Caring in Common Tag Archive

Caring in Common: A Customer Spotlight on Shane Albertin

 


 

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Shane Albertin
VP of IT and Facilities
United Way of the Greater Capital Region
Albany, NY, USA

 

 


 

How long have you been working for your organization?

19.5 years

What’s a typical day in your role like?

My day ranges from network administration, database administration to resource development and finance. Most days, I work with data and ensuring data integrity. However, I am also responsible for the building and our tenants.

Can you tell us about a project you’re most proud of?

This is a tough one. I have a couple that I am proud of. I guess the most recent is the creation of standard operating procedures and data lookup tables. These two projects ensure that all information in and out of the data took the same path. This helped keep the data integrity in place and shaved time off, in some cases days, of certain tasks.

Working with Andar, I also took a payout process that was taking our team weeks to accomplish and knocked it down to a day, two tops. This was run by finance, and saving the time off their schedules really offset our cost to do business, in hours spent working.

What motivates you to come to work every day?

I have to say there are a couple of items that motivate me to continue going to work after nearly 20 years. I love a challenge, and anyone who has worked in a United Way, especially a smaller one, understands that challenges pop up on an almost consistent basis. The challenges keep me from getting bored. Every week is a new set of tasks, and I love the feeling you get when you accomplish the work. Whether that is implanting processes that save time and effort or maintaining the systems.

One other thing is that I may not see it, but every night when I leave the office, I know that my time today helped someone. My work in my office with no windows, helped put a meal on a table or provided a roof over someone’s head that would have spent the night on the street.  

What’s your favorite aspect of your job?

As I mentioned above, the best parts are the challenges. That and knowing my work, no matter how frustrating a day, week or more may have been, provided help to someone in need. That is an amazing feeling, helping another.

What are your biggest professional challenges?

Time is one of the biggest challenges I face on a regular basis. I am a one-person department, and because I have the history, I am involved in many tasks, teams, departments workload. I have a network of 20ish employees with on-site hardware that requires administration. This goes for the database as well, as the sole employee with the ability to support both puts a lot of pressure on you and can take you away from your own tasks.

I struggle to take time off because I do not want to leave my team with no support. I throw away vacation time every single year and when I take a vacation, I end up working remotely in some capacity, texts, emails or even calls.

If you could choose anyone, who would you pick as your mentor? Can you tell us why?

This one stopped me. This is difficult to pick someone, as I have so many interests.

On the technical side of things, I would have to choose one of my IT vendors who help support me. I have a relationship with a gentleman by the name of Eric who has helped me in the last 13 or so years. He is an extremely intelligent human being, and his knowledge of technology and his approach to customers are traits that I admire. As someone is a little quick-tempered, these types of traits are sought after.

What is your personal mantra?

Breathe. PMA (Positive Mental Attitude)

Do you have hobbies outside of work? What are they?

I am an avid gardener; I really love being in the garden.

I have a little creative side in me and have done T-shirts, screen printing, tie dyes and more. I have also taught myself to blow glass, lampworking, an escape for me from the stress and frustrations.

 

 


 

Carring in Common - Get to know other Andar fans who care about making #impact as much as you do.

 

Caring in Common is a spotlight series that showcases different nonprofit professionals on the last Friday of each month. The goal is to highlight Andar Software customers from all walks of life, levels of experience, and areas of expertise. Their answers will inspire you, give you insight about the nonprofit industry, and motivate you on both a professional and personal level.

Caring in Common: A Customer Spotlight on Stephanie Burton

 


 

Spotlight-Profile_Stephanie-Burton-Metro-United-Way

Stephanie Burton
Director of Databases
Metro United Way 
Louisville, KY, USA

 


 

How long have you been working for your organization?

It will be nine years in November (11/1/2011 was my official start date!)

What’s a typical day in your role like?

One of the things that I love about my job is that there really isn’t a typical day for me. At any given time, I may be working on up to ten projects. They can run the gamut from tedious tasks like scrubbing data to energizing ones where I’m trying to find a solution that is innovative and maximizes efficiency.

Can you tell us about a project you’re most proud of?

The projects I am most proud of are the ones where I came up with a solution to a problem by repurposing tools we already had on hand. For example, I created my United Way’s help desk ticketing system, using Andar survey forms. Our staff can go to one site, and from there, submit tickets for training requests, hardware/software issues, room setup needs, and more. I also created an online portal for childcare centers that participate in our Excellence Academy program to track and share with us their center, teacher, and training data using Andar iAccess.

