Interview with Nonprofit Executive

I work at The Parent-Child Home Program (PCHP), a nationally replicated early literacy and school-readiness program that helps underserved 2- and 3-year-olds become school ready by providing home-visiting services twice per week for two years. Each week, our Program supplies a new book or toy to the families we serve; in some cases, these are the first books and toys to enter the home.

I sat down with CEO Sarah Walzer to chat about her path into the nonprofit world, what she’s learned, and what advice she has for millennials.

How did you get into the nonprofit world?
I worked on public policy from the government side before I went to law school. After, I clerked for a federal judge for two years. Rather than practice law, I wanted to do public-policy work; I felt that was a more effective way to make change in the world. I worked in the U.S. Senate and the Department of Heath and Human Services doing issues around families in poverty, women & children, education, housing, and health. After 7 years, I really wanted to do programmatic work, get closer to the issues, and really see what it’s like.

What was working in public policy like?
When you work on public policy in Washington, D.C., so much of it is sending instructions to communities to do programming; you never get a good enough handle on what’s actually working. The opportunity to make the transition to do this kind of work on the ground in communities fills a much more concrete impact on individual people; it just seemed like the right next step.

Why nonprofit work?
When you do public policy, every time someone different gets elected, your work changes. Nonprofits however push forward with their work in communities regardless; public funding may come and go but the day-to-day work and impact on communities – you’re able to build on it and push forward in a way that political agenda makes difficult.

When did you start at PCHP?
Eighteen years ago. When I started, PCHP had an executive director and a quarter-time admin person. That was one of the real appeals of this job – it was an opportunity to grow a program that had proven it was working. Another appealing aspect was the management opportunities about how to grow a national office. Within a year we had two staff people and then it grew from there. Now there are about to be 13 of us in the national office.

How did you get the CEO position?
I was moving to New York from D.C., knowing I wanted to work in nonprofits. I reached out to everybody I had worked with to see who they knew. I did a lot of informational interviews with people who said, “we don’t have any jobs. We’re not hiring but we can tell you what we’re doing” and now those are people I work with! That was the beginning of building my network!

I was connected with a foundation through one of my contacts, but they didn’t have a job or know of any. They did need someone to write their annual report for them, which I did. During this time, I spoke with the program officer about the programs they funded. She suggested I meet with the founder of PCHP, Phyllis Levenstein. When I met with Phyllis, we really hit it off. It became clear through conversations that she was ready to retire, and the next stage of PCHP had to be a more formal national office structure; we started talking about what this would look like.

I worked with Phyllis on a grant proposal to set up a national office and hire a full-time director. In the meantime, through my networking, I got a job with the New York State Task Force doing work on health; not my passion but a good way to make more connections. I did that for 18 months while still working with Phyllis on grant proposals, presentations with funders, and meeting with PCHP’s Board of Directors. PCHP received the grant, and over the course of this process I had met all the board members, completed a formal interview process, and was hired.

What’s the biggest advice you have for millennials?
Cast your net really wide and reach out to lots of people. Take the time to talk to people even who say they don’t have a job to offer you because you never know if the next day someone will say to them “oh I have this position available, do you know someone?” These connections you make will be valuable to you in the long run of your career. Totally cliché, but networking is really useful. I think it’s even more useful in the nonprofit sector because there are so many small organizations that you might have never heard of. The way to find out about whatever your particular sphere of interest in the nonprofit world, or who’s expanding, is to tap into anyone you can think of talking to.

Resume/Cover Letter Advice?
After many years of reading job applications, cover letters are really important; one of the most important things is to show that you read the job description, know what the organization does, and say something in your cover letter that connects your skills/abilities to the organization. The ones that don’t show this get tossed immediately. Proofread your cover letter and your resume; particularly in this day of being online, employers are particularly aware that staff will be online as well, and want to ensure that the person knows how to proofread and will represent the organization well.

Interview Advice?
When you go into an interview, one of the most important things is to have a really good answer to the question about why are you interested in our organization/what about this position interests you, because that really makes a difference. It’s really reflective about how an employer judges your ability to do your future work. Even if you haven’t done subject matter work with the organization, connect your skill sets with things the organization is looking for.

Sarah became CEO of PCHP by utilizing her network and being persistent. She proved herself, and has greatly expanded PCHP in the 18 years she’s been there. I’m so lucky to work for her, and look forward to what’s next as PCHP is launching into their next quarter century!

Stay tuned for more nonprofit articles, and follow Sarah and PCHP on Twitter.