idealist.org

The authors

Steven Pascal-Joiner

Steven Pascal-Joiner joined the Idealist.org Nonprofit Careers Team as the Mid-Career Transitions Coordinator in 2007. He develops resources for professionals interested in transitioning from for-profit and government careers into the nonprofit sector. He has a background in teaching both in the United States and abroad, in subjects including high school English, reading skills, intercultural business strategies, and special education. Steven has a B.A. in Secondary English Education from North Carolina State University and an M.A. in International Adult Educational Development from San Francisco State University. Steven has written on subjects including the ancient sport of Sumo, international travel, classical literature, and learning styles. A lifelong learner and a career professional who has dipped his toes in many sectors, Steven finds the nonprofit sector to be the best fit (by far).

Meg Busse

Meg Busse has been the High School and College Coordinator for Idealist.org since early 2007. Along with creating resources like The Idealist Guide to Nonprofit Careers, she works with career professionals and guidance counselors to connect students with opportunities in the nonprofit sector. She also presents at conferences across the country on a variety of nonprofit-related topics. Before joining the Idealist team, Meg earned her B.A. in English from Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, PA and went on to work as an educator and coach in independent schools on the East and West Coasts. She has been an active participant in the nonprofit sector for as long as she can remember. Meg currently lives in Portland, OR, and she serves on the board of directors for the nonprofit environmental arts magazine The Bear Deluxe, writes curricula for educational organizations, and continues to edit and write grants for several local and national nonprofits. These experiences have provided an incredibly deep appreciation for the vision, passion, and dedication of those who work in the nonprofit sector, as well as a firm belief in the potential for change that underlies it all.

Featured contributors

Put Barber

Put Barber joined Idealist.org in October of 2004 when the Nonprofit FAQ was added to the website. He has been the editor of the FAQ since its earliest years and worked with Cliff Landesmann (founder of the Internet Nonprofit Center) and Michael Gilbert (of The Gilbert Center) to design the user interface and add content. He founded The Evergreen State Society in Seattle to build strong nonprofits and strong communities in his home state of Washington and continues that work as a Senior Consultant to Executive Alliance. He serves on the editorial board for Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly and on the board of directors of the Thomas C. Wales Foundation, and is a frequent author and speaker on issues affecting nonprofit organizations in the United States. He's an avid amateur photographer; you can see some of his photos at http://putnam.smugmug.com.

David Schachter

David Schachter is the Assistant Dean for Career Services and Experiential Learning at the NYU Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, where he oversees all career-related services and programs to Wagner's students and alumni. David has more than 15 years of hands-on experience in nonprofit staff and volunteer management. He has offered training, consulting, and facilitation nationally in the areas of leadership, staff development, supervision, team building, training of the trainer, and career planning. David received the 2006 NACE/Chevron Outstanding Achievement Award for Innovative Programs in Career Services for his partnership with Idealist.org on the creation of the Institute on Public Service Careers, a series of conferences designed to educate college career services professionals from across the country on how to increase the visibility and accessibility of public service careers to their students. David received his Masters Degree in Public Administration from NYU's Wagner School and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. He is a member of the Idealist Mid-Career Transitions Advisory Board. http://wagner.nyu.edu.

Cathy Wasserman

Cathy Wasserman provides career coaching, executive coaching, and psychotherapy to a wide range of individuals seeking to increase their personal and professional success, actively direct their life, and realize their one-of-a-kind core strengths and goals through her business, Self-Leadership Strategies. She has 16 years of experience in the nonprofit sector and beyond including work as a training director, a recruiter, and an organization development consultant. Additionally, she has served as career coaching expert with her column, Ask Cathy, on Idealist.org. Working Mother magazine also featured her as expert of the month on switching from corporate to nonprofit work. She began her career as an advocate for youth and women and she is published in the book Front-line Feminism. Cathy holds an MSW in Clinical Social Work from Smith College and a B.A. in Psychology from Wesleyan University. You can visit her website at www.self-leadershipstrategies.com.

Kelley Carmichael Casey

Kelley Carmichael Casey is the Education and Community Engagement Director for Life by Design NW in Portland, OR. In her private practice, she provides personal career counseling to mid-career transitioners seeking their passion and purpose in work and community engagement. Kelley has more than 20 years of experience in counseling and nonprofit work. Kelley has researched, written, and presented in numerous venues on midlife women and mentoring, baby boomers and volunteerism, and work with meaning over 50. She is a member of the Idealist.org Volunteer Management Advisory Board and serves as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of the School & Community Reuse Action Project. Kelley has a Doctor of Psychology from George Fox University and an M.S. in Counseling from University of Portland. You can visit Kelley's website at www.careertransitions.org.

Stephen Ristau

Stephen Ristau has over 30 years in the human service sector as an executive, senior manager, consultant and trainer, and clinician. He has worked in nonprofit, governmental, and corporate environments. He has served as president and CEO of four nonprofits in the Northeast, most recently at The Governor's Prevention Partnership, a statewide partnership between the State of Connecticut and the business sector focusing on youth development. Presently located in the Northwest, he works through his consulting firm, Ristau & Associates, providing project consultation and training services to nonprofit organizations across the United States in areas of the new workforce, board governance, leadership coaching and development, strategic planning, and organization development. His recent work has focused on expanding the connections between older people, especially the baby boomer generation, and nonprofits. He received his M.A. in Human Development and Family Relations from the University of Connecticut, is a trained marriage and family therapist and parent educator, and a practicing spiritual director.

Valinda Lee

Valinda Lee is a Career Counselor at Scripps College, the women's college of The Claremont Colleges. After changing her major three times during her first year at La Sierra University in Riverside, CA, she earned a B.A. in Psychology and decided to make a career of helping other people navigate their own career decision making. Her graduate training at California State University, Northridge in Career Counseling has given her the opportunity to work in community colleges, graduate schools, and liberal arts colleges counseling students who want to change the world. At Scripps, Valinda works individually with students to help them pursue their internship or post-college plans, organizes events to bring alumnae to campus to share their experiences, and is currently working on creating a podcast series to provide students with more ways to interact with her office. You may contact Valinda through her LinkedIn profile at www.linkedin.com/in/valindalee.