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.:Resource Guides:Interviews-Elizabeth Jennings.
Interviews


Elizabeth Jennings
University of Wyoming, 1995
English


A Day in the Life
What are three things you love and three things you find challenging or frustrating about your work?
Love:
1.  Flexibility and creativity encouraged
2.  My coworkers
3.  Helping people and nonprofits connect

Challenging or frustrating:
1.  Quickly changing priorities
2.  Distance from my coworkers
3.  Want to do more than time allows

What is the most important task on your desk right now?
Short term, rewriting a major grant proposal. After that, collecting resources to build into an online resource center for nonprofit human resources professionals.

What drives you to do this work? What makes you want to get out of bed every morning?
Basically, I'm a human rights activist, and I see what we do at Action Without Borders as one of the best ways to promote human rights around the world. The nonprofit sector is the driving force behind civic participation, democracy and peace-building around the world. The work we do at AWB and Idealist.org helps more people connect with the nonprofits that are doing work they are passionate about, helping the nonprofit sector become more effective worldwide.

How often do you "dress up" for work? Describe the culture of your organization.
Only for conferences or when I travel. I'm the only staff member in the Laramie office, with a few interns and volunteers coming and going, and Laramie is a very laid-back place. When I visit the NYC office I tend to dress up more than I have to, just because it's fun to have the excuse. The culture of the organization is relaxed and comfortable.

In a typical month, about what percentage of your time is spent on the following activities?
Talking on the phone 5%
Dealing with email 10%
Meetings with individuals 5%
Meetings with groups/committees 10%
Traveling 10%
Writing 30%
Reading 10%
Researching 20%

(Note: respondents could allow their answers to add up to be more than 100%)

What do you do when you are feeling burned out at work?
If I'm at work, I'll call one of my coworkers and talk about anything except work, or take a quick break and go downstairs to one of the Laramie coffeeshops and shoot the breeze with someone I know. Outside of work I do a lot of activism, which keeps me jazzed for the work we do at AWB. Going for walks, snow shoeing, snowboarding, being with my family, gardening, reading, drinking beer and watching lots of reruns of the Simpsons are all high on my list of things to do to unwind.


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