(Phoenix, AZ – April 17, 2013) Experience Matters, an organization that connects baby boomers with nonprofit and social service organizations to improve the quality of life in Maricopa County, announces Trish Phillips joined the organization effective April 15, 2013 as Deputy Director. Phillips served as Deputy Director at the Arizona Lottery since 2007 and joined the AZ Lottery in 1997. During those years, she served in positions managing daily operations, strategic planning, governmental affairs, sales, marketing, and customer service.

“Trish’s arrival could not come at a more opportune time,” stated Experience Matters Executive Director, Nora Hannah. “Our organization is growing at an astronomical rate. Our programs have resonated strongly with the desire of baby boomers to give back to their community through meaningful work. Trish’s ability to manage day-to-day operations will support our strategic plan initiatives and help to build the client-centric approach that is critical to our organization,” added Hannah.

Prior to joining the Arizona Lottery, Phillips was a Police Officer for the City of Avondale, and she served as a Reserve Police Officer for the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix.

About Experience Matters
Experience Matters’ mission is to create a culture in our community and its organizations that fosters meaningful work and service opportunities for experienced baby boomers in the second half of life. The primary goal is to connect every passionate, skilled baby boomer to a nonprofit or civic organization in need of talent and experience. Experience Matters operates as a consortium of business professionals, community leaders and organizations who work strategically to enhance the capacity of the public and nonprofit sectors to tap into the talent of committed adults in the community. For more information visit www.experiencemattersaz.org.

For the fifth installment (read parts one,  two, three and four), Georgianna continues the discussion of “who am I?” which starts with the foundation of values, as covered in the last installment. With values as our foundation, we can then look at other important aspects of our self-concept: Motivations, Skills, Interests, Dreams and Financial Insights.

Your Self-Portrait

Last time, we talked about the importance of reassessing your values during this time of transition. A thoughtful and thorough survey of values can become guideposts for your encore efforts before, during and after each stage of your evolution.

In our work at Experience Matters, we help participants in our workshops create a “Self-Portrait” with values at the center and other aspects of the self framing and surrounding those values:

Through the work we do in workshop sessions and in self-reflection assignments between classes, we place our values at the center of our emerging “Self-Portrait” and come to understand other components that are at play at this time in life:

1)      Ideas

Most of us have some idea of where we would like to head next. In a previous workshop, a participant came into the sessions knowing that she wanted to do some work with children, but didn’t know exactly what she wanted to do or where to start. By the end of the sessions, she was exploring several different volunteer opportunities, working with children in various capacities.

2)      Motivations

While our Values define what is most important to us, our Motivations speak to what we would like to get out of a particular endeavor at this time in life. Some examples of common motivations during this phase of life include:

By spending some time considering your most important motivations, you can better assess if a particular opportunity is a fit for you or not.

3)      Skills and Interests

What are you good at? What do you like to do? What are you interested in but haven’t had the time or resources to pursue? Through looking at these questions, we begin to define our “Top 5” skills and interests. Important here is focusing in on those things we have learned – through paid and unpaid work and contribution – that we are both GOOD AT and also LIKE TO DO! If you’ve been a CPA for 40 years and can’t stand the thought of completing another tax return…by all means, let’s keep “accounting” off your list of skills! Many people in transition are ready to start up with something completely new, while others may want to continue with skills and interests they’ve honed for years, but perhaps apply them in another venue.

4)      Dreams

Dreams can be very difficult for us to assess, yet the characteristics of our dreams can provide helpful clues to answering the question of “what’s next” for each of us. To assess our dreams and what they mean, we consider questions like:

• What would I do if money and/or time was not a consideration?
• If I had 2 years, 1 year, or 6 months to live, how would I spend my time?
• What did I dream of doing or becoming when I was 6 years old? 12? 18? 30?

Sometimes, we can find ourselves resistant to looking into our dreams, as it may be painful to recognize what we have abandoned…or, we may just think our dream of being an astronaut at age 12, for example, was silly. If we give a thoughtful consideration of our dreams some time, we may find useful information. Perhaps we can’t be an astronaut at age 65, but we can volunteer at an air and space museum, or study astronomy, or…who knows?