 

Stephanie-Burton-Pups

Above: Meet Stephanie's sweet pups, Izzy and Emma.

What motivates you to come to work every day?

Knowing that there is always something that we could be doing more efficiently is what motivates me to come to work. I really enjoy finding smarter ways to get the job done.

What’s your favorite aspect of your job?

I love taking a clunky, manual process, and finding ways to automate it and make it better. Being able to take a process that once took a lot of time or money to complete and dramatically decreasing the need for that resource expenditure is very gratifying.

What are your biggest professional challenges?

The biggest professional challenge I face is encountering reluctance to try something new. People get comfortable in the way they do things, and they aren’t always willing to stop, reassess, and redesign processes to optimize them. As someone who really enjoys maximizing process efficacy, I’d say that is my biggest professional challenge.

If you could choose anyone, who would you pick as your mentor? Can you tell us why?

If I could choose anyone as a mentor, it would be Grace Hopper. She was an early pioneer in computer programming and posited that you could base a computer language on English words, which was not believed at the time. She was tenacious and curious, and I admire that in a person.

What is your personal mantra?

Quality is a probabilistic function of quantity.

Stephanie-Burton_County-Fair-Baking-Contest

Above: Stephanie winning 1st place at her county fair's bread baking contest.

Do you have hobbies outside of work? What are they?

Outside of work, I love baking bread! I’ve actually won 1st place in my county fair’s bread baking contest both times I entered.

 

 


 

Carring in Common - Get to know other Andar fans who care about making #impact as much as you do.

 

Caring in Common is a spotlight series that showcases different nonprofit professionals on the last Friday of each month. The goal is to highlight Andar Software customers from all walks of life, levels of experience, and areas of expertise. Their answers will inspire you, give you insight about the nonprofit industry, and motivate you on both a professional and personal level.

Caring in Common: A Customer Spotlight on Shona Koehn

 


 

Spotlight-Profile_Shona-Koehn-United-Way-of-St.Joseph-County

Shona Koehn
Data & Campaign Support Specialist
United Way of St. Joseph County 
South Bend, IN, USA

 


 

How long have you been working for your organization?

I have been working with United Way of St. Joseph County for just under three years.

What’s a typical day in your role like?

As an Andar super-user for our resource development team, my days are primarily spent cleaning and standardizing records, setting up dashboards, and running LOTS of reports.

Can you tell us about a project you’re most proud of?

I recently set up a nightly report to alert the RD team about leadership donations received the previous day. It took a combination of SQL queries, an extract table, and an extract report to get all the desired information into the report. I learned a LOT about data mining in the process. When combined with Andar/360’s pledge alerts, it keeps the whole team up-to-date and able to quickly connect with donors individually.

Shona-Koehn-Selfie

Above: Shona sporting her Live United shirt while working from home.

What motivates you to come to work every day?

The work that I do supports the rest of the staff at my United Way. It’s crucial for my colleagues to have clean data and meaningful reports to do their work, and it’s important to me that I’m here to help them out!

What’s your favorite aspect of your job?

I am a data geek, so I love being able to put those skills to use as part of a really great team.

What are your biggest professional challenges?

Like so many in the nonprofit community, I struggle with the implementation of big ideas because of the time or monetary resources required to bring them to fruition.

If you could choose anyone, who would you pick as your mentor? Can you tell us why?

It’s actually three people. I would choose the band Hanson as my mentors. (Yes, THAT Hanson.) In addition to being a huge fan of their music, they are entrepreneurs and excel at engaging with their fans to keep them coming back. I think that a lot of what they do could be applied toward keeping donors engaged.

What is your personal mantra?

It's not really a mantra, but it sums me up pretty well. It's a quote by David Allen, "Being organized simply means that where something is matches what it means to you."

Shona-Koehn-Pet-Rabbits

Above: Meet Shona's two adorable bunnies. They're both named after Buffy the Vampire Slayer characters. The brown one is named Dawn Summers and the black one is named Mr. Anya.

Do you have hobbies outside of work? What are they?

Outside of work, I mostly like to spend time with my family and my two pet rabbits. My husband and I like to watch hockey and go to shows and concerts (when we aren’t in a pandemic, of course!) I also really enjoy organizing, designing, and making things for my house.

