Name: Lindsay Hyde
Age: 26
Location: Boston, MA
Education: B.A. in Sociology and Women’s Studies, Harvard University in Cambridge, MA.
Job Title: Founder and Director for Strong Women, Strong Girls, Inc.
What She Does: As the founder and director of a nonprofit organization that pairs at-risk girls in grades 3–5 with college-age role models, Lindsay wears many hats. “On any given day, I might be out visiting programs, I may be out meeting with funders or individuals, or I may be at a corporation or a college campus,” she says. Lindsay also talks with staff from other offices (currently they have locations in Boston and Pittsburgh and plan to add a Miami office in the fall) on a weekly basis to “make sure they have the resources they need to be doing a really great job. I also visit each of the satellite offices four to six times a year.”
How She Got Her Gig: Growing up in a single-parent household showed Lindsay the importance of strong female role models. “When I was in high school, I had the opportunity to work with a tiny elementary school and run a girls’ group,” she explains. “We got together once a week and learned about cool women in history. That solidified for me that this kind of mentorship could really be transformative for them.” While at Harvard, Lindsay created a similar program to serve girls in surrounding communities. “By the time I graduated we were serving 10 schools in Boston,” she says. The Stride Rite Corporation gave her a one-year postgraduate fellowship to grow the program and “see if I could launch the organization as a start-up.” Now, several years later, the organization is going strong with seven full-time staff people, and Lindsay plans to hire three more people in September.
Dollars and Cents: Lindsay and her staff have found ways to make a big impact on a small budget. “I think that one of the great things about being a start-up organization is that you do learn how to make a dollar out of 15 cents,” she explains. “What are the things I can multipurpose this piece of equipment as or this single piece of computer paper? Our staff has been incredibly resourceful.”
Mentoring Matters: Lindsay attributes much of her success to the advice she’s received from other nonprofit professionals. “The thing that’s been really key for me is having great mentors,” she says. “One of the things I did when I was getting ready to graduate was talk to people who did this kind of work. I talked to 45 or 50 different people and got insights into the best practices.” Instead of relying on one or two people, she assembled a “personal board of advisers” with different areas of expertise, and she continues to call on them as the need arises. “As somebody who graduated with a degree in sociology and women’s studies, I didn’t know how to do accounting or set up HR policies. Having people I could call on has been invaluable.”
This Job’s for You if: You have passion, good business sense, and the ability to “bring people into your mission.” Lindsay adds that “the nonprofit world is transforming rapidly to incorporate the best practices from the corporate world, and it’s a really exciting and dynamic place to be. I think the nonprofit sector is really where it’s at.”