5)      Financial Considerations

Our work at Experience Matters is not that of financial planning for the Encore Years, but we recognize that financial considerations play an important role in the shape your Encore may take. For some, earning a full-time salary is required; for others, finances are only a minor consideration and their focus is on “giving back.” Regardless, insight into your current financial situation and needs is an important factor in building your self-portrait. By considering what you have and what you need, and through making choices about what you “need to have” versus what you would “like to have,” we gain insights into our relationship with our finances that can inform our decisions about our Encore Years.

The process of building this Self-Portrait provides us with a picture of ourselves right now. By painting this picture, we begin to see where we are in alignment with our values and where we might have disconnects. We also have the foundation for generating ideas about how we might like to spend our time as we move ahead into our Encore Phase. Since many of us have not stopped and considered such questions as these for years – if ever – they are especially valuable and insightful. By building your self-portrait, you come to know yourself better. Through knowing yourself better, you can then make better choices about how best to use these bonus years.

Reports to:  Program Manager

Experience Matters, is a dynamic organization which is leveraging the skills of the baby boomer generation to create social change in our community.  We are growing quickly and have received national recognition for innovative ideas and programming.  Using a mixture of paid and unpaid staff, Experience Matters is creating a new model for civic engagement and has ambitious plans for program implementation and expansion.

In this position, you will be working with nonprofits to assess their current organizational volunteer engagement capabilities, and plan and implement strategic improvements to build organizational capacity. An Engagement Advisor will support a team of organizational leaders from each nonprofit using a methodology to apply and integrate best practices to build a culture that embraces the benefits and return on investment of contributed talent. Each Engagement Advisor will work with local nonprofits to analyze, plan, implement and sustain successful volunteer engagement.  This will include a leadership involvement, a change management, and a communication plan.

Key Accountabilities:

include working closely with client organization leadership and in group sessions with client employees to ensure the overall implementation of the volunteer engagement model.  Facilitating and training client organizations will be an essential function of the Engagement Advisor.  Engagement Advisors will partner with fellow advisors to identify innovative ways to connect the volunteer engagement program to organizational needs and continuously improve the methodology and tools.   As field representatives of Experience Matters, Advisors will maintain relationships with client organizations and other community resources that could assist organizations in reaching Volunteer Engagement goals. Training will be provided.  This is a contract position.  The time commitment will be based on the number of engagements that you consult on.

Qualifications: 

• Bachelor’s Degree preferred
• Proven track record in a consulting role, including meeting facilitation.
• A broad understanding and/or experience in nonprofit sector is ideal
• Tolerance of ambiguity, to be able to function comfortably, patiently and effectively in an uncertain environment
• Must be willing to travel to client organizations on a regular basis, have a valid driver’s license and automotive insurance.
• Flexible hours may be required, with some night sessions.

The ideal candidate will possess strong strategic thinking and analytical ability, superb organization skills, excellent oral and written communication skills, and ability to build strong, trusting relationships with nonprofit clients.

Work Location:

Experience Matters/HandsOn Greater Phoenix Offices

5151 N. 19^th Avenue, Suite 200, Phoenix, AZ 85015

To Apply:

Please click here to email your Cover Letter and Resume to Experience Matters.

Reports to:  Nora Hannah, CEO

Experience Matters, is a dynamic organization which is leveraging the skills of the baby boomer generation to create social change in our community.  We are growing quickly and have received national recognition for innovative ideas and programming.  Using a mixture of paid and unpaid staff, Experience Matters is creating a new model for civic engagement and has ambitious plans for program implementation and expansion.

Experience Matters has an opportunity for a self-directed leader who will be responsible for executing the strategic vision for this emerging nonprofit organization, and help build a strong team of diverse skills and backgrounds.  The Deputy Director will establish strong relationships and partnerships with  corporate, foundation and nonprofit representatives, organization members, paid and unpaid staff, board members and collaborative partners .

Key Accountabilities:

include executing the organization’s strategy and meeting annual financial plans; effectively communicating with and engaging the internal professional team around the vision and short term goals;  developing and executing a sustainable individual and nonprofit membership model; leading business development efforts among a variety of stakeholder groups; and  acting  as primary back up to the CEO.

