chair with us, as well as how to get more involved with NCE and take advantage of all that it has to offer!

Your time as NCE steering committee chair is coming to a close after 2 years! What’s your most memorable moment (funny, ridiculous, triumphant, or otherwise) from your time as chair?

The two years have gone by so quickly that it is hard to pick out just one particular moment. I think my most memorable moment as NCE steering committee chair has been handing out the awards at the NCE Awards Luncheon both in San Diego and Nashville. It was such a privilege to meet and honor the amazing leaders in our network and hear their stories. And while this isn’t a specific “moment,” per se, I’ve really cherished the time I’ve spent working with the two Vice Chairs – Karen Shoemaker and Chris Stewart. We’re not only close professionally, but personally as well. We have supported each other through some challenging personal situations that helped us really become a cohesive team.

What was your most challenging moment?

For me the most challenging moment was making the call to tell two steering committee members that they would be rolling off. There is this internal struggle between not wanting to lose that contribution from members that have been extremely passionate, involved and committed but also knowing that the only way to bring new people onto the committee is to allow for that changeover. Change is always difficult for me anyway, but I have found as I get older I can deal with it more effectively.

Do you have any advice for those wanting to get more involved with NCE, either in a leadership or participatory capacity?

Just do it! NCE has many different task groups – events planning, silent auction, awards, chapter resources – that provide opportunities for anyone interested in becoming more involved in NCE to do so without an extensive time commitment. These task groups also give you the opportunity to decide if you want to get more involved and serve on the NCE steering committee. My initial involvement came as an invite to be on what used to be the NCE Membership Committee. For me, being involved in NCE at any level has been a great way to get more connected to the professionals in The Arc network. It is easy to get caught up in the day-to-day that happens in your own state and forget that we have a national network of leaders from which to seek information, learn new ideas, and get support. When I reach out to others in NCE, I often find that they are dealing with similar issues, but in different ways. So I can get a lot of creative ideas from others that I wouldn’t necessarily come across if I didn’t look outside my own state.

What’s next in your career?

I’m not sure. I really enjoy my role as a state chapter exec – but there is always part of me that considers returning to my roots as a provider. I can say with certainty that I always see myself connected to The Arc in some way and working with people with IDD and their families. I just cannot imagine doing anything else. And as long as I am connected to The Arc and people with IDD, I will remain involved in NCE.