I have never been especially impressed by the heroics of people who are convinced they are about to change the world. I am more awed by those who struggle to make one small difference after another. -Ellen Goodman
This is my very first blog ever, and I can’t think of a better entré into this wild world of blogging than to reach out to all of you from my new position at Washington Area Women’s Foundation.
As the new philanthropic education officer, I will have the pleasure of working with The Women’s Foundation’s giving circles – the African American Women’s Giving Circle and the Rainmakers – working on the Leadership Awards, crafting and implementing the Philanthropy 101 work around donor education, and in general finding more ways to strengthen and expand this great body of work.
Though I may be new on staff, it feels as though I have been part of The Women’s Foundation for many years. About 5 years ago, I had applied for a position at The Women’s Foundation. However, when I got the call to come in to interview, I had literally just gotten off the phone accepting another position!
However, as luck would have it, Anne Mosle – then president of The Women’s Foundation – was on the board of directors for Women & Philanthropy, the organization where I just accepted a position! And, as the chair of the committee for our centerpiece program, the LEAD Award, for three years, the connection was solidified.
As I watched The Women’s Foundation grow over the subsequent years through our common connections, and developed relationships with the staff, I was increasingly intrigued and impressed with the work and talent that lay within. I knew that it was just a matter of time and opportunity before I found my way there.
Fortune smiled on me this year, and here I am.
So who am I, and where do I come from? I was born in Barbados, raised in Canada and the West Indies, and transplanted to the United States after completing my undergraduate degree. I am a serious goof, a realistic optimist, a laid-back work horse, and an analytical doer! I am someone who has realized that this work is full of contradictions and complexities, so it is better to stop resisting them – for therein lie the many opportunities for change!
From the time I was in university, I was drawn to the women’s movement. Perhaps it was my roommate’s enthusiasm on the first day of class in my freshman year; she had just come from her first Introduction to women’s studies class and could not stop talking about it. The next semester, I signed up for that very same class and I have been hooked ever since!
From then on, everything I did from volunteering to my professional pathways was driven by my desire to work on behalf of women and girls.
After completing my graduate degrees, I relocated to Washington, D.C., where I accepted my first post-graduate job with a burgeoning patient-led advocacy organization – the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance. I can say that this was some of the most difficult and most rewarding work I have ever done. But losing friends and colleagues to this disease took its toll. And I knew that I needed to step back and embrace some bigger picture issues for a while.
Enter Women & Philanthropy. In my five years working for the organization, I have had some incredible learning experiences both externally, and internally, including working on the organization’s transition from a stand-alone organization to becoming a project of the Council on Foundations. I also had the opportunity to join the board of directors of Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues. The organization had just made the bold move to incorporate gender, racial and economic justice to its mission, and it was a great match on many levels.
So here I am at The Women’s Foundation, and while the term “baggage” generally has a negative connotation, I feel like my set of professional luggage is well packed and I am looking forward to using its contents productively and successfully here at The Women’s Foundation.
Like so much of my professional career, I feel as though this was a path that was drawn for me without me even realizing it. Like a moth to a flame.
I am just thrilled to be here, to be part of this great team, working under the leadership of Phyllis and Marjorie, and to be able to directly support the dedicated women and organizations doing phenomenal work on the ground to change the lives of women and girls, and indeed everyone!
There is such energy, passion and drive here. For the first time in quite some time, Monday mornings aren’t quite so difficult to manage!
I am looking forward to the many opportunities we will have to work together. In the meantime, don’t be shy! I can be reached at ncozier@wawf.org or 202.347.7737 ext. 203.
