Southeast Community Development Corporation
The Southeast Community Development Corporation (SECDC) offers housing counseling services, promotes investment, and supports the arts for a dynamic, diverse Southeast Baltimore. I worked with the Executive Director in a year-long, multi-faceted project. By working on multiple phases of work with an organization, it offers texture and context to my work, which allows me to offer expanded value to my clients.
Phase I of working with the SECDC was pivotal to the ongoing bodies of work I was able to offer. I believe if we invest in people, we can more effectively achieve the organization’s functions and mission. The engagement began by providing executive coaching for the organization’s new Executive Director. This year-long coaching focused on her personal and professional goals, building in accountability and support around achieving those goals, and celebrating small and big wins. My role was to be a sounding board, create a safe space for exploration, and offer tools and guidance to achieve key priorities for her.
While I was offering coaching, I teamed up with Jesse Cowling, of Cowling Consulting, to consider the financial health and strategies to strengthen the fundraising and development of the Southeast Community Development Corporation. I believe in collaborative consulting—that is, working together with other brilliant people who have skills and expertise that I do not in order to meet the needs of clients. Together, we developed plans to increase investment into the organization.
In the third phase of engagement, I supported the Executive Director in growing and building her executive team. I provided coaching and facilitation support with her leadership team to set goals, implement work plans, and create space to explore pivots necessary for the organization in the early days of COVID-19.
For me, consulting is about partnership to achieve goals and experience growth, whether individually, as a team, or for a business. At the SECDC, I was able to support all three.