Shared Effort Spring 2013

Spring 2013

Volume 16, Issue 2

Remembering a Passionate Leader: Chet Safian ’55 The Princeton AlumniCorps community lost one of our true champions when Chet Safian ’55 died on April 10th. Chet’s contributions to AlumniCorps from the early days of Project 55 defined the term passionate leader, and Chet was a role model to many of the AlumniCorps volunteers, partner organizations, and fellows who were touched by him at some point in their lives. In this issue of Shared Effort, we remember Chet with comments from just a few of the hundreds who worked with him.

John Fish ’55, Chairman of Princeton AlumniCorps, spoke at Chet’s memorial service on April 11th in New York. The following is an excerpt from his remarks: In Princeton Project 55, Chet found his calling. He wrote in our Founders Book: “Aside from raising my family, PP55 has been the most rewarding, the most satisfying, and the most socially productive experience of my life. I wake up each morning looking forward to my PP55 responsibilities and go to sleep each night feeling that I have accomplished something of value.” It would be difficult to overstate what Chet has meant to Princeton AlumniCorps. He served as president and then as chairman.

Chet loved coming to our Board meetings. Even more he loved working with younger alumni. His contributions have

been numerous.

With Chet’s leadership, the New York program took off. In a few years the New York fellowship program went from 5 to 10 to 20 fellows. He would call me up and tell me about St. Mark the Evangelist School in Harlem, or a neighborhood group in South Bronx. He was excited to rediscover the city he lived in. He loved it and he was good at it.

He was especially good at talking with an agency or school about the value of having a Princeton intern or Fellow.

After seven or eight years, Chet began talking about encouraging other colleges and universities to develop alumni-based program to serve the public interest. He pictured a national movement. He went to a foundation and raised the money and traveled to one campus after another (continued on page 2)

In This Issue: 1-2

Remembering a Passionate Leader: Chet Safian ’55

3

Emerging Leaders Shapes Nonprofit Sector Careers

4

A Note from the Executive Director

6

2013-14 Fellows

7

Regional Updates

Join us during Reunions 2013!

Community Green: Environmental and Energy Challenges in the Public Square 2:30 - 4:00 p.m. • Friday, May 31, 2013 • Lewis Library, Bowl 120 Panelists Include Paul Hanle ’69, President and CEO, Climate Central Cheryl LaFleur ’75, Commissioner, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Sharon Danks ’93, Founding Partner, Baytree Designs Emily Robinson ’02, Director of Communications and Outreach, CNT Energy

Moderator: Meryl Harrell ’03, Senior Advisor to the Undersecretary, U.S. Department of Agriculture

Cosponsored with Princeton Internships in Civic Service

Princeton AlumniCorps Open House 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. • Friday, May 31, 2013 • 12 Stockton Street

“I have accomplished something of value.” (continued from page 1)

and led the charge to build The Alumni Network, which now has nearly 30 affiliates, many of which have internship and fellowship programs inspired by Chet.

More than the things he did and the programs he led, it was his wisdom and his gentle caring that made us love him. I want to lift up three words that characterize Chet. The first is passion. Chet was passionate about Project 55 and the work he did under that banner.

Chet’s enthusiasm was contagious and is evidenced in the legacy he has left behind.

The second word is relationship. Chet knew that it was all about relationships: with agency leaders, with PP55 interns and fellows, with alumni mentors that he would recruit and mobilize, with those of us who were his friends and Board members of Project 55. Life is about relationships. Chet knew that if you are building anything it is grounded in building relationships.

The third word is vision. Chet was a visionary. He could see what the New York Project 55 program could become. He could see, before the rest of us, that we could build a national network of alumni groups.

Seven years ago at a memorial service in Milwaukee celebrating the life of another Project 55 leader and friend, Charlie Bray, Chet gave one of the eulogies.

What Chet said about Charlie could certainly be said about himself. “He became the conscience and soul of Princeton Project 55 through his commitment to its ideals and mission and his extraordinary competency and leadership.”

