I currently serve as the Operations Manager for FREED, the independent living center serving five mostly rural counties northeast of Sacramento, California. Independent living centers are peer-run non-residential disability resource centers serving people of any age with any type of disability. As FREED’s Operations Manager, I administer the organization’s IT infrastructure – from our phones and computers to our website and case management system. I analyze service data and produce regular reports to our Federal, state, local, and private funders. I develop and implement new systems to streamline processes and reduce burden on staff. I coordinate FREED’s systems change advocacy program, which includes supervising FREED’s Disability Community Advocate.

From 2018 to 2020, I was the Operations Manager for the Earthdance Creative Living Project in Plainfield, MA. Earthdance is an artist-run workshop, residency, and retreat center located in the Berkshire hills of Western Massachusetts. Earthdance provides a dynamic mix of dance, somatic, and interdisciplinary arts training, with a focus on sustainable living, social justice, and community. As Operations Manager for Earthdance, I managed a dynamic volunteer program, including volunteer recruitment, onboarding, supervision, and assessment, and coordinated logistics and lodging for facilities rentals, interfacing between group facilitators and Kitchen and Maintenance Depts, among other duties.

From 2014 to 2017 and then briefly in 2020, I served as the Operations Manager for The Woolman Semester School and Sierra Friends Center in Nevada City, CA. Sierra Friends Center is a Quaker education and retreat center in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Northern California. The Woolman Semester School was a four-month program for high school juniors, seniors, and gap-year students that incorporated issues of peace, justice, and sustainability into the high school curriculum. I attended The Woolman Semester when I was a senior in high school and returned to Sierra Friends Center after graduating Haverford College, first as the Media and Technology Intern and then as Operations Manager.

The Woolman Semester School closed in the spring of 2016, at which time the Board of Sierra Friends Center determined that it was necessary to strengthen the Center’s retreat rental business in order to have the organization be financially sustainable. I spearheaded that process, developing new policy documents and PR materials for the retreat rental business. As a member of the administrative staff, I also participated in the Board’s process to vision the future of Woolman.

Other responsibilities included:

  • Managed office procedures and supplies.
  • Served as the administrative staff member on the Board’s Development Committee.
  • Assisted in the creation and planning of fundraising campaigns.
  • Managed donor database.
  • Generated email and print appeals and donation thank-you letters.
  • Tracked donations and fundraising goals.
  • Generated students’ official transcripts at the end of each semester.
  • Managed campus technology and Woolman’s website.
  • Served as the lead staff member for Woolman’s website upgrade; facilitated internal dialogue on desires and expectations for the new site; represented those interests to the outside web developer and graphic designer.
  • Managed the successful transition of campus phone system to Voice Over IP (VoIP).
  • Maintained staff and public computers and student loaner laptops.
  • Provided technical support and training to staff.
  • Provided as needed graphic design.
  • Taught a documentary production class to Woolman Semester students.
  • Served as a Quaker presence on campus.
  • Participated in the team of faculty and staff that introduced students to Quakerism and Quaker business practices at the start of each semester.