 

 


 

Carring in Common - Get to know other Andar fans who care about making #impact as much as you do.

 

Caring in Common is a spotlight series that showcases different nonprofit professionals on the last Friday of each month. The goal is to highlight Andar Software customers from all walks of life, levels of experience, and areas of expertise. Their answers will inspire you, give you insight about the nonprofit industry, and motivate you on both a professional and personal level.

Caring in Common: A Customer Spotlight on John Young

 


 

Spotlight-Profile_John-Young-United-Way-of-Eastern-Maine

John Young
IT and Database Manager
United Way of Eastern Maine 
Bangor, ME, USA

 


 

How long have you been working for your organization?

I started part-time in August of 2017. The position went full time in the Spring of 2018.

What’s a typical day in your role like?

There is no typical day in my position. My day could consist of running DMOs in Andar/360 and updating mailing lists, to IT support for a staff of ten members. During campaign season, I manage all e-Pledge sites and assist with pledge processing.

Can you tell us about a project you’re most proud of?

When I first started at United Way, we had four e-Pledge sites. We have now grown to over ten locations that use the online pledging module. Recently, I am also proud of getting all staff set up to work remotely in a matter of a couple of days!

What motivates you to come to work every day?

I have the opportunity to work with a hard-working, dedicated staff. Plus, I get to find new ways of automating our processes with the use of technology.

What’s your favorite aspect of your job?

Every day is different! I enjoy learning and implementing new technologies.

What are your biggest professional challenges?

My biggest professional challenge is time. There is not enough time in the week to accomplish what you need or want to do.

If you could choose anyone, who would you pick as your mentor? Can you tell us why?

If I could choose a mentor, it would be John Glenn. He is inspiring for all he has done, and also because of how he was as a person.

John-Young_Sports-Hobbies

Above: John at a New England Patriots football game. They are his favourite team. He has been to a few games, but would love to see more. 

Do you have hobbies outside of work? What are they?

I enjoy watching football. I am currently learning to play golf, going to concerts, and being around friends and families.

 

 


 

Carring in Common - Get to know other Andar fans who care about making #impact as much as you do.

 

Caring in Common is a spotlight series that showcases different nonprofit professionals on the last Friday of each month. The goal is to highlight Andar Software customers from all walks of life, levels of experience, and areas of expertise. Their answers will inspire you, give you insight about the nonprofit industry, and motivate you on both a professional and personal level.

Caring in Common: A Customer Spotlight on Merline Leonce

 


 

Spotlight-Profile_Merline-Leonce-United-Way-of-Miami-Dade

Merline Leonce
Director of IT 
United Way of Miami-Dade 
Miami, FL, USA

 


 

How long have you been working for your organization?

I’ve been with United Way for 17 years.

What’s a typical day in your role like?

 A typical day involves managing multiple technology projects and helping staff with hardware or software issues that are not managed by our IT service provider.

Can you tell us about a project you’re most proud of?

I am most proud of my summer internship technology program for high school minorities. For five years, I’ve worked with our local school district, CareerSource and YearUp to provide summer internships in our IT department. There was one summer I had seven students at the same time. It was crazy, but fun. I had to break down a simple project into seven parts so that I could keep them occupied. Each year I enhance the program to include more substance like proper keyboarding, resume writing, and interview skills. I’m happy to say that two interns that started with me are now employees at United Way, one in Finance, and the other in IT.

Merline-Leonce_Seminar

Above: Merline leading a seminar for the 2019 YearUp students at Miami-Dade College.

What motivates you to come to work every day?

At this point in my life and career, what motivates me is leaving a strong legacy. I want to be remembered as a competent and compassionate leader. I want to help entry-level staff learn the tools and skills they need to help build their career. There will be people that remember me and say, "she taught me," "she helped me," "she opened doors for me." That's what motivates me.

What’s your favorite aspect of your job?

Every day is different. I enjoy learning and problem-solving. I feel a sense of accomplishment when I come up with solutions.

What are your biggest professional challenges?

I am a woman of color in a male-dominated industry. I attend local and national conferences, and there is rarely anyone else in the room that looks like me. My two main challenges are (1) seeking out sponsors who will advocate for me and allow me to shine and (2) putting myself in the forefront so other women of color can see the technology industry does have room for us.

