What positions have you held at Youth Villages?
Staff recruiter, lead staff recruiter, market research analyst, business development lead analyst.

What do you love about your current job?
I love that I work with people throughout the entire organization, all departments and locations. I love that I am helping to provide our highly effective services to more children and families and assisting states with doing a better job at providing the services that their children and families need to succeed.

What does a typical day in your current position look like?
There really is no typical day. There are meetings that occur every week at the same time, but beyond that, I could be in NYC one week, RI the next, and Texas the next. I could be researching a state all week and the next week, I am writing a response to an RFP, a request for proposals, which states issue when they are looking for providers to fill a specific service need. A successful RFP can translate into Youth Villages’ expansion into a new state or a new area of a state we are already in.

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced in your first year at Youth Villages and how did you overcome them?
When I started at Youth Villages, I was a staff recruiter. So, I had to go around to various colleges and universities and recruit employees and interns. Beyond my own nervousness with speaking in front of large crowds or starting up conversations with people I did not know, my biggest challenge during my first year was learning the organization inside and out. I knew that I believed in what the organization was doing, but I had to be able to explain the programs and positions inside and out while conveying that sense of mission to do whatever it takes to help children and families succeed.

What benefits or advancement opportunities have you taken advantage of?
Tuition Reimbursement – I got my master’s at The University of Memphis while working full-time. When the Business Development Department was created in October, 2005, I accepted a position as its first market research analyst.

What is one piece of advice you would give someone who is considering working for Youth Villages?
Youth Villages is not just a job but a career and a lifestyle. It really is a philosophical way at looking at how children and families should be treated and cared for who are dealing with very difficult situations. You cannot just go through the motions of your job here, no matter what it is. The mission, the values and the processes become a part of your everyday life.

What has been the most rewarding experience so far at Youth Villages?
Expanding our operations into Virginia. Getting a state added to our map is what we as in Business Development strive for every day. After working for as long as we did to get into Virginia and to see that first child served in the Commonwealth was very rewarding.