After 21 years of working for a bunch of suits in the corporate world, I took the advice of several friends and moved over to the non-profit sector.
On Friday, July 14th, I started my new job as the Membership Coordinator for The Drug Policy Alliance (hereafter referred to as DPA). DPA works to advance those policies and attitudes that best reduce the harms of both drug misuse and drug prohibition, and to promote the sovereignty of individuals over their minds and bodies. My job will be to manage the Alliance’s small gift donor fundraising efforts with particular focus on member recruitment and retention. You can read more about DPA at The Drug Policy Alliance.
I was fortunate enough to have been invited to this year’s senior staff retreat in Hermosa Beach, California (yes, my first day at work was at a retreat on the beach, nice!). This 3day retreat turned out to be one of (if not the) most satisfying work related functions in my adult career. Not to sound corny or cliché, but as the first day went on, I found myself in the presence of human kindness and greatness. I am sure that over the coming months I will see all the typical negative aspects of any organization, such cat fights and bickering, but for these past 3 days I have witnessed a collective synergy and synchronization of people with a purpose in life. It sure beats the misery I was experiencing during my previous employment.
The retreat afforded me the opportunity to FINALLY meet a friend I met almost 2 years ago online. After 20 months of talking via email and phone, I met Jeff (a/k/a Pocketbear on BMB).
I flew out to California on Thursday and met Jeff in Orange County. Jeff is the Director of Sales Operations for FormDecor Form Decor "BUT" by night he is a talented artist and craftsman. To see his work visit his website, Alles Designs . Meeting someone after talking to them via phone and email for such an extended of time can be a bit nerve racking. I wasn’t sure how our chemistry would be once we were finally face to face. Once we met at the airport, it was like seeing an old friend. We spent a part of the afternoon walking along the beach and the marina talking about the same stuff we talk about on the phone all week long. It was comforting to know that nothing had changed. Later that night, we stopped by a boutique shop that currently has his work available for sale at the Bungalow Marcasso. The shop is located in a house. The owner had a neat idea of placing all the items for sale in their appropriate location within the house (i.e. the kitchen stuff in the kitchen, dining room stuff in the dining room and so on). Not only does the owner have great taste, the time he spent on the décor and set up of this shop is completely noticeable. I wish him much success.
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