Qualifications: 

• Masters Degree preferred
• Proven track record in a leadership position or consulting role at executive/senior level
• A solid background in business administration and a broad understanding and/or experience in nonprofit sector is ideal
• Transitioning Boomer a plus

The ideal candidate will possess strong strategic thinking and analytical ability, an ability to create and adapt sustainable systems in a new organization, superb organizations skills and ability to manage multiple and changing priorities, strong sales/marketing skills, stellar oral and written communication skills, and ability to function effectively in an emerging and dynamic organization setting

Title: Deputy Director

Position Description & Scope of Work:

The Deputy Director is a self-directed leader who is focused on executing the strategic vision of Experience Matters.  The ideal candidate has the ability to build a strong team of diverse skills and backgrounds, thrives on interacting with people, and is a strong representative of Experience Matters to funders and prospective members.  Stellar communication and organization skills are required to ensure the successful fulfillment of our development and program goals.  The Deputy Director will establish strong relationships and partnerships with corporate, foundation and nonprofit organization representatives, members, paid and unpaid staff, Board members and collaborative partners.

This position is responsible for acting as the second in command to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and acting on the CEO’s behalf as needed. The Deputy Director will oversee a team of professionals charged with carrying out the programs and services of Experience Matters.  Direct reports include the Account Managers, Program Directors, consultants and volunteers involved in the delivery of products and services.

Key Skills, Requirements, and Responsibilities: 

1. Accountable for executing the strategy, achieving program goals and meeting annual financial plans for Experience Matters.
2. Effectively communicating the vision, strategy and short term goals to the Experience Matters professional team, ensuring programs and services are appropriately aligned and delivered in a superior fashion.  The team should be reflective of our mission by including, staff, volunteers, stipend professionals and Encore Fellows in a variety of flexible roles and project-oriented work.
3. Lead business development by presenting the mission, vision and strategy to corporate, foundation and nonprofit directors, funders and potential collaborators to build relationships and establish effective partnerships.
4. Develop and execute a sustainable individual and nonprofit membership model.
5. In conjunction with the leadership team, establish new programs and services to best meet the mission and vision of the organization.
6. Act as the Chief Consortium Officer in the absence of the Chief Consortium Officer.

Highest Priority Personal Attributes:

• Strong strategic thinking and analytical ability
• Ability to create and adapt sustainable systems in a new organization
• Ability to think on a national level (“act locally, think globally”)
• Genuine desire to build high-value relationships
• Highly organized and able to manage multiple priorities and adapt quickly to changing situations
• Strong sales / marketing skills with the ability to “close the deal”
• Stellar oral and written communication skills;  excellent “face” presence
• Mature decision making ability
• Alignment with the mission of Experience Matters
• Flexible, adaptable, manages well in ambiguity and creative environment
• Positive attitude, strong personal engagement
• Social/interpersonal skills
• High value placed on collaboration skills and shared leadership
• Understanding of the nonprofit sector, yet comfortable in a corporate environment

Qualifications:

• Masters Degree preferred
• Proven track record in a leadership position in an executive/senior level capacity or in management consulting
• A background in business administration is ideal including a broad understanding and experience in the nonprofit sector.
• Transitioning boomer a plus

Benefits:

• Paid time off, including vacation, sick leave and holidays
• Health insurance through a Healthcare Reimbursement Account
• Opportunity to contribute to the organization’s 403b (future)
• Professional development opportunities

About Experience Matters:

Established in February, 2009, Experience Matters is the result of a groundbreaking initiative of the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust in partnership with Atlantic Philanthropies, the Arizona Community Foundation and Civic Ventures, a national civic engagement organization.

Experience Matters was formed to recruit, train and place experienced Baby Boomers in paid and unpaid service positions with a nonprofit or civic organization in need of their expertise and talent.

Our mission is to create a culture in our community and its organizations that fosters meaningful work and service opportunities for experienced people in the second half of life.

We offer a new model – remarkable service in communities and a remarkable experience for people in the second half of life. Our focus is simple:  work strategically to enhance the capacity of the public and nonprofit sectors by connecting experienced, well-skilled adults with social purpose opportunities in civic and nonprofit organizations to tackle our community’s most pressing social issues.

