Graduate
Friday, August 2, 2019 - 9:00am
Hi everyone,
I graduated with a B.A. in Political Science from Lehigh in 2011 and an M.A. in 2012. Currently I am an Associate at Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF), a national organization supporting nonprofits through financing, consulting, partnerships, and knowledge-sharing.
I’m on the consulting team and I’ve been with the organization for the past 4 ½ years. In my time on the team I’ve held two distinct roles; one as a consultant and the other as an operations analyst. Before working at NFF, I was the Operations and Planning Coordinator for the Department of Human Services in Northampton County, working on their block grant program.
In my current role, I work with nonprofits to support their mission delivery by providing financial management advice and tools like budgets, cashflow, scenario planning, and business model assessments.
As I look back on my time and education at Lehigh, my experiences contribute the work I do in so many ways. By studying political science, I learned how to think critically about public policy, government, history, and many of the societal issues my nonprofit clients are working to solve each day. Also, the courses I took through the political science department, both in undergrad and grad school, all had a people centered approach—one that I use daily to see the big picture and not just the numbers when working with clients.
During grad school, I was also in the Community Fellows Program, where I was a fellow at the Northampton County Department of Children Youth and Family Services. During my fellowship, I researched and created protocols for the development of a Child Advocacy Center. Though the research experience I received was invaluable, the fellowship also allowed me to get a taste of what it is like to work in the government/nonprofit sector—and I haven’t left since!
Currently live in Brooklyn, NY which is a short trip on the subway to my office in lower Manhattan. On a personal note, in my spare time I enjoy playing with my nieces and nephews and I also recently got into fitness, so I’m having a great time walking around and re-exploring the ever-changing city.