My mission is to empower a new generation of leaders to change the world. As a professional speaker, author, trainer and coach, I teach nonprofit professionals how to cultivate leadership, build rewarding careers and understand social media.
This is my story . . .
I grew up in the public housing projects of Painesville, Ohio (about 30 minutes from Cleveland) and if it wasn’t for the nonprofits in my community who helped my family in times of need, I don’t know where I would be today. I was raised by a teen mom and a very protective grandmother. My father was a drug dealer who died before he had the chance to teach me how to ride a bike. My family was so poor that every year, a woman from a local nonprofit would come and take me shopping for school clothes because my mother could not afford to.
I was fortunate in that I was able to attend good schools and benefit from many kind teachers, special enrichment programs, and the Girl Scouts (I was a Brownie!). As a result, I became the first person in my family to graduate from college. Yet, I always felt that I needed to do something to help people who were not so lucky. That persistent feeling is what led me to volunteer at local afterschool programs as a reading tutor for kids living in poor neighborhoods during all four years of college. It was philanthropy that had provided me an enhanced education as a child. It was nonprofits that had come to my family’s aid when we couldn’t make ends meet. Somebody did it for me, so I wanted to help others in return. That’s how I got introduced to the nonprofit world and I’ve been committed to helping people ever since.
Fueled by a passion for social change, I worked in the nonprofit community for eight years as a fundraising professional and leadership development practitioner before founding Thurman Consulting, an education company specializing in personal and professional development to help nonprofit leaders and passionate entrepreneurs change the world. I am also the co-author of How to Become a Nonprofit Rockstar, 50 Ways to Accelerate Your Career, an accessible, do-it-yourself map of how to build a meaningful and rewarding nonprofit career.
I hold a Master’s Degree in Organizational Management with a concentration in Nonprofit Management from Trinity Washington University and a Bachelor’s Degree in English from Virginia Commonwealth University. I have also taught nonprofit management as an Adjunct Professor in the School of Professional Studies at Trinity Washington University. I am proud to be a member of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network and the Young Entrepreneurs Council. In 2008, I was named a “New Leader in Philanthropy” by Greater DC Cares. In my free time, I write poetry and eat way too many desserts. I also tweet. A lot.
Looking for my fancy, third-person, official bio and headshots? That’s over here.