Leaders of non-profit organizations share insights with students

“Careers for Social Change: An Alumni Panel on Non-profits,” brought together public-spirited alumni, students and staff. Show are (l-r) Barbara Clarke, J88; Jeremy Liu, A94; Jessica Johnson Sherwood (TUAA coordinator); Kathryn Price, A03; Kimberly Petko, A08 (president, Leonard Carmichael Society); Lisa Chow, A09 (alumni relations director, Leonard Carmichael Society); Patricia Reilly (director of financial aid); Ben Sands, E54, (chair of the Citizenship and Public Service Committee); Cynthia Mark, J86; Erin Cox-Weinberg, A00; and James Weinberg, A00. (photo by Richard Howard)

December 10, 2007--Alumni who head Boston-area nonprofits took center stage on November 7 when they starred in a new alumni program for students, “Careers for Social Change: An Alumni Panel on Non-profits.”

More than 100 students turned out to meet an impressive group of alumni who spoke passionately about their career choices:

• Barbara Clarke, J88, executive director, The Children’s Room: Center for Grieving Children and Teenagers;
• Erin Cox-Weinberg, A00, executive director, Northeast Region, Jumpstart;
• Jeremy Liu, A94, executive director, Asian Community Development Corp.;
• Cynthia Mark, J86, managing attorney, Asian Outreach Unit at Greater Boston Legal Services;
• Kathryn  Price, A03, chief of staff, New Profit Inc.; and
• James Weinberg, A00, founder and CEO, Commongood Careers.

The event, an initiative of the TUAA Citizenship and Public Service Committee, was co-sponsored with the Leonard Carmichael Society (LCS). Ben Sands, A54, chair of the committee, said in the past the group has pursued public service projects, including collecting musical instruments for the city of Somerville.

This year, they were looking for ideas for on-campus student programming, and approached LCS leadership, who came up with the idea of inviting alumni to campus to talk about careers in non profits.

Sands went to work making phone calls and said it didn’t take long to recruit a top-notch panel.

 “I called six people and six people said yes,” he said. “They didn’t need to be convinced, and to a person they said the event was more fun than they had expected it would be.”

Lisa Chow, A09, alumni relations director for LCS, called the panelists “engaging and down-to-earth.”

“I think that both the alumni and attendees benefited from the event,” she added. “It is very encouraging to see the widespread interest in service and social change. All of us at the Leonard Carmichael Society look forward to working with the alumni association again.”

Patricia Reilly, director of Financial Aid, also was on hand to answer questions about the new Tufts loan forgiveness program for students and alumni who work in nonprofits after graduation.