Merline-Leonce_Mayor%27s-Ball-for-United-Way-of-Miami-Dade

Above: A photo booth snapshot of Merline at the 70s-themed 19th Annual Mayor's Ball to benefit United Way of Miami-Dade. 

If you could choose anyone, who would you pick as your mentor? Can you tell us why?

I would choose Michelle Obama. She is poised, intelligent, and a woman of integrity.

What’s your personal mantra?

“Boss Lady.” I have a plaque in my office with these words inscribed. A good friend and co-worker also gave me a “Boss Lady” mug. Those words remind me of who I am and what I have accomplished.

Do you have hobbies outside of work? What are they?

I am very involved with the Foster and Adoption ministry at my church. We host monthly events for the parents and children, which include continuing education courses so the parents can maintain their license. We also have birthday parties, hayrides, holiday parties, and back to school giveaways. Our job is to make sure the children know they are loved, and the parents know they have support.

 

 


 

Carring in Common - Get to know other Andar fans who care about making #impact as much as you do.

 

Caring in Common is a spotlight series that showcases different nonprofit professionals on the last Friday of each month. The goal is to highlight Andar Software customers from all walks of life, levels of experience, and areas of expertise. Their answers will inspire you, give you insight about the nonprofit industry, and motivate you on both a professional and personal level.

Caring in Common: A Customer Spotlight on Shasta Lockwood

 


 

Spotlight-Profile_Shasta-Lockwood-United-Way-of-the-Plains

Shasta Lockwood
Director of Major Gifts & Planned Giving
United Way of the Plains 
Wichita, KS, USA

 


 

How long have you been working for your organization?

I have been working for United Way of the Plains since August of 2017.

What’s a typical day in your role like?

I passed over this question initially because it is tough to articulate... but here goes. I think that it is crucial to be focused on showing genuine appreciation for our donors. I work hard every day to make sure I am building relationships with our individual donors and organizations currently contributing to United Way of the Plains; while also working to develop new relationships. So that may mean I am making an in-person visit, writing a note, sending an email, making a phone call, or scheduling a future visit. I try to be involved in several community social opportunities to meet others and gain knowledge. There is also a heavy administrative side to my job that consists of the analysis of lots of data.

What motivates you to come to work every day?

I get an opportunity to positively impact lives every day! Plus, I have a pretty amazing work family!

Shasta-Lockwood_Team

Above: Meet the RD team at United Way of the Plains, otherwise known as Shasta's work family! Starting at the top left and going clockwise, are Ann Collins, Josh Wallentine, Shasta Lockwood, Stacee Olden, Sheryl Lockhart, Kristin Bogner, Conner Hampton, and Roy Heatherly.

What’s your favorite aspect of your job?

I love my job because everyone shares the same vision and is dedicated to our community. I love that each day is different, and I am always challenged in one way or another.

What are your biggest professional challenges?

I have way too many ideas and not enough time or resources to implement them, but isn’t that part of nonprofit work in general?

If you could choose anyone, who would you pick as your mentor? Can you tell us why?

I know this is probably not a typical answer, but for me, it is my family. I learn from them all the time. They are my biggest supporters. They show me an unconditional love that cannot be put into words. They are honest and candid, my best sounding boards, they help me network, and listen to all of my ideas and struggles. They help me think outside the box, which is crucial when working in the nonprofit world.

What’s your personal mantra?

I may not be able to change the world, but I can change the world for one person!

Shasta-Lockwood-with-grandaughter-Everley

Above: When not at work, Shasta loves enjoying time with her beautiful granddaughter, Everley.

Do you have hobbies outside of work? What are they?

What is a hobby? And more specifically, who has any free time outside of work? Just kidding! First, I would say spending time with my granddaughter... she brings me so much joy. I really enjoy gardening (flowers, not vegetables). I am currently dabbling in nature photography; have you ever tried to get your camera out of the camera bag, zoom, focus, and then snap a great picture before an animal runs or flies away? If you have, please send me tips!

What’s your guilty pleasure?

My guilty pleasure is ice cream.

 

 


 

Carring in Common - Get to know other Andar fans who care about making #impact as much as you do.

 

Caring in Common is a spotlight series that showcases different nonprofit professionals on the last Friday of each month. The goal is to highlight Andar Software customers from all walks of life, levels of experience, and areas of expertise. Their answers will inspire you, give you insight about the nonprofit industry, and motivate you on both a professional and personal level.

