Career Growth Advice from Terri Sorensen, Non-Profit Leader | Career Tips for Women in Non-Profit

2B Bolder Podcast – Episode 7
Featuring Terri Sorensen, CEO of Friends of the Children

Episode Title: #7 Career Podcast Featuring Terri Sorensen CEO of Friends of the Children – Women In Business

Host: Mary Killelea
Guest: Terri Sorensen



Mary Killelea (Host): Hi there. My name is Mary Killelea. Welcome to the To Be Bolder podcast, providing career insights for the next generation of women in business and tech. To Be Bolder was created out of my love for technology and marketing, my desire to bring together like-minded women, and my hope to be a great role model and source of inspiration for my two girls and other young women like you. Encouraging you guys to show up and to be bolder and to know that anything you guys dream of, it's totally possible. On To Be Bolder, you're going to hear inspiring stories of how successful women, some I know, some I just want to bring to you guys, and they're going to talk about their careers in business and tech, and they're going to tell us their stories about their passion and their journey and their challenges, and we're going to learn some of their advice along the way too. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy the conversation.

My guest today is a woman I have great respect for and have known for over 15 years. She's hardworking, kind, honest, driven, and passionate about the causes that are dear to her heart. She is the chief executive officer of Friends of the Children, which is an amazing company that has been guiding, supporting, and mentoring children since 1993. Terri Sorensen, I am so thrilled that you are here, so thank you for joining us and being on the show and talking about Friends of the Children.

Terri Sorensen (Guest): Absolutely, I'm excited to be here and share more about Friends of the Children and my journey.

Mary Killelea: I think it's going to be amazing because I think the area of working for a nonprofit or a job that is fulfilling and provides passion and meaning is on the mind of so many women today, and I think they're going to benefit from again, learning about what your company does, but also just your career path and how you got started. So, can you start by giving us an overview of what Friends of the Children is all about? And then I want to go into your personal role and responsibilities a little further in the conversation.

Terri Sorensen: Absolutely. So, Friends of the Children is a national nonprofit. We select children age four to six, who are either in foster care or at risk of going into care. We provide them with a salaried professional mentor all the way through graduation. So, 12 plus years, no matter what. We've really taken mentoring out of the volunteer realm, and that's why we use salaried professionals because we actively select those kids who need us the most and then intentionally over 12 plus years break generational cycles of poverty, low education, incarceration, teen parenting, and child welfare. We were founded in Portland in 1993, and it's been exciting to take this model and this organization to 21 cities around the country.

We have four long term outcomes. So, 83% of our kids graduate from high school when over 60% have a parent who did not. 93% avoid the justice system when over half have been impacted by parents who've been incarcerated. 98% avoid teen parenting when 85% were born to a teen parent. And then finally, now that we've been around for 26 years, 92% of our youth accomplish one of what we call the three E's, enrollment and post-secondary, enlistment in the military, or employment in a living wage job.

Mary Killelea: That is amazing. I'm getting goosebumps just hearing those statistics and the impact that you guys are having on changing lives. So I just commend you on that effort. That's amazing. And I know we could spend the next hour or two just learning so much more about your business, but today I really want to get into you and your career. Because I know you've helped build this company. You've been there for 17 years, correct?

Terri Sorensen: Correct.

Mary Killelea: Can you walk me through your career of how you started at the company and some of the various roles that you've had and what led you to be the CEO today?

Terri Sorensen: So I'm actually a recovered CPA. I majored in accounting in college and I went to work in the corporate world first for Ernst & Young doing public accounting and then for Sprint, the telecommunications company. And after about 10 years in corporate life, my second child was born and I decided to stay home for about four years and really just focus on my children and family. And that was big for me because I always knew that I wanted a career and to be in leadership, but I really felt like at the time I needed to devote myself to my children and family. So after about four years and during that time, I was very active in my community. I was on a local school board and really doing a lot of volunteer work in addition to being home with my children and family. And I frankly was watching Oprah Winfrey, who I found really inspiring during that time that I was staying home. All of those things contributed to me feeling like I did not want to return to the corporate world. I wanted to use my financial skills to help others. And I found the best way to do that was to work for a non-profit. So I went to work for the American Red Cross as their controller in Portland, Oregon. And I did that on a part-time basis, which was really great as I was easing back into the workforce. And I found that I really could make a tremendous impact by bringing the skills I'd learned in the corporate world and in business to a non-profit. It was very rewarding.

