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Meet Your New Board: LaShell (Shelly) Tinder, Treasurer

16 Dec 2019 2:46 AM | FIGT Blog Editor (Administrator)

Relocation manager LaShell (Shelly) Tinder stepped up as FIGT Treasurer for 2019-2020 when she saw the organization’s need. She values “our ability to relate with one another and ensure our humanity is always at the forefront of what we do and how we treat others.” (And she’s bringing her TCK daughter to FIGT2020!)


Can you please describe your FIGT role?

As Treasurer, my job is to ensure transparency around the budget, to elevate the FIGT Board members’ knowledge of our financial solvency, and to guide team members in fiduciary decisions to ensure the organization can support the community with scholarships, information through our website, and events.

What inspired you to stand for this particular office?

I didn't initially seek out the role of Treasurer; however, when I learned they didn't have applicants and I knew I had the background needed to fulfill the duties, I adjusted my vision of how I could contribute to the organization.

Anything you particularly hope to accomplish this year? What do you look forward to?

My plans are to: 

  • Meet with the accountants to see if we can change the way in which information is presented to make it easier to review.

  • Look at our banking relationship to see what options exist and ensure we have a sustainable supplier solution given the distance / locations of our board members and the need for digitized banking solutions.

  • Meet with Scholarship, Sponsorship, and Membership team members to see how I can support them in their work.

  • Contribute as a thought leader to the Executive Committee where I have experience from my own expatriate experiences and a seat at the corporate table to drive mobility practices for families. 

What I’m looking forward to is attending the conference! It has been a number of years—I haven't been to a conference since it has been held outside of the US. It will be great to connect with everyone again! 

I am also bringing my daughter, Kate Pellegrino: TCK, born in Belgium, grew up in Venezuela and Ecuador, repatriated to the US when she was nearly 11. She’s on a professional journey and I think connecting with other TCKs and CCKs will give her lots of inspiration. She spoke at the 2016 Worldwide ERC Global Workforce Symposium in Boston and left the crowd enamored with her...proud Mama moment! 

Your favorite thing about being a part of FIGT?

When I first attended in 2004, I found “home” in the community and realized I wasn't alone. After living abroad for 11 years, repatriation was quite challenging. FIGT gave me a great base to get reacquainted with my homeland and feel OK about not liking everything. 

A few years later when my children began to struggle with their “TCKness,” I brought home Third Culture Kids: Growing up Among Worlds to them. Steve and Kate both said, “This is our bible.” They found pieces of themselves in the writings and it helped normalize what they were experiencing. 

I am so thankful for the support and community with FIGT!

Can you share a random piece of info about yourself please?

I was becoming more adept with Spanish and was standing at the window to get my cedula in Venezuela. The woman asked me, “Su altura” (your height). I very confidently responded, “Cinco pie y tres pulgas.” I proceeded to scratch my head as it was quite hot and I felt a bit itchy. The woman stepped back a bit.

It was then my husband turned to me smiling and said, “You just told her you are 5 feet 3 fleas.” We have had a good laugh over that one a few times.

Please share some words of wisdom for FIGT members and other globally mobile people.

In this world of globalization, digitized conversations, and hurried communication, we risk losing our greatest trait—our ability to relate with one another and ensure our humanity is always at the forefront of what we do and how we treat others. 

Being a part of FIGT is a constant and easy reminder to bring your humanity forward to all conversations. By doing this, we become more tolerant, at ease with others, and hone our cultural agility.


Look for Shelly and her daughter at FIGT2020! (And read about another FIGT mom who brought her daughter to the FIGT conference). You can learn more about Shelly in the board member bios section. 


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Email: admin@figt.org

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