Chet, thank you for your passion and vision and leadership. We love you. We will miss you.

As the Founding Chair of Dartmouth Partners in Community Service (DPCS), I met Chet through PP55 and he gave me very helpful advice in 1995 when we started our program and all through the years since. Chet was a passionate advocate for PP55 and taught me a lot about motivating and leading others in public and community service.

Chet’s comment in the Project 55 Founders Book resonated with me. I have often said the same thing: that DPCS is like one of my children and one of my proudest and most rewarding experiences and achievements. After my wife and children, DPCS is very close to my heart. Like Chet, I feel that I have been able to engage my classmates, my college, alumni and undergraduates in a very worthwhile undertaking to try to make the world a better place.

Chet was a great and creative leader, and he set a fine example for the rest of us to try to follow. He will be sorely missed, but his work will live on in all that we do.

Karl Holtzschue, Dartmouth Partners in Community Service

The Chet Safian ’55 Innovation Fund To honor and carry forward his legacy, AlumniCorps and his children have established the Chet Safian Innovation Fund. The fund will support a range of AlumniCorps initiatives consistent with Chet’s efforts and vision during his twenty-three years of involvement with the organization. An anonymous donor has graciously pledged to match donations up to $100,000. At the request of the family, gifts in his memory may be made to the Chet Safian Innovation Fund, care of AlumniCorps.

I am so grateful for knowing Chet. To watch how he lived by the principles he cherished: hard work, honesty, volunteerism, loyalty, and exercise. To see the lives he touched and elevated, the problems he solved, and the general, unconquerable efficiency of his sheer good will. These actions of his will light up and guide my days always.

Ann Glotzbach '05, Former PP55 Fellow

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Shared Effort

Emerging Leaders Shapes Nonprofit Sector Careers Elizabeth Lindsey *07 is a member of the first class of Emerging Leaders and the Alumni Leader for the program in Washington, DC. She currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer of Groundswell, a DC-based clean energy and community development nonprofit. She shares her thoughts on how the program has impacted her own leadership role and the greater nonprofit sector.

I’ve wanted to be a nonprofit leader since I was 22. My first job out of college was as an executive assistant at a nonprofit, and I was hooked right away. I loved the fast pace of the work, the challenge and complexity of raising funds and setting strategy, and building relationships. And to top it all off, I knew I was making a difference every day. After three years, I decided to develop my skill set further. I received a Master of Public Affairs from Princeton and spent a few years working in local government. In 2011, I was thrilled to return to the nonprofit sector as Chief Operating Officer of Groundswell, an organization that helps communities leverage their collective market power for good by pooling their demand for needed services and linking them with businesses that drive local economic opportunity and sustainability. I realized quickly that there was much for me to learn to become a more effective leader.

Like many in the nonprofit sector, I never had access to significant professional development or training, and I never set aside time to reflect on the type of leader I wanted to be. Emerging Leaders provided me with the opportunity for this type of self-reflection and much more. At each session, I spent the day learning from the incredible Hilary

Joel ‘85, the DC Lead Facilitator who developed the curriculum, and from my peers in the program. We coached each other and talked through our strengths and challenges.

We were able to be honest about our ambitions as well as fears that were holding us back. It was an incredible privilege to have this time for growth in the midst of work, family, and the other craziness of life. Through Emerging Leaders, we also had the tremendous opportunity to meet directly with nonprofit executives. They shared not only their hard skills, like how to fundraise and manage a nonprofit budget, but also their stories and insights into maximizing impact and building a career in the sector.

There are so many aspiring nonprofit leaders who are as thrilled as I am about the opportunities to make a difference in the world and grow personally and professionally, but there aren’t a lot of opportunities for us to be intentional about our career path. The Emerging Leaders program provided that opportunity to me and the other graduates, and it will shape nonprofit leadership for years to come.