After about two years, one of the leaders at the American Red Cross left to run Friends of the Children's Portland Chapter as executive director. And she introduced me to the organization. And frankly, I really fell in love with it. My children were about the same age as many of the kids in the program. And I just saw the disadvantage that they had, the opportunities that my kids had that they did not. And that really led me to becoming a donor at Friends of the Children. And then ultimately, I came over, again, still part-time as the finance director to help set a new trajectory for the Portland Chapter.

After about two years there, the executive director left and the founder, Duncan Campbell, and the board asked if I would fill in as the interim executive director. I said, absolutely, but I don't want the job full-time. I didn't feel like I had the skills. Certainly, I knew how to run an organization and the financial impact, but I hadn't raised funds before, which was a big part of the role. And I also didn't have programmatic experience of working with children facing the greatest obstacles. So, I threw myself in as the interim executive director for the Portland Chapter. And after about four months, things were going amazingly well. We ended up doubling the revenue that we raised at our signature event, which reached over a million dollars for the first time. I found that fundraising was sharing your passion for the program. And I really threw myself into working with our friends on a daily basis and getting to know our children and families. So I would be able to have empathy and help them be empowered to change their own stories.

Now, after 17 years, it's just been amazing for me professionally to be able to get up every day and use my business skills to run this great organization and grow it, but also to know that I'm impacting so many children and families across the country. Seven years ago, I stepped into the national role as national president and then became CEO a couple of years ago. And during that time, we expanded Friends of the Children from the founding chapter in Portland to 21 cities around the country. And 16 of those have been in the past seven years. So learning how you take a great nonprofit with evidence and that it works and expanding that around the country has been inspiring, challenging, but all of it has been an amazing opportunity for which I'm extremely grateful.

Mary Killelea: That's an amazing story. And just to think if you wouldn't have taken that time when you were home with your daughter or children to evaluate your reentry into the workforce and aligning that with really listening to your soul talk to you in how you wanted this next reentry into the workforce to play out. Imagine where your life would be and the impact that all these people that you've impacted wouldn't have experienced. So, I love that you took the time and listened to your inner voice that led you down this path. And I think that's important. I think a lot of people don't take the time because they're like, ah, I need a job. I got to get back in the workforce during those kind of transitional times. So, love you sharing that story. And I know you, like I said before, had huge impacts on the growth of this company and the additional chapters and have had huge success with fundraisers. And it's become the model for some of your other chapters. What's the secret of the success when it comes to fundraising?

Terri Sorensen: Well, first of all, I think it's really important that we have the data to show the effectiveness of our investment. Because salary, professional mentoring, hiring a friend to work with eight kids as their full time job and paying a living wage, a salary and a benefit that's going to keep them for the long term is not easy. So, having the data and measuring what works and then being able to make the case of why people should invest in it is key in fundraising. We had the Harvard Business School Association of Oregon do a return on investment study for friends of the children. And it showed for every $1 invested, the return was over $7. And that's been key. It's not necessarily about what you're spending, it's what are the ramifications. So over $900,000 per child who achieves our long term outcomes is saved in terms of the community. That's been really important for making the case.

In terms of fundraising, it is about sharing your passion for the program. We, I talked about the friend raiser where under my first year as executive director, we raised over a million dollars. Today, that event in Portland raises over, it's raised as much as $2.5 million annually. And as we launch sites across the country, each of them puts on a friend raiser as well. And I think the secret there is you bring together people who have the capacity to give and have an interest, and then you really inspire them to invest. And it's been really phenomenal. I remember one of my donors who had historically given about $25,000 a year at the fundraiser, and she and her husband were sitting at my table. And that year, they raised their paddle at $75,000 instead of $25,000. Yes, I was stunned. And I went over and said, thank you so much. We are so grateful. And she said, no, thank you. You are allowing us to invest and feel so good about where this money is going. And so just one small story of it's not just the kids who are going on to do great things that are inspiring, but I'm inspired by donors every day who want to make the investment to help others be successful.