Work Environment:

The Experience Matters Consortium is a start-up organization and as such operates in a small, highly agile, and flexible work environment with a minimum of traditional paid staff.  In addition, the organizations’ focus is on civic engagement and models this value through the use of extraordinary community talent in volunteer, consulting and stipend roles.  Communication and collaboration in virtually every area of the operation, both internal and external, is open and frequent.  Work will take place in the Experience Matter’s office, with occasional support at off-site events as needed.

Supervisor:

Nora Hannah, Chief Executive Officer

Experience Matters

602-973-2212 ext. 228;  nhannah@experiencemattersaz.org

Work Location:

Experience Matters/HandsOn Greater Phoenix Offices

5151 N. 19^th Avenue, Suite 200, Phoenix, AZ 85015

To Apply:

Please click here to email your Cover Letter and Resume to Experience Matters.

For the fourth installment (read parts one,  two and three), Georgianna builds on  the “Where are you now?” discussion with some valuable ideas and insights around understanding and defining “WHO are you now?” before moving into a new future.

The Cycle of Change

Last time, we talked about gaining an understanding of where we are in the Cycle of Change so that we can learn not only where we are, but:

• Where we have spent most of our time?
• What support we need?
• What feelings we can expect?
• What routines will best enable us to work through the cycle?
• What comes next?

This introspection provides clarity about where we are, which provides context for an exploration of who we are, during this transitional time in our lives. At Experience Matters, our framework for exploration of this question of “Who?” focuses on considering and defining each person’s values, interests, strengths and dreams.

Who are you?
Many of us may see our values as static and unchanging; and, in many ways, that’s true. For example, if you value honesty and kindness when you are 20 years old, it’s likely that you’ll continue to value such things when you’re 40, 60 and beyond. For our purpose – to define who we are during this critical time of transition – we look at values not from a moral or ethical perspective, but rather as deeply held motivators. In this context, we consider what matters to us most and what is most important to us – our “essence,” if you will.

We ask ourselves to narrow down the infinite list of valuable concepts and ideals to just five that matter to us MOST right now. This is challenging work. To see what I mean, consider this short list of possible values:

It’s pretty difficult to argue that any of these are “better” or “worse” than the others, but it’s easy to see how – especially during a transition – one of these may become more important than another. Consider a recent participant in the workshop, coming into his “encore” phase after a long and meaningful career as an oncology nurse. For many years, his primary work-related values were Compassion and Service. Now,  as he entered his early 70’s, he discovered that, while these things were still important to him, he felt more compelled and more driven by values like Mentoring and Nature. His declaration of Mentoring as one of his key values came about as he reviewed his past and realized how much he enjoyed acting as a tutor in college. He discovered a passion for Nature in group discussions – he’d been an avid hiker and enjoyed camping in his teens and early 20’s…then the demands of career and family had pushed these interests into the background. (For more information about the importance of “looking back,” see part one.)

Values Inventory

In the Experience Matters workshop, we work from a list of about 30 values, but this is just one way of taking an inventory of what matters to you most right now. In the book Life Launch, a more condensed categorization of values is used.  For practice, try to rank order (1 = most important; 6 = least important) this list of six core values for yourself, right now at this phase in life:

Not easy, is it?

There are many types and styles of values inventories available (many for free) on-line. If your interest is piqued and you’d like to explore more, try out one of these:

Ashcroft Values Inventory

Personal Values

Guiding Values List

Why Values?

This exploration of current drivers is just the first step in an overall self-assessment that also includes defining and embracing your interests, strengths and dreams. It’s important to start with a survey of values because these motivators then become your guideposts for your encore efforts before, during and after each stage of your evolution. Here’s how:

The process of considering – and reconsidering – primary motivators and drivers at this transitional time of life is incredibly valuable and insightful. Research shows that we all live happier, more fulfilled lives when we align ourselves with values that are meaningful to us. Never is this more important than when exploring your future and planning your encore endeavors.

