-Life as a NPO Social Impact Leader | Executive Director-
You need not look any further than within your own social network, community, region, country to know that some of us have certain advantages while others clearly have added challenge and sometimes nearly insurmountable ones at that.
Take the field of education. You would assume that in a wealthy country like the US, all students would have the same right and ensuing access to resources and opportunities to chase their dream. Idealistically speaking, that would be the assumption for many.
Well sadly, the reality is much different. Youth, especially those from particular socioeconomic backgrounds, often those who are black or brown fall into a completely separate bucket.
One that is often filled with structural challenge and barriers preventing them from reaching anything close to their potential.
Well on this episode, we have a guest who leads an organization that is fighting to make this ideal of equal access to support and resources an actual reality.
You’ll hear about what he and his team are doing and why their work is so utterly critical from a social impact perspective.
Introducing
John Branam first and foremost is a Social Impact Leader. He is also the Executive Director at GET SCHOOLED, an organization that offers tips, tools and advice to help students –often those from socioeconomic backgrounds that have added challenge—to succeed in education.
Professional Background
With an undergrad in political science from Washington and Lee University and a degree in law from the University of Oregon School of Law, John has carved out a career leveraging much of his broad skillsets and knowledge towards leading impact teams, as they seek to achieve large scale impact – especially for Black and Brown youth.
Mission Driven Work
His experiences in the private, non-profit and public-sectors – both domestically and internationally – helping organizations achieve unprecedented levels of impact, community, sustainability, and brand awareness align well with his current role.
In leading an organization as audacious and driven as Get Schooled, John is constantly asking himself penetrating questions such as:
- What creative, new strategies can we employ to inspire youth?
- How can we partner across cultures in ways that demonstrate our respect for others’ values and experiences, and lead to impacts that far exceed our individual efforts?
- How do we align our brand with fundamental human and earth-centred values?
- Ultimately, how do we achieve impact worthy of our efforts?
Yeah, pretty heady stuff. I know.
However, the impacts he and his organization make demand such constant thoughtful and deliberate consideration.
Reasons to Listen
This talk represents a peek into the mind of a mission driven individual and organization. Rare insights into both are provided.
This will be a talk worth listening to for:
- those interested in exploring careers aligned with social impact causes
- those curious about what personal mindsets are required to succeed within a NPO
- those wanting insights on NPO leadership strategies and perspectives
Listeners will come away with insights on:
- why this particular organization, GET SCHOOLED exists
- what particular roles and responsibilities John fulfills as NPO Executive Director
- how he got into social impact work
- the opportunities and challenges of working within NGOs
- strategic looks at how GET SCHOOLED supports youth and goes about interacting with and serving their needs
- what it takes to keep an education focused NPO afloat
- cultivating and preserving funder relationships
- the state of social cause funding within America
- the meaningfulness of the work and how it blends into personal realms for John
- an entertaining story about the an up and coming NPO social impact leader
- the role of technology and how it is leveraged within GET SCHOOLED to deliver impact
- Much more!
A Memorable Quote from the Episode:
“The high school, college and career counsellor to student ratio in America averages about 1 to 408, although it can be much higher in other states. What this means is that if you’re black, brown, first gen or an immigrant youth in this country and going to a normal public high school, you have to get in line behind 400 to 700 other kids in order to secure support from your counsellor. ”
-John Branam
Check out the Video Conversation:
For those who desire to view video highlights of the conversation, you can do so via Youtube!
Discover More
For those interested in learning more about John or GET SCHOOLED, you can check out these links:
Keep Listening!
I hope you enjoyed the episode. For more, check out additional episodes here!