Mary Killelea: That's amazing. So, what does a typical day look like for you? If there is such a thing in your current role?

Terri Sorensen: It’s actually one of the things I love about my job and why I've been able to be at friends for 17 years is because no two days are the same. You know, this past week, I just got home from Washington, DC, where I spent four days meeting with Congress, men and women on the Hill, sharing about Friends of the Children and asking for their support in their states across the country. Also, we presented at the national mentoring conference that was going on last weekend and also met with donors and investors, thanking them. So that was last week. This week, I'm really focused on we are searching for executive directors in Portland and Salt Lake City. I'm presenting on a webinar about how to form high performing nonprofits. So, each of our cities is a separate 501c3 with their own executive director, their own boards. And so, we're about really growing this model within each community. And so, it has to be owned by the community. As CEO of national in in Portland, Oregon, I cannot make Chicago or Detroit a success. It has to be with local leaders and local supporters. So, I spend a lot of time helping hire the executive directors, put the boards together, and working with executive directors and their teams, coaching them. Currently, I am working with Detroit and Tacoma, our newest EDs on that. We also have board meetings on a regular basis. And both the national board and each local board has a national representative. So, I sit on four of our chapter boards, and that really allows me to keep learning what's happening at the local level. And then just meeting with our team members and inspiring them to do this work because I can't do it alone for sure. I have a great high quality team.

Mary Killelea: When you were younger in college or even after college, did you know you wanted to work for a company that did good and touched people's lives in such a meaningful way?

Terri Sorensen: I absolutely did not. I went out of college with my accounting degree, and I think I always had a desire to be a leader. I wanted to run a company, and I always thought that would be in the for profit world. It was much later in life after having children that I really realized I needed more. I needed the purpose to get up every morning and really love what I do because like many leaders across the country, I can tend to be a workaholic. And loving your job, even though it's hard and challenging, I had no idea that I would end up being a CEO of a non-profit. But I'm thankful every day for that, and I think it's helped inspire my own children and others to think about what they're doing every day and making sure in their own way they're making a difference.

Mary Killelea: Absolutely. Have you had mentors that have helped you out throughout your career, and if so, how did you go about building those relationships?

Terri Sorensen: I've had amazing mentors in my career. One of them, actually a good girlfriend of mine who ran local insurance company, and she was one of the ones when I said I'm going to take on this role of interim executive director at Friends of the Children, but I don't have this kind of experience. I don't know if I'd be able to. I don't have the skills to do it for the long-term. They need someone with more experience than I have. And she said to me, Terry, a man would never say that. She said, what are you talking about? You have the skills. You have the leadership. Sure, it's a stretch assignment, but don't think that you can’t do it. And it was really her words that gave me the confidence to say, yeah, no one necessarily has all of the skills to do a job that they are offered or have the opportunity to do. And so her words really inspired me and I try to pass that on to other women because I do think we maybe are a little reluctant in thinking about what we bring to the table that far exceeds the experience of having done it.

I've also been very lucky every so in the way our nonprofit is set up every two years there's a new board chair and so that means I've reported in my 17 years at Friends of the Children to eight to ten amazing CEOs and leaders from different industries, all of them in the for profit world and it's just been amazing like the former CEO of Fred Meyer, a wealth manager from a significant investment firm who works with billionaires, the former CEO of Intel Capital. So I've just been very fortunate to have these amazing business people in my life and so during those two years that I report to them I really try to soak up and learn from them all of their secrets and what's worked for them and that can be challenging if you imagine your boss changing every two years, but I've seen it as an opportunity to really learn from some amazing people. So I always tease because I don't have my MBA, but I feel like I got my MBA on the job by meeting with all of these incredible people on a regular basis and learning from them.

Mary Killelea: So, when it comes to working what has been the best advice that you've received? And I know it sounds like you've received a lot of great advice from these wonderful people that have helped you, and I'm sure you probably can't just say one piece but what are a few nuggets that you would say?

