Author Archives: Amy Potthast

10.05.09
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Civic Ventures Offers an Online Course to Help You Transition to Your Encore Career

A new online course helps mid-career professionals transition to a new career.

Marc Freedman, an career author, and the head of Civic Ventures, will be leading a four-art online course during Wednesday afternoons in October helping people to transition to an “encore” career — or a second career a person takes on typically in the “second half of life.” The course is part of the NY Times Knowledge Network.

  • Session #1, Oct. 7th, 6-7 pm ET, will provide an overview of the idea and phenomenon of encore careers.
  • Session #2, Oct. 14th, 6-7 pm ET, brings non-profit employers together to discuss what they’re looking for when Continue reading →
10.05.09
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Patrick Corvington Named as Likely Nominee for the Top CNCS Post

Patrick Corvington (from the CNCS website)

Patrick Corvington (from the CNCS website)

Friday, President Obama announced his intention to nominate Annie E. Casey Foundation senior associate Patrick Corvington as the C.E.O. of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) — the federal agency that oversees the AmeriCorps family of programs.

Corvington’s focus areas at Anne E. Casey Foundation have included next generation leadership development and capacity building with the foundation’s grantee organizations — themes that affect the work of AmeriCorps programs on the ground as well.

He co-authored Ready to Lead: Next Generation Leaders Speak Out a study that looked at the rising generation of nonprofit leaders’s reluctance to take on executive roles. He currently serves on the board of Echoing Green which offers highly competitive start-up fellowship funding for new nonprofit and social enterprise development, and he serves on the advisory board for American Humanics which educates college students about nonprofit leadership.

According to the press release from CNCS, Corvington also has “engaged directly with some of the top social innovation intermediaries.”

Other professional background details from the press release:

From 2003-2005, Corvington was Executive Director of Innovation Network, a non-profit agency whose Continue reading →

10.02.09
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Peace Corps Volunteers Survive and Recount Somoan Earthquake and Tsunami

From Wikipedia

From Wikipedia

News and blog reports reveal Peace Corps Volunteers had close encounters with the Samoan natural disasters of September 29.

Erica Wales, who serves in Salesatele, Falealili, Upolu, Samoa and blogs at Peace Corps Adventures in Samoa writes about getting to higher ground before the tsunami destroyed her house and that of her neighbors. In the immediate aftermath Peace Corps staff picked her up and brought her to the Samoan capital Apia:

I was sleeping when the 8.0 earthquake hit. My house started shaking and things were falling off shelves. Books fell down, the phone mounted on my wall fell down, cans of food fell…. So grabbed my phone and left my room…. About that time I got a call from the Peace Corps medical officer that I should probably move inland because the possibility of a tsunami. …

I was walking on the road which parallels the beach when I noticed something wasn’t right. I could see structures like rocks and coral which I have never seen above water, not even at the Continue reading →

10.01.09
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Career Transitions: October is Nonprofit Career Month

A new campaign highlights professional opportunities in the nonprofit sector.

Whether you are just starting to think about working in the nonprofit sectorncm_needsyou_200w professionally after your term ends, or you are a seasoned nonprofit leader, Nonprofit Career Month is a new, pilot opportunity for you to discover ways to act on your passions through professional opportunities in the nonprofit (or independent, or nongovernmental, or third…) sector.

You can connect with the month of activities — and create your own! — in a variety of ways. Driven by the collective contributions of the nonprofit community, the campaign dispels common myths about nonprofit work, provides individuals with entry points to the sector, and allows current and aspiring nonprofit professionals to share expertise.

The brand new website NonprofitCareerMonth.org features:

09.29.09
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New Podcast: South Carolina Nonprofit Leader Mac Bennett of the United Way of the Midlands

Mac Bennett

Mac Bennett

A new podcast series features nonprofit leaders throughout the country.

October is Nonprofit Career Month, a month of activities to promote the diversity of career opportunities in the nation’s nonprofit sector. Driven by the collective contributions of the nonprofit community, the campaign dispels common myths about nonprofit work, provides you with entry points to the sector, and allows current and aspiring nonprofit professionals to share expertise.

Launching our Nonprofit Career Month podcast series is a discussion with Mac Bennett who shares his experiences and insights from 30 years of nonprofit leadership. Since March 2005, Mac Bennett has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of United Way of the Midlands in Columbia, SC.

Mac studied finance and management at the University of South Carolina, and then blazed a career in public service, first holding a variety of leadership positions with the University of South Carolina and then serving as Executive Director of the Central Carolina Community Foundation.

Bennett is also a founding director of the South Carolina Association of Nonprofit Organizations (SCANPO). Throughout his career, Bennett has been instrumental in efforts to improve training and education for people working in the nonprofit sector.

I chatted with Mac about making a difference while making a living; how Mac got started as a volunteer in the sector; the variety of ways to serve your community; and Jim Collin’s book Good to Great and the Social Sectors.