Emerging Leaders Update  A record 75 candidates applied for the program in

New York and Washington, DC. We accepted 16 talented, highly-motivated applicants in each city.  The 2013-14 Emerging Leaders are diverse professionals working in the public interest for 32 distinct organizations. Subsectors represented range from social services and sustainability to education and youth services.  All participants have been notified of their acceptance and will begin the program in mid-June.  Many thanks to the Rita Allen Foundation for their continued leadership support of the program!

Check Out the AlumniCorps Jobs Board! www.AlumniCorps.org/Jobs Did you know the AlumniCorps Jobs Board is updated regularly with new social sector positions? Check out some of the most recent postings:  Communications Associate, Pace Center for Civic Engagement, Princeton University

Write and edit marketing content and take creative initiative to develop and maintain the Center’s electronic and print communication.  Manager, Individual Giving, New York Cares Responsible for the execution of an Individual Giving program projected to raise $1.3 million of a total departmental goal of $3.5 million in FY14.  National Recruitment and Enrollment Coordinator, Urban Teacher Center Responsible for identifying & attracting outstanding talent to apply to UTC’s DC and Baltimore cohorts specifically (and contribute to recruitment efforts nationally as UTC expands to other cities).

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Shared Effort

From the Executive Director Sometime in June, AlumniCorps will pass a wonderful milestone: the 1500th Project 55 Fellow will begin working in the public interest! The AlumniCorps family is getting seriously big.

Since 1989, our organization has leveraged the resources of the Princeton alumni community to build civic leadership and expand our collective capacity to solve social problems. In practice that means more families in homes they can afford, more kids getting the education they deserve, increased access to quality health care, and more than 1500 fellowship alumni whose lifelong commitment to the public interest strengthens our society.

Each nonprofit partner, each mentor, each volunteer, and each of our 1500 fellows has a story of how AlumniCorps brought them together to do something significant. As one AlumniCorps volunteer recently put it, being part of this community is “an inoculation against cynicism.”

Take a look at the list of 2013-14 Fellows in this issue.

This group of committed young people joining dynamic organizations reflects the hard work of volunteers, staff, Board members, partner organizations, and interns. And there is much more exciting work ahead as area committees plan seminars, match mentors, and support fellows in their placements. In September we will start recruiting the next round of outstanding applicants for 2014-15, our 25th year!

We depend on your financial support to keep our programs strong. If you have already given this year, thank you! If you have yet to give, I hope you will help us celebrate the 1500 Princetonians who, through the Project 55 Fellowship Program, have walked through FitzRandolph Gate to work in the nation’s service. Our fiscal year ends on June 30, so please consider a contribution today. With your gift now, next year we’ll get to 1555!

In Community,

If you haven’t given to AlumniCorps, please consider making a contribution today by:

Mail donations to: Princeton AlumniCorps, 12 Stockton Street, Princeton, NJ 08540



Sending a contribution in the mail with the provided remittance envelope



Making a secure credit card donation online at www.AlumniCorps.org/donate

For more information, contact Sandy Fernandez, Development Director at 609-921-8808 Ext. 7 or sfernandez@alumnicorps.org.

On behalf of all our program participants and organizational partners, thank you for your support of our work in the public interest!

Throughout April, Sarah Twardock ‘12, PP55 Fellow at the New York Center for Child Development, shared her experience on the AlumniCorps Twitter account.

In case you missed it, here are some of her Tweets:

Keep up-to-date with Princeton AlumniCorps by:  Following us on Twitter @AlumniCorps  Leaving a comment on the Princeton AlumniCorps Facebook page  Reading Shared Effort online at blog.alumnicorps.org

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Shared Effort

Congratulations to our 2013-14 Princeton Project 55 Fellows!

