Sign-In
Cart
Boards, Committees, and Commissions - The First Step into Public Service: A Practical Guide to Serving Your Community
Paperback
Series: Why Local Matters: The Public Service, Book 1
EtiquetteGeneral Political Science
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: Dec 1 2025
Pages: 358
Weight: 1.05
Height: 0.74 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
Boards, Committees, and Commissions: The First Step into Public Service is a practical, empowering guide for everyday residents who want to make a difference in their communities-whether you're stepping into public service for the first time or seeking to deepen your impact.
Local government is where democracy meets the sidewalk. It's where decisions about housing, parks, safety, and public programs are made-not in distant capitals, but in the neighborhoods we call home. Yet for many, the workings of city councils, advisory boards, and commissions remain a mystery. This book was written to change that.
Drawing on over 15 years of experience in municipal leadership and regional service, author Muir W. Boda offers a clear, accessible roadmap to civic participation. With step-by-step guidance, real-world examples, and fillable tools, this guide demystifies the process of joining local boards and commissions-and shows how everyday people can shape public decisions with integrity, empathy, and purpose.
Inside, you'll discover:
- How local government works-and how your voice fits into the process
- The differences between committees, commissions, boards, and quasi-judicial bodies
- Where to find open seats and how to apply with confidence
- What to expect before, during, and after your first meeting
- How to build relationships, navigate disagreement, and contribute to inclusive teamwork
- Tools for ethical decision-making, public input, and transparent follow-through
- Strategies for sustaining service, mentoring others, and measuring impact
- A full chapter on legal frameworks, charters, open meetings, and public records laws
- Templates, checklists, and onboarding guides to help you stay organized and prepared
Whether your interest is in housing, sustainability, public safety, or community planning, there's a place for you at the table. You don't need a degree in public policy-you need curiosity, commitment, and a willingness to listen. Public service isn't about knowing everything; it's about showing up, learning together, and building trust across differences.
This guide is part of the Public Service Series, a set of accessible books designed to empower residents, educators, and civic leaders with the tools to participate meaningfully in local government. It's ideal for onboarding packets, leadership academies, library collections, and anyone who's ever asked, How can I help?
Your lived experience is a valuable asset. Your questions matter. And your community needs you.
Let this book be your first step.
Also from
Boda, Muir W.
Also in
General Political Science
The Clash of Globalizations: Neo-Liberalism, the Third Way and Anti-Globalization
Kiely, Ray
Paperback
The College Scam: How America's Universities Are Bankrupting and Brainwashing Away the Future of America's Youth
Kirk, Charlie
Hardcover
A People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present, Revised and Updated Edition
Zinn, Howard
Paperback
The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017
Khalidi, Rashid
Paperback
Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again
Tapper, Jake
Thompson, Alex
Hardcover
If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All
Soares, Nate
Yudkowsky, Eliezer
Hardcover
Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes
Litman, Leah
Hardcover
In the Name of Freedom: A Political Dissident's Fight for Human Rights in the NBA and Around the World
Freedom, Enes Kanter
Hardcover
Butler: The Untold Story of the Near Assassination of Donald Trump and the Fight for America's Heartland
Zito, Salena
Hardcover
Time for a Turning Point: Setting a Course Toward Free Markets and Limited Government for Future Generations
Kirk, Charlie
Hamachek, Brent
Paperback
Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis
Blitzer, Jonathan
Paperback
The Origins of Totalitarianism: With a New Introduction by Anne Applebaum
Applebaum, Anne
Arendt, Hannah
Paperback
Science Under Siege: How to Fight the Five Most Powerful Forces That Threaten Our World
Mann, Michael E.
Hotez, Peter J.
Hardcover
Tomorrow Is Yesterday: Life, Death, and the Pursuit of Peace in Israel/Palestine
Agha, Hussein
Malley, Robert
Hardcover
2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America
Arnsdorf, Isaac
Dawsey, Josh
Pager, Tyler
Hardcover
Autocrats vs. Democrats: China, Russia, America, and the New Global Disorder
McFaul, Michael
Hardcover
The Jakarta Method: Washington's Anticommunist Crusade and the Mass Murder Program That Shaped Our World
Bevins, Vincent
Paperback
The Secret World Government or "The Hidden Hand": The Unrevealed in History
Cherep-Spriridovich, Count
Paperback
Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines
Jean-Pierre, Karine
Hardcover
38 Londres Street: On Impunity, Pinochet in England, and a Nazi in Patagonia
Sands, Philippe
Hardcover
Charlie Kirk Quotes: The Courageous Life and Legacy of Charlie Kirk Founder, Turning Point USA
Cohen, Felicity Graham
Hardcover
For the Sun After Long Nights: The Story of Iran's Women-Led Uprising
Jamalpour, Fatemeh
Tabrizy, Nilo
Hardcover
Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty
Robinson, James A.
Acemoglu, Daron
Paperback
We Are Eating the Earth: The Race to Fix Our Food System and Save Our Climate
Grunwald, Michael
Hardcover
When You Come at the King: Inside Doj's Pursuit of the President, from Nixon to Trump
Honig, Elie
Hardcover
A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through?
Weinersmith, Kelly
Weinersmith, Zach
Paperback
Our Dollar, Your Problem: An Insider's View of Seven Turbulent Decades of Global Finance, and the Road Ahead
Rogoff, Kenneth
Hardcover
When the Stones Speak: The Remarkable Discovery of the City of David and What Israel's Enemies Don't Want You to Know
Spielman, Doron
Hardcover
A Revolution of Common Sense: How Donald Trump Stormed Washington and Fought for Western Civilization
Jennings, Scott
Hardcover
The Salmon Cannon and the Levitating Frog: And Other Serious Discoveries of Silly Science
York, Carly Anne
Hardcover
Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media
Herman, Edward S.
Chomsky, Noam
Paperback
The Technological Republic: Hard Power, Soft Belief, and the Future of the West
Karp, Alexander C.
Zamiska, Nicholas W.
Hardcover
I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times
Guzmán, Mónica
Paperback
The Problem with Plastic: How We Can Save Ourselves and Our Planet Before It's Too Late
Beyond Plastics
Enck, Judith
Mahoney, Adam
Hardcover
Summer of Our Discontent: The Age of Certainty and the Demise of Discourse
Chatterton Williams, Thomas
Hardcover
The Man Who Would Be King: Mohammed Bin Salman and the Transformation of Saudi Arabia
House, Karen Elliott
Hardcover
The Illegals: Russia's Most Audacious Spies and Their Century-Long Mission to Infiltrate the West
Walker, Shaun
Hardcover
Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History
Whipple, Chris
Hardcover
Hope Dies Last: Visionary People Across the World, Fighting to Find Us a Future
Weisman, Alan
Hardcover
Murder the Truth: Fear, the First Amendment, and a Secret Campaign to Protect the Powerful
Enrich, David
Hardcover
The World for Sale: Money, Power, and the Traders Who Barter the Earth's Resources
Blas, Javier
Farchy, Jack
Paperback
Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do about It
Reeves, Richard V.
Paperback
The Trump Indictments: The 91 Criminal Counts Against the Former President of the United States
Velshi, Ali
Paperback
Recoding America: Why Government Is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better
Pahlka, Jennifer
Paperback
The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism
Stewart, Katherine
Paperback
The Revolution of 1936-1939 in Palestine
Kanafani, Ghassan
Fuleihan, Layan S.
Al-Charif, Maher
Paperback
Somebody Should Do Something: How Anyone Can Help Create Social Change
Kelly, Daniel
Brownstein, Michael
Madva, Alex
Hardcover