Terri Sorensen: Yeah. One is my actually my very first board chair. When I became the interim executive director of Friends of the Children, he said to me “be a leader”. And while those are simple words, they rang in my mind at all times, meaning step up when you need to with humility and integrity, both managing communications up to board and donors, but also to your team who's doing the work. Often different audiences need different leadership from you. So that's been the single best advice and I pass it on whenever I can. Just remember be a leader.

Mary Killelea: That's so true because if you can give your different audiences what they need instead of just being one type of leader, I think everyone will feel supported and led versus feeling like they're too far removed or they're not addressing my concerns or issues. So that's good advice.

Terri Sorensen: With the network, since we have executive directors around the country, I don't forget that I'm a leader of leaders and I think that's really important letting other people shine in their own leadership.

Mary Killelea: Absolutely. That's great. What's been the biggest challenge that you faced in your career?

Terri Sorensen: I think figuring out how to take this local non-profit Friends of the Children, that was founded in Portland Oregon and bring it to cities and scale it. Right? It goes really deep when you are providing salaried professional mentors for 12 plus years. A lot of people said I don't think this model can be scaled and so figuring that out has been the greatest challenge. We ended up writing a business plan using expertise from folks on the board and others, some pro bono services and we entered it in a business plan competition in New York City. And the first year we placed in the top three, and I went and pitched it and we didn't win. So, we went back the second year, and we revised it worked with some more pro bono consultants, pitched it in New York and we won. And that really changed the trajectory. We had a business plan, it had won a competition, we took that business plan to someone who had invested in us before at a small amount like a hundred thousand dollars per year and we asked for five million dollars to establish an endowment that would ensure there would always be a national arm of Friends to the Children. And I'm thrilled to say he and his wife invested that five million dollars in us and that allowed us to take off and continue to think big knowing that we're trying to solve a big problem, ending generational poverty. So since that time we launched a 25 million dollar campaign, back when I would have said that was impossible, and we thought it would take us five years if we could even do it. We did it in under three and so now we've launched a 50 million dollar campaign. And one year in we've raised over 13 million dollars. So I think thinking big and then raising the kind of funds it takes to solve a big problem.

Mary Killelea: What advice would you give someone interested in a career in the non-profit sector?

Terri Sorensen: I think people can be surprised by how hard people work in the non-profit sector and how under-resourced we are. So I think going in prepared for that. It's a tough job. If you really are intent on scaling it and making sure that the folks you're serving get the best possible service. So I certainly work more hours than I ever did in the corporate world which can be shocking to some people, so I think just being prepared and you have to really be jack of all trades. I mean my assistant and I helped launch our current branding with logos and websites across the country when there were only two of us on board. Fortunately, we've grown that to a team of 26 that works for national with more expertise. But in the early days, we had to be the jack of all trades and really look to others who would support us with pro bono services because we didn't have the resources to purchase those services.

Mary Killelea: Do you find people are willing to give you pro bono services? I mean you must, but…

Terri Sorensen: There are a lot of amazing people giving us pro bono services. I mentioned that I was in DC last week meeting with congresspeople and we found through one of my national board members a lobbyist and she and her team took us on as a pro bono client. Set up 21 meetings on the hill and attended all of them with us. That's really new for us. We haven't had that opportunity before and I think people feel really good about giving back and investing in what we're doing.

Mary Killelea: What are some essential qualities you look for when hiring someone? Now I know they're role specific qualifications, but if you had core qualities that you look for in someone what are some of those?

Terri Sorensen: We really look for people who align with our values. We recently did a values refresh because we found while we still believe our values from 27 years ago are important, we weren't necessarily using those values when we were interviewing and hiring people, when we were rewarding people with performance reviews and salary increases. So, things like putting children first, pursuing goals relentlessly, demanding equity, all of those are examples of the values that we look for when we're hiring folks.

Mary Killelea: What drives you, Terri Sorensen, to be successful? What would you say is your why?

Terri Sorensen: Well, there are so many kids out there who are facing unbelievable obstacles through no fault of their own and that inspires me every day to get up and use my skills to help them change their own stories. And that's really what it's all about. I have to say with expanding nationally, it's been really rewarding to also hire leaders across the country in our cities like Chicago, Austin, Texas, Detroit, Tacoma, Salt Lake City. Hiring and giving those leaders the opportunity in their own communities has been an amazing reward, as well.