The Bay Area Booyeon Han ’13 UCSF Breast Care Center Evan Larson ’13 NewSchools Venture Fund Eileen Torrez ’13 GreatSchools Karen Tsung ’13 UCSF Breast Care Center Boston Amelia Donovan ’13 Community Day Charter Public School Elizabeth Metts ’13 Community Day Charter Public School Sarah Pease Kerr ’11 Community Day Charter Public School Sophie Tyack ’13 Community Day Charter Public School Chicago Alexandra Baptiste ’13 Advance Illinois Charles Du ’13 North Lawndale Employment Network Lindsey Hornbuckle ’12 Better Boys Foundation Tessa Maurer ’13 CNT Energy Sandra Mukasa ’12 Center on Halsted Kathy Qu ’13 National Association of Charter School Authorizers Emily VanderLinden ’13 Center on Halsted Latalia White ’13 Better Boys Foundation Madeleine Woodle ’13 Illinois State Board of Education

Connecticut Diane Cho ’13 Housing Development Fund Nabiha Nuruzzaman ’13 Norwalk Community Health Center New York Amita Arudpragasam ’12 Teach For America Brittany Cesarini ’12 New Alternatives for Children Lila Flavin ’12 New York Center for Child Development Lily Fu ’11 The Rockefeller Foundation Sweta Haldar ’12 Association to Benefit Children Victoria Hoss ’13 Association to Benefit Children Julie Hwang ’13 Heads Up! Pediatric Literacy Program Tamara Kawar ’13 New York District Attorney’s Office Tara Knoll ’12 CASES Audrey Li ’13 Reach Our and Read Olubanke Martins ’13 Prep for Prep Amy Olivero ’13 Coalition For Hispanic Family Services

Washington, DC Kitan Akinosho ’13 E.L Haynes Public Charter School Neilen Benvegnu ’13 National Coalition on Health Care Nava Friedman ’13 World Faiths Development Dialogue Stephanie Gati ’13 Aeras Salmaan Kamal ’13 National Coalition on Health Care Elizabeth Liu ’13 Greater Baden Medical Services, Inc. Alison Lo ’13 Civic Consulting Alliance Eunhae Oh ’13 Delmarva Foundation for Medical Care Christopher Riley ’12 World Faiths Development Dialogue Rebecca Thorsness ’13 National Coalition on Health Care

Potential Placements: KIPP Bay Area Schools Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula EMNet CNT Energy Free Spirit Media Partners for the Common Good Per Scholas Students for Education Reform New York District Attorney’s Office Rita Allen Foundation

Princeton Project 55 Fellowships are made possible by passionate area committees and local volunteers, generous donors, and highly effective partner organizations.

Thank you for your Shared Effort

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Shared Effort

Regional Updates The Bay Area

seminar we observed classrooms of kindergartners and first graders learning about everything from counting to story telling and spoke with staff about the challenges in providing educational support to each of the school’s students. It was truly an eye-opening and inspiring experience!

In May, a current fellow at the Emergency Medicine Network of Massachusetts General Hospital will host a seminar.

On April 8, the Bay Area hosted an intimate discussion featuring Kavita Ramdas, a leader in gender equality and social entrepreneurship. The former CEO of the Global Fund for Women and currently leader of the Ford Foundation's work in India, Kavita joined us to talk about her career trajectory and the experiences she had growing up that instilled in her a passion to fight for social justice.

Kavita opened the discussion by saying Chicago how much she believed in Princeton AlumniCorps' mission and, that had it On Wednesday, May 1, the PP55 not been for philanthropic support, fellows went to Lawndale Christian peers, and mentors, she never would H e a l t h C e n t e r i n L a w n d a l e , have been able to pursue this career.

