What was your experience working on a Taproot Foundation project?

It was exciting to work closely with people from so many different backgrounds. Our client organization was clearly very passionate about their work, but tended to work very informally and were not used to the structure that Taproot Foundation brought to the table. My fellow volunteers were a lot like myself; working professionals from corporate office environments who were still becoming accustomed to the nonprofit culture. I think that everyone involved learned a great deal from the experience.

How have you grown from your pro bono experience?

My previous involvement with implementation projects has been as a subject matter expert; I'm typically brought in for a specific task or portion of the project and given little visibility into other phases. It was interesting to be involved in all aspects of a project from beginning to end.

What were the biggest challenges in your project?

Working with a client with a limited budget and a complex set of legacy data certainly made things interesting. In addition, our chosen vendor's constantly changing lineup of support and professional services staff forced us and the client to stay organized and in close contact.

How do you think the business community and nonprofit sector can strengthen one another?

Many of the problems that nonprofits are currently facing have already been addressed in one form or another within the business community, and there is a great deal of experience and knowledge waiting to be tapped. Likewise, nonprofits provide a setting in which professionals from the business world can apply their expertise with more flexibility and creativity than would be possible inside the office, and thus can learn and grow more quickly.

What community issues are most important to you and what did you learn from the project?

I spend a lot of time thinking about young people in difficult settings in this city, and what opportunities they may or may not have, and the choices they have to make. The client organization's success in recruiting and sending volunteers to work in third world countries is a testament to how much difference a little dedication can make.

Other than volunteering with the Taproot Foundation, what do you like to do in your free time?

I run, and I play soccer off and on. I'm passionate about music and will spend hours digging through crates of LPs at garage sales and used record stores.