Newest San Jose Public Library Foundation (SJPLF) board member Jenn Protas has always dedicated free time in her busy schedule volunteering despite being a full time lawyer.
For the past 18 years, she has resided in the Bay Area working as a shareholder at Hoge Fenton. As she was searching for a new volunteer position, the Foundation was in the back of her mind.
“Getting involved with the Foundation was always on my radar,” Jenn said. It wasn’t until a colleague at Hoge Fenton emailed gauging interest for prospective board members that she took initiative to join the board in the spring of 2025.
However, recently Jenn wasn’t too familiar with libraries. “I have not been active in libraries for a good chunk of my adult life,” she said. “As a kid, I went to the library a lot, but as an adult I had the privilege to buy the books.”
Once, a friend pointed out the privilege of affording brand new books and directed Jenn to the many resources and opportunities libraries could provide for free. Inspired, Jenn returned to the library looking at a new opportunity: joining the Foundation.
“I wanted to work with an organization that directly affected my local community,” she said, “The Foundation impacts the lives of thousands by driving digital empowerment, and supporting the arts, small businesses, and the workforce.”
“Not everyone has the resources to uplift themselves,” she said. “The library provides a lot of those resources to people who are willing to put in the time and the work, but don’t necessarily have the funds to do so. The more that we have people working and supporting themselves and their families, the better society is in general.”
However, Jenn admitted, “I’m still learning what the Foundation does,” as she only recently had her first board meeting. “I’m looking forward to learning more about everything the organization does and being able to support it in any way I can, including using my own skill set as a lawyer, using my network to help with fundraising activities, and getting more involved in my community.”
For Jenn, passion is integral to her volunteering experiences. “I have served on several boards as a working adult,” she said. “There are a lot of nonprofits out there, and while I am glad they exist, they are all not organizations that I’m personally passionate about giving my time to. For example, I’m interested in how the library can support me as a human and grow my own personal community.”
Jenn encourages people interested in volunteering for the Foundation or even considering joining the board to examine their personal values first. “It’s important for people to find which organizations align with their own interests,” she concluded. “When you are giving their service, you should be invested in it.”