I'm Kelley Carmichael and I'm starting this Idealist group as an opportunity to meet and share with career professionals and job seekers in the Portland Metropolitan Area. I'm a career counselor with a particular investment in Work With Meaning. I want to join up with others who are invested in experiencing a larger purpose in their careers and in their lives. I hope to meet those who want to transition to something more meaningful and those who are there to offer support. It doesn't have to be about nonprofit work - but it has to be about work with passion. And that's what we all really want, isn't it? Don't we want to find the place in the universe where our talents, skills and efforts are leveraged to help change the world? And Idealist seems like the perfect place to meet.

Let's face it - it's not easy to make transitions - to dig deep, find that mission that will ignite our passions and do it. It's especially difficult on days when the journey feels pretty damn lonely. I'd like a community of folks who are traveling that road - a forum where we can talk and get/give support and bitch and scream and rejoice and celebrate the big and not-so-big triumphs along the way.

I hope we will have lively dialog, share resources, turn each other on to events and opportunities, post jobs and get together.

Best,

Kelley