Congrats to the Graduating Fellows, Bring on the Next Class…

By Mike Rocco, ProInspire’s Managing Director, Bay Area

I recently celebrated my one-month anniversary with ProInspire and ended the day by joining the 2015 San Francisco Bay Area Fellows for their Graduation Dinner. While it is simplistic to say that I was impressed by the eight Fellows, those words do not say enough to express my feelings.

After spending the past 6+ years working with college graduates to connect their career aspirations with local government entities, I was excited by the opportunity to redirect those energies towards helping early-career professionals make their way into nonprofit and social sector leadership roles. While the two programs differ in many ways, I was thrilled to see among the participants the common threads of professionalism, motivation to do “good,” and the self-inspired dedication to the work they do.

Chris, Colleen, Crystal, Cynthia, Elaine, Jessenia, Nicole, and Ryan all bring unique and vibrant experience to the roles they fill in their hiring partner organizations. Whether serving as a department head, a development coordinator, a data/analytics engineer, or an investment/operations analyst, these twenty-somethings are stepping up and taking on significant roles that improve the ability of these organizations to serve their clients and target audiences.

I was impressed with the bond this group shares and the ease with which they can tap into each other’s challenges and successes. As I sat quietly and absorbed it all, I heard discussions related to career advancement and the creation of new post-Fellowship roles in their hiring partner organizations; Fellows who had to step in and handle crisis situations for traveling bosses; and Fellows who were looking for guidance on how to manage through delicate situations. Their stories inspired me. This “brain trust” and support network is critical to ProInspire’s efforts to develop leaders at all levels and start this next generation of leadership on the right path of social sector careers.

What’s more, the Fellows’ commitments didn’t end at the close of the business day. One Fellow is active in the current presidential elections. Another dedicates her spare time to managing ProInspire’s social media program. Other Fellows spend their free time preparing for graduate school.

All in all, I cannot wait the see where this cohort of eight will go following their Fellowship year, and I look forward to the completion of our 2016 Fellowship Selection process and my role in getting the new cohort started on the right foot.