Caring in Common: A Customer Spotlight on Eric Friesen

 


 

Spotlight-Profile_Eric-Friesen-United-Way-Winnipeg

Eric Friesen
CRM Product Manager
United Way Winnipeg
Winnipeg, MB, CA

 


 

How long have you been working for your organization?

I’ve worked here for 19 years and have been in my current position since 2013.

What’s a typical day in your role like?

There aren’t many typical days, which is why I like it here so much. I focus on different tasks depending on the time of year. Right now, with the 2019 campaign winding down, my time is spent planning for the next round of Andar/360 maintenance and rolling out improvements along with new functionality to our users in time for the 2020 campaign. Between enhancements and day-to-day Andar/360 support or training requests, there is always more than enough work.

What motivates you to come to work every day?

There are two things: First, I get to work with some incredible people who are all working toward building a stronger community. Second, I love figuring out solutions that help other staff spend more time on relationship-building and donor service, and less time on manual processes.

Eric-Frisen-Hike

Above: One of Eric's hobbies is going for hikes to enjoy the great outdoors. The snow and cold weather don't keep him away!

What’s your favorite aspect of your job?

I find it rewarding to work with someone on a process they find challenging or time-consuming, test and offer possible solutions, and collaborate with them to implement a new method that makes their job easier.

What are your biggest professional challenges?

Even though we’ve been using Andar/360 for six campaigns, we haven’t rolled out all the functionality that we want to be using. The biggest challenge is to keep pushing the needle forward while focusing on day-to-day support requests, operational work, and system maintenance tasks.

If you could choose anyone, who would you pick as your mentor? Can you tell us why?

I’d like to have spent more time with my grandpa on my mom’s side. He came to Canada from Sweden, built a homestead, raised a family, cherished the environment, and contributed to his small community in a way that I admire.

What’s your personal mantra?

My high school French teacher used to tell us, “Don’t drown in a half-teaspoonful of water,” and I say that to my kids all the time. I don’t always take my own advice, but I do think it’s important to recognize the difference between small obstacles and the challenges that are worth focusing your energy on.

Eric-Friesen-With-Dog

Above: Meet Archie, Eric's charming dog. Archie is known for keeping Eric on his toes and making every day a new adventure.

Do you have hobbies outside of work? What are they?

I like music and spending time outdoors, hiking, and camping. Our dog Archie keeps me on my toes.

What’s your guilty pleasure?

Right now, it’s watching bushcraft camping videos on YouTube.

 

 


 

Carring in Common - Get to know other Andar fans who care about making #impact as much as you do.

 

Caring in Common is a spotlight series that showcases different nonprofit professionals on the last Friday of each month. The goal is to highlight Andar Software customers from all walks of life, levels of experience, and areas of expertise. Their answers will inspire you, give you insight about the nonprofit industry, and motivate you on both a professional and personal level.

Caring in Common: A Customer Spotlight on Kendra Byas Green

 


 

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Kendra Byas Green
AVP of Donor Operations
United Way of Central Carolinas
Charlotte, NC, USA

 


 

How long have you been working for your organization?

25 years.

What’s a typical day in your role like?

In my role, I oversee the processing of pledges and designations, payment collections and applications, designations distribution, and the e-Pledge and Andar/360 systems. So there is not a “typical” day as I get questions from internal staff on all of the above. Our corporate partners come to me with questions about pledges, payments, and e-Pledge. Our donors rely on me to answer questions about their accounts, and our vendors (whom we have outsourced our general accounting to) come to me with questions about Andar hosting and processing. When I’m not answering questions (or researching how to answer a question), I’m reviewing and updating processes, sharing knowledge, and learning new ways to use Andar/360 within our walls.

What motivates you to come to work every day?

My motivation comes from within. I’m a problem solver, and while my role can be challenging, it’s what keeps me going. And let’s not forget the fact that my work is helping to better the life of someone else in my community! What more can you ask for?

Kendra-Byas-Green-Team.jpg

Above: Kendra has an immense appreciation for her team and admits that they are her left and right hands and wouldn't be able to do her job without them. From left to right are Kendra, Lawonda Stanfield, Laura Higgins, and Jose Alonso.

What’s your favorite aspect of your job?