Chicago. Driven by a Christian vision of social uplift, LCHC provides highquality medical care to 'the least Boston among us' by leveraging federal Over the past couple of months, the Medicaid reimbursements to subsidize Boston PP55 community has been very the care of undocumented and busy! Most recently, our current uninsured families. fellows working with the public school On April 27, a group of fellows system in Lawrence, MA hosted a from Princeton, Northwestern and seminar at Arlington Elementary. It’s UChicago attended the annual ACLU an interesting time in Lawrence as the Gala with the generous support of state recently took over the public Women Employed, who purchased school system and is in the process of tickets for fellows. restructuring it to mirror Lawrence’s Board Chair John Fish ’55, Board successful Community Day Charter members Tom Allison ’66 and Paula School. Fellows have had first-hand Morency ’77, Rebecca Deaton ’91, experience dealing with what this kind and Wendy Vendel of the Steans of transition entails, in addition to Family Foundation continue to match teaching first graders in one of the Princeton alumni with nonprofits in most socially, politically, and Chicago’s North Lawndale through economically complex communities in C omm uni t y Vo l unt e e r s . Jo hn Massachusetts. Over the course of the Gardiner ’59 is assisting the

Princeton Club of Chicago Service Award On May 8, the Princeton Club of Chicago honored Vince Anderson’65 with their Service Award for his work with the Princeton Club, the University, and AlumniCorps, where he has served for many years as PP55 Chicago partner organization liaison. Thanks to Vince for his dedication!

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Lawndale Christian Legal Center in grant writing. Sheila Kailus ’94 is working with the Foundation for Homan Square on legal issues related to the redevelopment of the original Sears Tower. Rebecca Deaton ’91 has joined the Board of Sweet Beginnings, which makes the family of beelove™ products and provides full-time t r a ns i t io na l job s to f o rm e r l y incarcerated individuals as a wholly owned subsidiary of the North Lawndale Employment Network.

Several other volunteer matches are in the pipeline!

Connecticut On Wednesday, May 1, the Connecticut area held a seminar on "New Approaches to Community Health Care and to Public Housing” at the Rockefeller Foundation office in New York City. The event featured senior management and Project 55 Fellows of the Norwalk Community Health Center and Housing Development Fund.

New York City In February, the Fellows enjoyed a night of improv together at Upright Citizens Brigade. Pictured are Taylor Leyden ’12, Susanna Hamilton ’12, K ristan Scott ’12 , Marai ya Hakeem ’12, Sarah Twardock ’11, Ivana Castellanos ’12, Barbara S t o d d a r d ’ 1 1 , a nd K r y s t a l Valentin ’12.

PP55 partnered with PCNY to host Anne-Marie Slaughter '80 and Andrew Romano '04 in an exciting and hearty discussion about "Why Women Still Can't Have it All." The event that drew over 500 guests from the Princeton community!

Fellows also enjoyed a lively seminar on leveraging their fellowship experience toward nonprofit careers and leadership, graciously hosted by Sam '55 and Judy Suratt. Panelists included former PP55 fellows

Shared Effort

Class of 1955 Distinguished Achievement Award At the Class of 1955’s Alumni Day dinner, Kenly Webster ’55 and Stephen Boyd ’55 received the Class of 1955 Distinguished Achievement Award for their sustained commitment to Princeton AlumniCorps. In a letter read at the dinner, President Tilghman wrote, “In promoting active citizenship and the public good through Project 55 and now AlumniCorps, you and your classmates have broadened the horizons of countless fellows and volunteers, strengthened hundreds of nonprofit organizations, and given eloquent expression to Princeton’s informal motto.” Thanks to Kenly and Steve for their leadership!

Andrew P rotain '08 from DonorsChoose.org and Rainah Berlowitz '97 from Education Through Music, as well as Kathleen Reilly Streicher from Success Academy Charter Schools.

The May seminar focused on "New Approaches to Community Health Care and to Public Housing," in partnership with Connecticut fellows at the Norwalk Community Health Center.

