Big lights will inspire you...

My work at Catalyst has kicked into higher gear now that I’ve been here for a few weeks and have started to get the hang of the office. The work is nothing like anything I’ve ever done—even though Catalyst is a nonprofit, and has a very mission-driven approach, Advisory Services, the department within which I’m housed has almost a private-sector feel. This surprised me, especially at first, since I’ve never worked in a consulting capacity before. Even though the work is mission-driven, and every client we take on is working towards diversity and inclusion approach, at the end of the day, each client has its specific goals, capacities, and deadlines. Very different from policy studies—but Kennedy emphasizes being tri-sector experienced, and I certainly feel like I’m gaining a lot through this kind of interaction.

The team has a big deadline/presentation coming up, so we’ve all been working hard to prepare. This is great for me—I get to see the end result and hear the feedback. At the same time, another project is starting as well, so I’ll get to see the beginning, too. In fact, I participated in a focus group the other day which yielded fascinating results with regards to how women employees saw their career prospects vs. men. The groups’ results will be the starting point for another engagement.

I’m also starting up my own project, which is exciting and the reason why I was so keen on joining Catalyst in the first place. As emerging markets become more and more important for Catalyst members, the Advisory Services team is taking a more global approach to its practices. I’m specifically tasked with researching, thinking about, interviewing and doing outreach on and about how women’s networks could work within a Latin American context. While the project is slow-going, it’s been very interesting as there is really very little out there on this topic. The project presents a real opportunity not only to serve Catalyst members but also explore a new topic area. I hope to be able to produce a white paper before I leave in August, as well as kick –start Catalyst relationships in the area by leveraging both the knowledge we build and my Spanish language skills.