Journey with World Pulse

Celebrating World Pulse's 10 Year Anniversary and kicking off our celebration event in Portland, Oregon on October 9, 2013.











In 2010 shortly after my father passed away and finding myself in a position I was not happy with, a friend of mine (who I've known since I was five years old) referred me to possible opening for an accountant at her place of work, World Pulse.  At the time it was primarily a print magazine and a burgeoning online community built around grassroots women leaders and cultivating voice.  Admittedly, when I interviewed, I was still not on my game, weighed down with grief and reflection on life priorities.  Also, I wasn't entirely sure what I was walking into but had a feeling it was... right.

I had studied Political Science, graduating with my thesis on HIV/AIDS and Women's Empowerment in Sub-Saharan Africa.  I of course, fresh from college had desire to go into non-profit program management with a focus on development, but professionally I found myself shifting into non-profit work as a bookkeeper, building off the skills I had built while putting myself through school.  I started as a bookkeeper with a non-profit hospice, then grew to a Director of Finance & Administration with a non-profit daycare center as well as doing contract bookkeeping and consulting.

Finally, this was the opportunity to have my background and skills come full circle back to where my heart and passion truly lay.  It was like coming home.

In my time with World Pulse, I have grown from part time Finance Manager to Director of Finance & Administration to Chief Operations Officer.  The organization has grown from ten staff, with many part time, to 17 full time staff and counting, from a $650K annual budget and dwindling reserves to approaching a $2.3M budget and a significant investment in developing our Next Generation Website to support our growing community.  From restructure and refocus, with holding the grassroots women leaders at the center of all we do, World Pulse has made leaps and bounds from a start up magazine with a big vision to a online community platform with global reach, with grassroots women leaders seeking training, connecting with each other, sharing stories, starting projects, making change and having their voices reach key decision making forums and media outlets.

Currently, I am personally taking a bit of a pause, with having 2013 be a year full of growth and challenges on all fronts.  I look forward to what 2014 brings for World Pulse and for myself as we take our growth and impact to the next level. 

Happy 2014!