The AlumniCorps community mourned the loss of Chet Safian '55, an ardent supporter of the Princeton Project 55 program, an active member of the New York Steering Committee, a devoted mentor, and a champion for civic action. Chet guided and inspired the entire AlumniCorps community and he will be deeply missed.

years. Bill Woodrow ’70 is partnering with Jeff Rosalsky ’85, Executive Director of Pocono Environmental Education Center (PEEC), to motivate green technology product manufacturers to showcase their products at PEEC. Sally Mabon, a public policy expert and wife of a Princeton f acul ty member, is volunteering as a grant researched with Trenton-based Westminster Community Life Center, which provides supplemental educational services to neighborhood families.

Philadelphia The Philadelphia Area Committee is looking to recruit active volunteers to help grow AlumniCorps’ impact in the region. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Paul Nehring at pnehring@alumnicorps.org or at 609-921-8808.

Washington, DC

Princeton Our Community Volunteers have been busy! Haley White ’12 helped Jim Farrin ’58 and the Petey Greene Prisoner Assistance Program complete a strategic expansion plan that will help the Princeton-based organization grow nationally over the next three Page 7

The DC Area Committee was pleased to organize three well-received seminars over the past three months for Project 55 fellows and fellows in the TAN network (including Harvard, Dartmouth, Washington and Lee, and ProInspire). The February seminar was a panel focused on Environmental Law and Policy and was hosted by Justin Smith '90 at the US Department of Justice. Our distinguished panelists included Elizabeth Prescott (Counselor and Strategic Adviser to the Science and Technology Adviser to the Secr eta ry of St ate ), Robert

Winterbottom (Director of the World Resources Institute’s Ecosystem Services Initiative and Deputy Director of the People and Ecosystems Program), and Steve Silverman '83 (Deputy Assistant Attorney General and Acting Chief of Staff).

The discussion focused on public service in the environmental sector and allowed each panelist to share their distinctive approach (legal, scientific, and policybased) to environmental issues.

Our March seminar was entitled "Good to Great in the Social Sector,” led by John Nolan, the public interest program coordinator for Washington and Lee. Based on the book "Good to Great and the Social Sector," by Jim Collins, the seminar drew upon the experience of two non-profit executive directors—Schroeder Scribling of N Street Village and George Jones of Bread for the City—to present best practices within executive leadership that turn good non-profit organizations into great ones. Fellows were eager to discuss with the speakers the opportunities and challenges related to operating non-profit organizations in the Washington, DC area and nationally. In April, fellows met for a seminar entitled, "The Power of Our Food Choices," led by Allison Righter, Eating for the Future Program Officer and Registered Dietitian at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future. The discussion-heavy, food systems-focused seminar pushed fellows to think more about why they eat what they eat, why it matters, and how to make informed food choices to create positive change.

Shared Effort

Princeton AlumniCorps Board of Directors John Fish ’55, Chairman Kathryn Miller ’77, President Jessica D. Johnson ’98, Secretary Charles F. Mapes, Jr. ’55, Treasurer Thomas D. Allison ’66 Margaret Crotty ’94 Andrew Goldstein ’06 Anne T. Goldstein ’79 Kef Kasdin ’85 Stanley N. Katz h’21 William Leahy ’66 Dana Malman Warren ’03 Kathleen McCleery ’75 W. Arthur McKee ’90 Dominic F. Michel ’70 Paula Morency ’77 Ralph Nader ’55 Anthony Quainton ’55 Michael D. Robbins ’55 Margarita Rosa, Esq. ’74 Marsha Rosenthal ’76

Joseph Sengoba ’10 Warner V. Slack ’55 Leesy Taggart ’78 Scott Taylor ’75 Richard E. Thompson ’55 Richard O. Walker ’73 R. Kenly Webster ’55

Princeton AlumniCorps Staff Rachel Benevento, Program Director, Community Volunteers & Emerging Leaders Sandy Fernandez, Development Director Paul Nehring ’10, Princeton Project 55 Fellowship Program Manager David Nelson, Office Administrator Andrew Nurkin, Executive Director

If you would like to receive Shared Effort electronically, please email us at info@AlumniCorps.org.

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