Her Story
About Samantha
I've been with this nonprofit disaster recovery and resiliency organization in Florida for a little over two years, and it's been an incredible journey of growth and learning. I actually started in an administrative role, but after my interview, I was placed in the accounting office as an accounts receivable and grants assistant. Even though I'd never been an accountant, I dove into learning about our contracts, grants, deliverables, and how we help people who qualify. I just didn't stop learning - I kept absorbing as much as I could. We've grown so much in these two years, from seed money of maybe $25,000 to $50,000 to a budget of $4 million last year. Now as Operations Manager, I oversee 13 regional offices and make sure everything is running smoothly - that we're complying with contracts, accomplishing our deliverables, and helping homeowners whose lives we touch. Everyone calls me the backbone of the organization, and I joke that I'm like a mom at work too. We help low-income, disabled homeowners who can't afford to repair their homes after a disaster and don't qualify through FEMA or their insurance company. We give the whole package - we repair roofs, landscape their homes, and really take care of the homeowner in a whole sense. It's so very rewarding. I know my calling is to help people, and this is somewhere I can actually be boots on the ground and help people in a tangible sense while giving back to my community. I'm also the relationship person with a lot of our government funders - they call me because I'm consistent and always pick up the phone. I serve as the bridge between our CEO and our government partners. I've been promoted three times since I've been here, and I'm most proud of how much I've learned in such a short amount of time and my capacity to learn.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Samantha
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think it's for my why, which is my family. My success is fully driven on doing well for my family and providing them all the opportunities that I wasn't afforded. I think that's 100% my why. That's my driving force, for sure. I also don't think I could do anything without God - He really has blessed me beyond measure, so my faith is a driving force as well.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say do not let your situation define you. I always tell people, you can be a victim of your circumstance, or you can make the most of your circumstance. I have always felt like my circumstances weren't the best, however, I am better in spite of them, rather than allowing them to have torn me down. So I think for young women, life is not easy for women in general, but for young women, especially young women who don't grow up with advantages, my advice would be to not let your situation define the outcomes in your life. I've allowed it to do it for a long time and wasted a lot of time, and so I'm making up for that now. But do not let anything define you - let it be motivation to be a better person rather than let it basically tear you down.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
It's always hard to get funding in nonprofits, so funding opportunities to help these homeowners is really the biggest obstacle professionally that we always have. On the opportunities side, the government funders like SHIP and other governmental organizations have been willing to trust us because we're a reliable partner. I really appreciate cultivating those partnerships with governmental organizations, and I'm so happy to be a part of that. I'm actually the relationship person with a lot of our government funders - I'm the person when they call because they say I'm consistent and always pick up the phone. So I'm a bridge between myself and our CEO and our government partners.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I think trust, loyalty and dedication, and hard work - those are all definitely my primaries. I think my faith is a driving force as well. I will say that I don't think I could do anything without God, and He really has blessed me beyond measure.
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