I love sharing my knowledge with others and watching them grow in their use of Andar/360. I also love a challenge (when I have the resources to face it head-on), and in my world, there’s always a challenge that I’m trying to take on and conquer.

What are your biggest professional challenges?

Over the past two to three years, we’ve gone from being a Finance Team of fifteen members to a team of five members. Also, over the past eight months, we’ve outsourced our general accounting and our pledge and payment processing. All of these changes have been a huge adjustment for my team and I. While adjusting to our new norm, we still have to keep the day to day work of Donor Operations flowing while trying to learn this new way of working and continuing to train our vendors on the “United Way World” (how we work, what we do and what we need from them).

If you could choose anyone, who would you pick as your mentor? Can you tell us why?

Maggie Lena Walker. During the 1800s, this daughter of a former slave overcame many obstacles to become a teacher, begin a newspaper, open a highly successful bank, open a department store, and run for the seat of Superintendent of Public Instruction. Her accomplishments alone show her strength, courage, and bravery. She dared to break the race and gender barriers before it was the “it” thing to do.

What’s your personal mantra?

I have several, but here is one I will share, “Never stop doing your best just because someone doesn’t give you credit.”

Kendra-Byas-Green-Fam.jpg

Above: Kendra taking a selfie with her two sons and husband on their Christmas 2019 trip to Orlando.

Do you have hobbies outside of work? What are they?

My hobbies include event planning, traveling any chance I get, and spending as much time with the men in my life, which includes my two sons (the oldest is a Sergeant in the Army and the youngest is a high school sophomore) and my husband.

What’s your guilty pleasure?

Watching reality TV and legal and medical dramas. While it can get a little wild from time to time, it also is a break from “real life,” which can become very stressful.

 

 


 

Carring in Common - Get to know other Andar fans who care about making #impact as much as you do.

 

Caring in Common is a spotlight series that showcases different nonprofit professionals on the last Friday of each month. The goal is to highlight Andar Software customers from all walks of life, levels of experience, and areas of expertise. Their answers will inspire you, give you insight about the nonprofit industry, and motivate you on both a professional and personal level.

Caring in Common: A Customer Spotlight on Lori Rowley-Hurley

 


 

Spotlight-Profile_Lori-Hurley.jpg

Lori Rowley-Hurley
Director of Donor Operations
United Way of Greater Richmond & Petersburg
Richmond, VA, USA

 


 

How long have you been working for your organization?

22 years.

What’s a typical day in your role like?

Customer service is always the highest priority. Our Donor Operations department oversees processing revenue, agency eligibility, agency portal, designated disbursements, maintenance in Andar, and support to other departments. With these responsibilities comes an array of emails and phone calls from our supporters, as well as staff. Donor Operations works closely with our Resource Development and Accounting teams. Some days are predictable; lots of days are not.

What motivates you to come to work every day?

We empower individuals and drive systemic change to provide everyone with a clear path to success — and I’m part of this effort! I’m amazed by the passion and talent of our staff, and the dedication and commitment of our CEO.

What’s your favorite aspect of your job?

I have a few favorites!

When a supporter comes to my attention, helping the individual through the United Way process, and highlighting accountability and transparency. Knowing our conversation will end with the importance of their satisfaction with United Way is a favorite aspect.

Donor Operations encompasses a large area, and we consistently revamp and streamline to better align for change that occurs within other departments. I love to find solutions.

Our United Way has the fortunate opportunity to work with the local college, Virginia Commonwealth University, through the Federal Work-Study Program. Building and maintaining relationships with the students and watching as they grow professionally is another one of my favorite aspects.

What are your biggest professional challenges?

The most significant barrier would be third-party processing. We are not always supplied details of either the individuals or the entire company campaign.

Andar_Lori-Hurley1.jpg

Above: Lori baked all of these delicious goodies for her loved ones at a family gathering.

If you could choose anyone, who would you pick as your mentor? Can you tell us why?

My family members are my mentors. My husband is compassionate, trustworthy, and smart. At one point, I was their mentor; now, my children are mentors to me. They are passionately doing what they love. Our conversations are engaging, and our support for each other is constant.

What’s your personal mantra?

Instead of being motivated by a phrase, I like to take action by baking. I enjoy making goodies when someone is needing a little extra care or just because I can.