13 Baby Boomers and Host Nonprofit Organizations Complete Fellowships

(Phoenix, AZ – December 5, 2012) Experience Matters, an organization that connects baby boomers with nonprofit and social service organizations to improve the quality of life in Maricopa County, announces the graduation of the inaugural encore fellowship class.  The first class of encore fellows has completed their yearlong fellowship with their host nonprofit organizations. Encore fellowships represent a new life-stage in which experienced boomers find meaningful ways to engage in the community and bring skilled and professional resources to these organizations that are often under-resourced.  Nationwide, 31 million boomers indicate an interest in encore opportunities.  In Maricopa County there is significant demand on behalf of both boomers and nonprofit organizations for fellowship and hosting opportunities, respectively.

“My work this past year as an Experience Matters’ encore fellow hosted by the Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits could not have been more rewarding.  I learned more about the needs of nonprofit organizations and how they operate than I thought possible in just one year. It was quite rewarding to see how my 25 years of experience in the corporate world added value to a nonprofit organization.  I have a new-found respect for the Arizona nonprofit community and am committed to staying involved as I graduate from the Encore Fellowship Program,” stated Warren Mills, former valley technology executive.

“It is with great pride that we celebrate the graduation of our inaugural encore fellowship class at Experience Matters.  These fellows and organizations proved the value of matching boomers with nonprofit organizations.  What we have learned from the inaugural class indicates we can significantly increase the number of boomers engaged in paid and unpaid social service opportunities to support our nonprofit community as they work so hard to improve the quality of life in Maricopa County.  The demand is strong to connect the talent with the community, ” stated Nora Hannah, CEO of Experience Matters.

The inaugural class included the following fellows and their host organizations:

Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits, Encore Fellow Mr. Warren Mills

Altered Tails, Encore Fellow Mr. Gregg Cebulski

Arizona Foundation for Women, Encore Fellow Ms. Debbie Hall

Arizona Science Center, Encore Fellow Mr. Kris Guffey

Balsz Elementary School District, Encore Fellow Ms. Anne White

Halle Family Foundation, Encore Fellow Ms. Denise Schubert

HALO, Encore Fellow Mr. Bill Thomson

Maricopa County Animal Care and Control, Encore Fellow Ms. Isabel LeRoy

Mission of Mercy, Encore Fellow Ms. Dianne Aguilar

PetSmart Charities, Encore Fellow Ms. Linda Hannen

St. Mary’s Food Bank, Encore Fellow Ms. Christine McRight

Tempe Community Action, Encore Fellow Mr. Jeff Abraham

Valley of the Sun United Way, Encore Fellow Mr. Bob Ryan

Photos and interviews with encore fellows and host organizations are available upon request.

About Experience Matters

Experience Matters’ mission is to create a culture in our community and its organizations that fosters meaningful work and service opportunities for experienced baby boomers in the second half of life.  The primary goal is to connect every passionate, skilled baby boomer to a nonprofit or civic organization in need of talent and experience. Experience Matters operates as a consortium of business professionals, community leaders and organizations who work strategically to enhance the capacity of the public and nonprofit sectors to tap into the talent of committed adults in the community.  For more information visit www.experiencemattersaz.org.

Phoenix Business Journal by Ilana Lowery, Editor

Date: Tuesday, November 13, 2012, 3:24pm MST

Ilana Lowery

Editor- Phoenix Business Journal

Email  | Twitter  | Facebook  | Linked In

Experience Matters, an organization that connects baby boomers with nonprofit and social-service organizations to improve the quality of life in the Valley, received a $1.6 million grant over four years from Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust.

The grant will allows Experience Matters to expand its infrastructure offering more paid and unpaid opportunities to boomers seeking work in the social sector. Engaging boomers to help solve community problems is the driving force behind the Experience Matters organization.

Boomers such as Experience Matters Encore Fellow Anne White said her participating with the nonprofit is changing her quality of life as well.

“I feel my work as an Encore Fellow brought more rewards to me than I gave to the Balsz Community Education Foundation, my host organization,” White said. “Helping them build the infrastructure and fund-raising programs for their foundation was incredibly rewarding.”

The organization’s strategic plan to connect boomers with service organizations was developed by a group of strategists, business owners, marketing experts, nonprofit executives and community leaders over a six-month period.

