Milestones

My road in life took a while to figure out.
When I graduated from IU I wanted to be on the air in radio. I got an internship at a radio station and worked hard to get to the point where I was on air at 92.3 WTTS in Bloomington, Indiana.
While I radio I started to realize the power that radio had in bringing people together to do good. I started programs like "Toys for Tots" concerts where people would bring a toy for kids to the show
I realized that to get to where I wanted to be, I needed to learn how to do large scale events. I left 92.3 and worked for a music festival for a year that brought 100,000 people to Indianapolis.
During my time at the music festival I decided I would get out of my comfort zone and volunteer. I spent time volunteering at Riley Children's Hospital and it changed everything about my life.
With my new found passion of wanting to make a difference in our community, I was fortunate to land a job in community relations at IUPUI. This job put me front and center with city non-profits.
Instead of working alongside these partnerships, I stood up and led them. I led organizations such as Back Pack Attack school supply drive, I joined committees of city organizations and found my niche
In my spare time I co founded a non-profit organization called Giving Sum where we brought together 100 Indianapolis professionals to get involved in the community and give 50k to a non-profit org.
After I finished my master's degree, I was ready for my first full leadership position and was hired on as the first Executive Director of the Finish Line Youth Foundation

Education

High School

Career

President - Finish Line Youth Foundation

I administer over 3 million dollars annually to non-profit organizations that work with kids being healthy and fit.

Career Roadmap

Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Non-Profit Organizations
Business
Helping People

Day to Day

I work with finding opportunities around the country to engage our employees in volunteer service. This happens all over the country with a focus on Indianapolis as it is our corporate headquarters. We create meaningful, impactful events to make a difference in our community and our employees' lives. I also look for ways that I can use our funding to make the biggest impact on kid's lives.

Advice for Getting Started

Here's the first step for college students

Get your foot in the door with a company that you truly believe in. Whether that is through the foundation, or through corporate social responsibility or marketing or HR. Just get your way in the door. Working for a company that is doing good is the first step and then making your way to that part of the business. If there are openings in any of those parts of an organization they probably touch on what it takes to make a company do good.

Recommended Education

My career is related to what I studied. I'd recommend the path I took:

Hurdles

The Noise I Shed

From Friends:

"During the early part of my career I heard that in the non-profit world you will never make any money and why would you choose a path where there was no money. I always believed that if I excelled in whatever path I chose, that money would follow."

Challenges I Overcame

Learning Issues