Tamara is the Executive Director of The African American Teaching Fellows Program, a Charlottesville-based nonprofit organization focused on increasing the number of teachers of color in Charlottesville and Albemarle County schools. Tamara tells us she truly wears all the hats, from writing major grants and educating members to trips to craft stores for last-minute supplies.
Transcript
So I think it depends on what type of nonprofit you're looking to go into. If you're going into a arts nonprofit, maybe you've had experience three or four years teaching the arts or working in the arts, and then have decided to transition. It's one of those roles that I think you can learn as long as you're willing to learn, but it's very much you hit the ground at a hundred miles per hour the minute you start, and you really have to be a fast learner in being willing to pick up those skills. So Charlottesville has tons of nonprofits, and other communities have lots of nonprofits. And they usually always offer some type of volunteer experience. I have a few colleagues in the nonprofit sector who said, "I started out here 10 years ago "just coming to volunteer two hours a week, "and then was looking for something different. "They had a opening for a program manager, "then I came in and managed programs, and then "I became the deputy director of the organization." And so, I think with that in mind, starting off as a volunteer, just so you can kind of learn the mission work of a nonprofit, and then you'll kind of have that footing and that grounding to say, "This might be "something that I'm interested in." One of the biggest things for me is flexibility. Nonprofit life changes all the time, and you have to be willing to be flexible, and be willing to adapt to whatever those circumstances are. And so, for me, I think having someone who says, "I can come into a situation, and if we have "to change the plan within 10 minutes, I'm able "to adjust to that, and I'm able to adapt." Also, someone who is willing to try new things and not say that you have to get them right. One of the biggest things that means a lot to me is saying, "I'm willing to try something new. "I'm not a hundred percent sure that it's gonna work, "but I have a vision, and I think I wanna see that happen," and that's something that I really value.
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