This week I started my Leadership-in-Action experience at the Fortune Society, a non-profit organization dedicated to assisting formerly incarcerated individuals. The Fortune Society believes in building people, not prisons, and offers innovative services and advocacy to help people rebuild their lives. The organization’s mission resonates deeply with my personal values, which is why I chose to dedicate my Leadership-in-Action experience to contributing to their impactful work.
As part of my role, I initiated a pilot program designed to create a comprehensive model for training volunteers. This model aims to equip volunteers with the necessary skills to assist case managers, who currently handle a daunting caseload of over 300 clients each. Throughout this week, I shadowed the case managers who specialize in employment services, observing their workflows and identifying areas where volunteer support could be most beneficial. From these observations, I developed a list of eight key deliverables—tasks that can be effectively delegated to volunteers to alleviate the case managers' workload.
While the Fortune Society is not entirely a new environment for me—I previously interned here during my sophomore year—the experience still feels invigorating and inspiring since the challenges of leading a pilot program introduced an exciting element of novelty. Additionally, given that this is a pilot program, I approached the experience with few preconceived expectations. This is the first initiative of its kind at the Fortune Society, and I was aware that the path ahead would involve a lot of adaptation and collaboration. Collaboration has been a cornerstone of my experience thus far. I am working closely with the case managers in the employment services department. Additionally, I am liaising with various team members across the organization to ensure that the training documents I create are comprehensive and effective. The support and enthusiasm of everyone at the Fortune Society have been instrumental in shaping the direction and progress of the pilot program.