Andar_Lori-Hurley2.jpg

Above: If you work with Lori, you know she's an avid baker. Lori made and took these cupcakes into work for her co-workers to enjoy.

Do you have hobbies outside of work? What are they?

Staying healthy, antiquing, traveling, and being my husband's buddy at sporting events.

What’s your guilty pleasure?

Homemade chocolate chip cookies, PBS, and black and white movies!

 

 


 

Carring in Common - Get to know other Andar fans who care about making #impact as much as you do.

 

Caring in Common is a spotlight series that showcases different nonprofit professionals on the last Friday of each month. The goal is to highlight Andar Software customers from all walks of life, levels of experience, and areas of expertise. Their answers will inspire you, give you insight about the nonprofit industry, and motivate you on both a professional and personal level.

Caring in Common: A Customer Spotlight on Pam Cottle

 


 

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Pam Cottle
Vice President, Operations
Butler County United Way
Hamilton, OH, USA

 


 

How long have you been working for your organization?

4.5 years.

What’s a typical day in your role like?

When your title is ‘operations,’ that could mean anything from “the kitchen sink is clogged” to presenting to the Board of Trustees. I interact with Community Impact, Resource Development, Volunteering, Database, Finance, as well as handle all Marketing and Communications for our organization. It depends on what season of the year we are in to figure out which area will take priority that day.

What motivates you to come to work every day?

I have always worked. I grew up on a 1,500-acre farm with lots of chores; feeding cattle and pigs, baling hay, tending to horses, or simply helping my Mom make lunch to take to the fields for my Dad and brothers. It was a great upbringing which instilled a sense of work ethic in me. I had no idea what “sleeping in” meant as we were usually up no later than 7 AM, even in the summer. I’ve worked for for-profit companies, I’ve owned my own business (for four and a half terrifying years!), and I now work for a nonprofit organization, and I love my job!

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Above: A United Way billboard reminding the community that they are not alone and can call 211 for help.

What’s your favourite aspect of your job?

Interacting with our staff, knowing that what we are working toward will ultimately help people in our community become self-sustaining citizens. With a team of five full-time and two part-time staff, we are small but mighty!

Tackling different projects helps to keep things fresh. During my first year as a Butler County United Way employee, I attended the Andar Users Group conference in Tampa. It was announced that a host was needed for the following year. I came home and suggested to our president that we throw our name in the hat to host the conference, and she gave me the green light. We submitted a proposal and, shockingly, we were awarded the conference for the next two years. What a great experience! Ohio certainly isn’t the beach or the mountains, but we sure had fun at Top Golf! 

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Above: Pam with other attendees at the Andar Software Users Group Conference event at Top Golf.

What are your biggest professional challenges?

There are lots of people who need to understand that sometimes they can’t do it on their own, and there should be no shame in asking for help to get back on their feet. Communicating that to the communities we serve is a challenge that I gladly accept.

If you could choose anyone, who would you pick as your mentor? Can you tell us why?

There are many people that I admire for different reasons, so I can’t pick just one. I think we continually learn from each other (good things and bad things) as a way to better ourselves. However, I suppose I will be ordinary and choose my parents. They are both ninety-three years old and going strong. My Dad still has a four-wheeler that he rides around on the farm with, and this year planted a garden with forty-five tomato plants! Does anyone need tomatoes? My Mom still cans tomatoes and beans from that garden. That work ethic I spoke of before? That’s where it comes from.

What’s your personal mantra?

“This, too, shall pass.”

Do you have hobbies outside of work? What are they?

I love to cook and enjoy feeding people who like to eat! I enjoy watching sports, even the Cincinnati Reds and Cincinnati Bengals, who can break your heart every time they play. I am continuing to tear apart my house and put it back together again and even learned to lay the tile floor that is in my kitchen. My next project is to finish my basement.

What’s your guilty pleasure?

I suppose it has to be reality television. 'Married At First Sight' is a favorite. I also love 'Big Little Lies' and 'Shameless.' Somehow, shows like this make me feel better about myself!

 

 


 

Carring in Common - Get to know other Andar fans who care about making #impact as much as you do.

 

Caring in Common is a spotlight series that showcases different nonprofit professionals on the last Friday of each month. The goal is to highlight Andar Software customers from all walks of life, levels of experience, and areas of expertise. Their answers will inspire you, give you insight about the nonprofit industry, and motivate you on both a professional and personal level.