-: Yeah, I think if you're interested
in being an executive director of a nonprofit,
one thing to know is that it's helpful
to have a broad range of skills.
You're going to need some understanding
of finances, financial management.
You don't need to be an accountant
but you need to be able to read a balance sheet
and understand the financial overview of the organization.
It's helpful to have some kind
of organizational development skill.
How do you build and develop leaders?
Understanding some concepts of HR and human resources.
Often those still roll up to me as the executive director
even though I didn't take a lot
of coursework in human resources.
It's one I probably should have (laughs).
And depending on the type of nonprofit you work in,
it's actually really great to have key understanding
of the services you provide.
So if you're an artist,
you might be looking for an arts organization.
If you're interested in working in mental health,
maybe you have a BA in psychology or social work.
I have always liked to see people have
been engaged in the community.
That they've either been involved in a political campaign,
they've been volunteering at a nonprofit,
they've done board work, youth leadership work,
anytime that you see that people have been involved
in kind of community coalition building,
things that they did out of their own interests
about a passion that they have,
that really sets candidates apart.
When people come and say I did this fundraising
with a group of students in college
and this is why we did it, that's often very impressive.