Learn about what drives the founders of Atsika, Julia Nelson & Christi Turner.
Name: Julia
Nelson, Executive Director
Age: 35
Live: Bozeman,
MT, USA
Name: Christi Turner, Vice President
Age: 31
Live: Denver, CO
Career: Tell me
a bit about your career or the career you hope to have.
Julia
Nelson: I work for an international non-profit organization that creates
educational materials about water and trains educators on effective teaching
methodology. Much of my work focuses on creating water, sanitation and hygiene
educational materials for developing countries or urban slums. I work with
local educators, governments and NGOs in the respective communities to develop
a water education program.
Christi
Turner: I spent several years working in sustainable development and
conservation in Madagascar and East Africa – Kenya and Tanzania – focusing on
using media as a “tool” to foster change and create impact in that field.
I spent over 6 years in Madagascar, first in the Peace Corps, and then working
for a number of NGOs using media for development. As a Peace Corps
Volunteer I helped my community to establish its own solar-powered community
radio station, and from there I ended up working for a non-profit called the
Education Development Center to produce radio programs to provide classroom
support and teacher training in Madagascar’s most rural and isolated school
districts. I ended up specializing in radio for development, and worked
for a few other NGOs to help them develop community radio feasibility studies
and action plans; later I worked for one of these NGOs, Blue Ventures, as their
education program manager – teaching kids and teens to use radio and film to
promote conservation and sustainable natural resource management in their
coastal Malagasy community. Over the course of that work, I became a
freelance photographer, learned video production, and began writing more and
more about the work I was doing – until last year, when I decided to pursue an
MA in environmental reporting, and step away from development program
management to become a journalist focused on environmental issues. I’ve
been reporting in print, photo and film since 2012, while working with Julia to
manage Atsika, the non-profit that we created in order to continue to support
the projects that we helped to initiate in northwest Madagascar, where she
followed me as a PCV.
Are you
philanthropic? Why?
JN: Certainly.
My career is built around helping others to better their health and
environmental situation as it relates to water. I also run a small grassroots
non-profit that benefits the community I lived in as a Peace Corps volunteer in
Madagascar. As a human with the means to help others better their own lives
through financial or technical support, I feel I have the responsibility (and
empathy) to do so.
CT: Absolutely.
In every consumer decision that I make, I try to support worthy causes – for
example, purchasing goods from small cooperatives, supporting companies that
donate a percentage of their proceeds to causes that I support, being a
contributing member of my local public radio stations (my inspiration for my
work in Madagascar!), using a “working assets” credit card that donates a
portion of profits to charitable causes, subscribing to reader-supported
non-profit journalism like Mother Jones, and making whatever small donation
I can to causes that I support – such as the Nature Conservancy and most all of
the NGOs that I’ve worked for. As a photographer, although I don’t focus
on selling my work, whenever I do I donate a portion of my profits to a
charitable cause. Atsika included.
What does
philanthropy mean to you?
JN: Contributing
resources to solve specific humanitarian problems.
CT: Philanthropy
means recognizing that not all communities, causes, and individuals are on
equal footing in this world, and moreover that the global economy is not
designed to support the types of causes and organizations that will provide
benefits to society but cannot compete in the capitalist system. It is
similar to when our government subsidizes important public programs and social
services – libraries, public parks, wastewater treatment, healthcare, etc. –
except that it empowers the individual to support causes she or he believes
will benefit society, no matter how limited one’s financial ability to
contribute.
What
organization(s) do you donate time and/or money to?
JN: Heifer
International, JDRF
a.
What do you do? Contribute Money and do walks sometimes
b.
Why do you support this (these) cause(s)? I believe in what they do and trust
how they spend their money
c.
How did you find these opportunities? Can’t remember but my brother is juvenile
diabetic
d.
Do you enjoy it? Yes
e.
How would you improve your experience, if possible? Make it more personal by
raising money through drives or walks (sort of like the break out of campaign
that the MS Foundation has)
CT: These
days I donate my time to Atsika more than any other organization. But I
also volunteer my time and professional services to Wildlands Restoration
Volunteers (an awesome non-profit here in Colorado where I worked previously),
and when I’m visiting my hometown in Rhode Island I often volunteer with the
local chapter of the Nature Conservancy. I also still support school
children through the Blue Ventures education program, where I previously
worked. In Boulder and Denver, I’ve donated my time and photography to
B-Cycle, a local bike-share program; I’ve also photographed WaterWheel - the
non-profit arm of the band Phish – free of charge at a number of Phish
shows. I mentioned some of the places I support financially as well – but
often times a donation of time as a volunteer or as a professional are just as
valuable. I only wish I could do more – but these days it’s certainly
difficult, as I’m back to being a student!
If you had a million
dollars to donate, what organization(s) would you give to? International or
domestic? Why?
JN: Both
international and domestic-- I would find the organizations that are working
directly with the target populations and understand the cultural and local
context of the beneficiaries. Grass root organizations often can create real
change as they are embedded in communities but lack the resources to carry our
holistic projects. I would support these organizations that align with my
ideals.
CT: That is
a hard one to answer. I think that instead I would create a fund that
only small non-profit organizations and local community organizations could
apply for, through an application process that recognizes that they wouldn’t
have the grant management capacity of large NGOs and IGOs (which I have found
too often is a barrier to small organizations accessing seed money for their
programs). I would want the funds to benefit organizations supporting
small scale sustainable development, local biodiversity conservation, girls’
education, universal education, and of course media for local development.
Is there a
philanthropist you admire?
JN: Bill and
Melinda Gates. They are dedicated to helping people better their lives
through innovative approaches. And they are not afraid to think completely
outside the box.
CT: Paul
Farmer has been an inspiration to me. I read Mountains Beyond
Mountains and learned about his non-profit, Partners In Health, and his
quest to bring modern health care to impoverished communities just as I began
my work as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I continue to admire his tireless
devotion to his cause and incredible ingenuity in achieving his goals.
What advice
would you give to a young adult wanting to embark on a career in public or
non-profit services?
JN: Find a
balance between idealism and realism. Understanding the realities of
development work and it associated challenges is an important asset in creating
sustainable projects and lasting change while the enthusiasm of hope allows
projects to move forward with passion and drive.
CT: It was
hard for me to truly believe this when I was younger, but now that I’m in my
30s I have come to understand how important it is to make sure that in the
course of your philanthropic or non-profit work for a given cause, you do not
neglect to plan for your own future. Sometimes in grassroots community
development, public service or a similar field, you will be immersed in the
lives of people who have had to endure far more hardship than you have, and it
is easy to let your own wellbeing become secondary. Remember that your
ability to make a positive contribution in the lives of others depends in large
part on your own health, happiness and sense of security – and that the current
state of the global economy does not always make it easy to attain and maintain
these things!
Just as
important, know that if you embark on a career in public or non-profit service,
your life will be enriched immensely by the people you meet, the communities
you connect with, and the enormous breadth of experiences you will have.
And despite the fact that you may be addressing some of the biggest problems
facing the planet and our society, you are sure to be inspired by our human
resiliency, our Earth’s natural beauty, and our potential to create positive
change in the world.
