External Affairs

My career is in non-profit development and communications - in short, external affairs.

There are two aspects to external affairs. One is to promote the public image of the organization; the other is to build and sustain relationships with supporters. These might seem contradictory: isn’t PR all spin while true communities require authentic connection?

I have never worked - and would never work - anywhere there was friction between these goals. I couldn’t do it professionally and I can’t do it personally. As anyone who knows me in real life or has followed me on Instagram is aware, what you see is what you get.

And what you see is how I create a life defined by my various and, yes, occasionally competing identities. I’m the mother of two young children (a daughter, three and a half, and a son, six and a half) who works outside the home (well, on a hybrid schedule) and tries to have an adult relationship with my husband (that doesn’t solely revolve around coparenting) while decently maintaining our home (which is in the planning stages of a major renovation).

I don’t do everything right. And when I do things right, I recognize that they’re right for me - possibly/probably not for everyone else. But they might be right for you, too, and at the very least I hope they give you something to think about and ideas for what might work for you!