With the grant, Experience Matters “can significantly increase the number of boomers engaged in paid and unpaid social service opportunities to support our nonprofit community as they work so hard to improve the quality of life in Maricopa County,” said Nora Hannah, CEO of Experience Matters. She said the demand is strong to connect the talent with the community.

Patrick McWhortor, president and CEO of Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits, said Experience Matters produces a high rate of return on investment because “there is nothing more valuable than giving a nonprofit talent and skill.”

Since it began awarding grants in 2000, Piper Charitable Trust has invested more than $299 million in local nonprofits and programs. The Trust had total grants paid of $21.9 million in fiscal year 2012. Piper’s grantmaking areas focus on health care and medical research, children, older adults, arts and culture, education, and religious organizations.

For additional information, please contact:
Sara J. Bresnahan
602-549-4763
sara@lanciopartners.com

Experience Matters Receives Generous Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust Grant
Number of Boomers Engaged to Support Nonprofits to Increase Significantly

(Phoenix, AZ – November 9, 2012) Experience Matters, an organization that connects baby boomers with nonprofit and social service organizations to improve the quality of life in Maricopa County, has received a $1.6 million grant over four years from Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust.  The grant allows Experience Matters to expand its infrastructure to offer more paid and unpaid opportunities to more boomers seeking work in the social sector.  Often referred to as encore careers, this represents a new life-stage in which experienced boomers find meaningful ways to engage in the community.  Nationwide, 31 million boomers indicate an interest in encore opportunities.

Engaging boomers as the talent to solve community problems is the driving force of the Experience Matters’ vision and mission, and it is changing the quality of life for boomers such as Encore Fellow Anne White.  “I feel my work as an Encore Fellow brought more rewards to me than I gave to the Balsz CommunityEducation Foundation, my host organization,” stated White.  “Helping them build the infrastructure and fundraising programs for their foundation was incredibly rewarding, and I am thrilled to stay on as a volunteer with the organization beyond my Encore Fellowship,” she added.

Experience Matters aims to expand operations and deliver $34 million in human capital to Maricopa County organizations over the next five years.  The organization’s strategic plan to connect boomers with service organizations was crafted by a group of highly experienced strategists, business owners, technologists, marketing experts and nonprofit executives and community leaders over a six-month period.

“This generous grant from Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust is vital to the successful expansion of Experience Matters.  We can significantly increase the number of boomers engaged in paid and unpaid social service opportunities to support our nonprofit community as they work so hard to improve the quality of life in Maricopa County.  Both boomers and nonprofit organizations are signing up rapidly to engage.  The demand is strong to connect the talent with the community, ” stated Nora Hannah, CEO of Experience Matters.

“Experience Matters produces a high rate of return on investment because there is nothing more valuable than giving a nonprofit talent and skill,” noted Patrick McWhortor, President and CEO of Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits.  “As Experience Matters helps nonprofits engage experienced and talented boomers in their organizations, the capacity and effectiveness of the organizations has the potential to expand exponentially,” he added.

Encore Fellow photos and interviews are available upon request.

About Experience Matters

Experience Matters’ mission is to create a culture in our community and its organizations that fosters meaningful work and service opportunities for experienced baby boomers in the second half of life.  The primary goal is to connect every passionate, skilled baby boomer to a nonprofit or civic organization in need of talent and experience. Experience Matters operate as a consortium of business professionals, community leaders and organizations who work strategically to enhance the capacity of the public and nonprofit sectors to tap into the talent of committed adults in the community.  For more information visit www.experiencemattersaz.org.

About Piper Charitable Trust

A private independent foundation, Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust honors Virginia Galvin Piper’s philanthropic commitment to changing lives and strengthening community in Maricopa County (Arizona). By investing in nonprofits and encouraging strategic planning for the future, Piper Trust strives to make Maricopa County a stronger, more nurturing, vibrant community. Since it began awarding grants in 2000, Piper Trust has invested more than $299 million inlocal nonprofits and programs. The Trust had total grants paid of $21.9 million in fiscal year 2012. Piper Trust grantmaking areas are healthcare and medical research, children, older adults, arts and culture, education, and religious organizations. For more information, visit www.pipertrust.org. Follow us on Twitter @PiperTrust / Like us on Facebook.

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