Board Member Spotlight: Sabrina McMillin
By Heather Linde
Originally written for Issue 21 of the W.A.N.D. in 2021
We also spoke with Sabrina McMillin, a former Fandom Forward volunteer–turned Board Member for the organization. Here’s what she had to say:
Q: Who were you/what were you doing before the Fandom Forward? Why did you decide to join?
When I was a girl, I used to spend a lot of time daydreaming about what it was like to live in the Harry Potter universe, fighting alongside the Order of the Phoenix. While I had grown out of this particular daydreaming by the time I arrived at Tufts, I loved the idea that I could fight for social change and develop skills in communications, in a unique setting framed around a story I’d loved with my whole heart since I was 8.
In high school, a friend of mine (Justin Poole, who now tours as the wizard rock artist Ludo Bagman and the Trash) introduced me to Fandom Forward and Nerdfighteria, breaking the universe open wide for me to explore virtually. It was my first real taste of activism and it inspired what I suspect will be a lifelong commitment to civic engagement. When I enrolled at Tufts University in Somerville, MA nearly a decade ago, it was coincidentally a hotspot for Fandom Forward-related activities and the site of the organization’s founding. As a working class kid, a whole new world of opportunities was unfolding before me, and I joined Fandom Forward as a communications volunteer.
Q: How do you think the Fandom Forward has changed you and your trajectory?
While I held many internships and studied with excellent professors,Fandom Forward is the organization that taught me the public relations skills that started my career and helped me grow as a human being. Fandom Forward entrusted me to write press releases, engage with national media outlets, and manage fan mail even while I was only nineteen. When I was offered a congressional internship and couldn’t afford to take the unpaid position, my mentors at Fandom Forward helped me craft the perfect grant letter, which won me multiple grant offers.
Fandom Forward is more than just something to slap on a resume, though I have benefited profoundly from my participation in the organization’s mission. With each new campaign, from Equality FTW to the annual Accio Books drive, I have become more deeply invested in communities near and far. I have gone on to run two successful Project for Awesome campaigns on behalf of Uplift: Online Communities Against Sexual Violence and currently work for Grey Horse, a communications agency that has advanced social justice causes on a global scale, with a particular focus on the women’s movement.
Q: What brought you back to Fandom Forward?
I cannot imagine my life without those formative years working as part of the Fandom Forward community. While others are still getting used to bonding over Slack chats or building a fundraiser online, my time as a virtual volunteer with Fandom Forward years ago taught me the skills I needed in 2020.
When I returned to Fandom Forward this year as a Board Member, it felt a little like what I imagine it’s like to go back to Hogwarts after a long summer away. I am thrilled to be working with the organization again, helping raise funds to bring programs like Granger Leadership Academy to life.