Mary Killelea: What keeps you up at night?

Terri Sorensen: Raising the funds to continue to grow and serve more children across the country. We set a goal in 2016 to be in 25 cities by 2025 we're in 21 now so I know we're going to make it earl. So I think we'll raise it to 50 cities, so I just know there's so many people and children who need Friends of the Children. They need a caring adult in their life for the long term, so that's what keeps me up at night. Having the resources to continue to grow and make salaried professional mentoring a part of prevention for juvenile justice, for foster care, for education. That's what keeps me up at night.

Mary Killelea: Do you find that there's more men or women that apply to be mentors?

Terri Sorensen: There are definitely more women that apply; however our program serves equal numbers of boys and girls and we do gender match. So equal numbers of men and women mentors usually they have a background in helping others, whether that be teaching, social services, art therapy. So it tends to be more women applicants, however we are just committed to finding great friends. And we do. I mean the both the men and the women that we have as professional mentors are really inspiring. I mean we hire with the intent of they go through four to five interviews, including outings with other friends and children so we can see how they interact. And we don't hire anyone who we wouldn't want hanging out with our own children for four hours every week.

Mary Killelea: So work-life balance. I know you said you're a bit of a workaholic and having work-life balance is somewhat of a…oh what's the word I'm looking for? Oxymoron, in the sense that I think it's hard to do. And I know that you love to bike and cycle and travel. So how do you manage work-life balance? Do you disconnect when you're away? Do you set time aside? What are your secrets to work-life balance?

Terri Sorensen: Work-life balance is extremely difficult and I try to really learn from things I've seen in my life. My own parents got divorced after 34 years of marriage and really it was because my father was a workaholic, I think, and not paying enough attention to my mother. And so, I really think about that because I know I have the tendency to be a workaholic and I love my work. So that makes it easier to be a workaholic. So, making sure that I take time for my husband and my family is just critical. I'm probably still on my phone way too much, checking email way too much, but I do try to set it aside and really give quality time when I'm with my family. And exercise is so important for me. I've loved cycling for a long time so we typically will take a cycling trip once a year and so then I can spend at least all the non-rainy days cycling and preparing for that trip. And that does really allow me to clear my mind. I also love to paddleboard and I've found that you can't think about other things when you're paddleboarding or you'll end up in the lake.

Mary Killelea: That is true.

Terri Sorensen: And that's a good one, yes. Because I've made that mistake of thinking about other things and ending up in the lake unexpectedly.

Mary Killelea: That's great. If you could tell your 20 year old self one thing, what would it be?

Terri Sorensen: Think big. I think too often we don't think big enough and I've really learned throughout the years, like you can exceed your wildest dreams in what's possible.

Mary Killelea: That's great. I think this is the last question. Do you have any good books or career books, podcasts that you love and would share with our listeners?

Terri Sorensen: Well, I'm new to the whole podcast scene, but I'm really excited about it. I am an avid reader. One of the books I'm reading right now is New York Times bestseller, So You Want to Talk About Race, and I tend to read a lot of books that talk about inequities and systemic racism because it's so important to what Friends with the Children does. And I know that I have a lot of privilege as a white woman and I find that these books really help inspire and are learning for me as we're leading a diverse group of leaders who represent very diverse children and their families.

Mary Killelea: You've been awesome to talk to, and again, like I said, I could talk to you for hours just learning more about your company. I appreciate you coming on and talking to us about your career. So where can someone learn more about Friends of the Fhildren and also if they wanted to connect with you

Terri Sorensen: Go to our website at www.friendsofthechildren.org. I'm also uh Terri Sorensen on Twitter and LinkedIn and I do look at my LinkedIn messages, but we'd love for you to learn more about Friends of the Children.

Mary Killelea: Awesome. Thanks Terri.

Terri Sorensen: Thank you, Mary. This has been really a pleasure.

Mary Killelea: Thanks for listening to the episode today it was really fun chatting with my guests if you liked our show please like it and share it with your friends if you want to learn what we're up to please go check out our website at 2bbolder.com that's the number two little b bolder.com.