Rachel Sams
Lead Consultant and Editor, Nonprofit Risk Management Center
Rachel Sams brings 20 years of experience as a writer and editor to her work as a consultant and staff writer at the Nonprofit Risk Management Center. She advises clients, delivers NRMC’s affiliate member webinars, writes articles about risk, and edits NRMC’s Risk Management Essentials publication. Rachel’s previous experience in business journalism helps her understand and communicate the risks organizations face. She’s based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she serves on the marketing committee of The Grief Center, a provider of support groups, resources, and workshops for children and adults who grieve. Rachel is also a member of the Albuquerque Women in Business for Good giving circle. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Writing Seminars from The Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD). When she’s not helping nonprofits assess risk, she hikes, practices yoga, and writes fiction and poetry. Her risk tolerance increased in 2021 on a solo hike, when she spotted her first Western diamondback rattlesnake.
Sessions
ERLCP: Learn About NRMC’s Virtual Cohort-Based Training Program
How to Stay Cognitively Engaged While Using AI
Have you ever had the feeling when using AI for a routine task that it was just too easy? Alarmingly frictionless? Congratulations! That’s your very human brain reminding you that while you may not see the risks of AI in every standard query, they’re always present. Those risks include losing key human skills and zoning out when you should be making important human judgment calls. Join us for learning and hands-on practice to work with AI in an engaged, risk-aware way.
Read MoreBuild (or Enhance) a Nonprofit AI Policy
Using artificial intelligence thoughtfully can help your team members spend more time on high-impact work. But AI presents safety, security, environmental, and ethical risks to nonprofit teams and constituents. Learn how to build an AI policy, or enhance the policy you have, to support your team’s decisions on AI use as your needs and the technology evolve.
Read MoreHow to Create a Flexible AI Policy
This might surprise you: At nonprofits with no policy on AI use, many employees long for one. They want to know the rules and what’s expected of them. An AI policy helps ensure your team’s uses of AI align with your nonprofit’s mission and values. Learn how to create a simple, flexible policy that can evolve as technology does.
Read MoreDe-Escalation Techniques: Reducing the Load
Violence has increased in America, and tempers may flare even in routine interactions. Learn how frontline staff and managers can bring down the heat in difficult conversations and be prepared if an interaction does escalate. This train-the-trainers session will equip you to reduce the stress on your team by practicing de-escalation techniques with them.
Read MoreStable Yet Flexible: Build the Artificial Intelligence Policy Your Nonprofit Needs
Artificial intelligence can help your team members spend more time on high-impact work. But AI also presents safety, security, and ethical risks to nonprofit teams and constituents. Learn to build a flexible AI policy to undergird your team’s decisions on AI use as your needs and the technology evolve.
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