It’s really hard to pinpoint one purpose, cause, or belief that inspires me to do what I do. After thinking about this question, I realized that I have a different approach and reason for working on each project I am involved in, both professionally and personally. But, if I had to sum it up in one word, I would say the reason why I do what I do is “impact.” Professionally, as a researcher, this is particularly important to me because I spend most of my days on my computer anal...Read More

There are those in my family who still don’t “get” what I do and wonder, sometimes audibly, if I will ever get a real job. They ask, “Why form a non-profit organization. Do you want to be poor all your life?” I am someone who didn’t plan to work in this profession. When I was in college, studying biology and chemistry, I knew working with kids would someday make me a better Dad, so I took a part-time work-study job in an afterschool program. Then I got hooked ...Read More

Don’t worry, this isn’t about natural selection. It’s about a boy…named Darwin. But first, let me digress. As I wrote in a previous BOOST blog, my first teaching experience was in Cameroon. I was 21, no training, no textbooks, incomprehensible American accent. Not surprisingly (but not elegantly), I ended up yelling “I can’t take this &$(@” and stomping out of a room filled with 70 third graders. When I got back to NY, I was sure that teaching was no...Read More

When I was in middle school, I told my mom that when I grew up I wanted to be “them.” You know…when people say, “Well, they say that you should drink eight glasses of water a day.” “They say that an apple a day keeps the doctor away.” Who exactly are they? I didn’t know. But I wanted in! In my current role as a Senior Technical Assistance Consultant at American Institutes for Research, I present at conferences, conduct site visits in afterschool pr...Read More

I have been serving the field of after school for the past 18 years. During the past few years I have been doing a lot of work around Core Values and finding purpose. Through that work I have had the privilege to work and be surrounded by incredible individuals whom I call friends and colleagues. Through my work around Core Values, I have found that my 3 Core Values are Humility, Integrity and Service. I call it HIS work. Humility is about my faith. Integrity is about my hope around the person w...Read More

My belief for why I do what I do is quite simple. I firmly believe that every child should be afforded the right to a healthy childhood, a fair and equal education, and a strong network of support that navigates and guides that child’s future. Education is the sole key to our freedom and to our ability to advance humanity forward. Unfortunately, as a society we have failed to fully realize that education is a fundamental human right that should not be dependent on where we are born or rais...Read More

Most people in the expanded learning field would be able to answer the question, “Do you know your why?” without much trouble. But I’ll be really honest with you. I didn’t find my “why” until I had worked in this field for a while. I got my first job in an after-school program by answering a classified ad in January of 1992. Why did I apply? Mostly because I had just obtained my college degree and I was ready to try something that didn’t involve serving ...Read More

The “Why” blogging series has me digging deep and pondering the question of “Why do I do what I do?” Is it because I am a kid at heart? Is it because I spent too much time listening to Whitney Houston’s “The Greatest Love of All” in 8th grade? Is it that working with children and youth in after school and camp programs is the closest thing to being a teacher without actually being a teacher – something I swore to my mother, the teacher, I would nev...Read More

I was a “drama kid” growing up. Happily participating in every school play offered (except for the musicals—no singing for me!) from the time I was in about third grade until the time I graduated high school. I loved it, and even declared my future career choice was to become an actress. And while we had to audition for every play, I never worried because I always got a part—not always the lead, but always something. Until the time I didn’t. My senior year in high school I audi...Read More

Many of us are great at celebrating birthdays and special occasions—retirements and babies and promotions and graduations. We offer cards and cakes and candles and sentiments of love and appreciation. We bring flowers and balloons. We sing. We laugh. But how often do we offer a genuine celebration for the not-so-momentous occasions? The quiet moments that mark the passing of time? Celebrations don’t always have to be splashy and include cake (although a random cake on a Tuesday is never a ...Read More