We were lucky to catch up with Jessica Dunn recently and have shared our conversation below.
Jessica, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
In June 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic I joined the Leukemia Texas team. Walking into a new organization with a new team that I had only met virtually was a challenge. For over 50 years the organization had raised most of our funds through 3 or 4 special events and with them all being cancelled we lost over $750,000 in much needed revenue. Our small team of 3 covers the whole state of Texas but now we were facing so many challenges but yet so many possibilities as well. We took this time to really get to know our partners, patients and think outside the box. We created new programs including Buddy Bear, Travel Buddy, Buddy Notes, reinvented our events and created a new event called Strike Out Pediatric Leukemia Baseball Game.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
In 2005, I joined the AmeriCorps programs as a National Preparedness and Response Corps at the American Red Cross. When I started in this role, Hurricane Katrina hit and I fell in love with being on the ground and helping people directly. In fact it catapulted me into a new career path. For the last 17 years I have worked in the non-profit world across Texas and been a community advocate for causes that affect my area.
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
The past two years have brought to light that employees are tired, burnt out and don’t feel appreciated. It has been this way for a while but when COVID-19 forced us all to take a pause, it really came to light and changed the dynamic of the work environment. My advice is to be human as a manager and by that I mean be understanding, empathetic and showing your true self to your team. Create a culture of openness by allowing people to feel comfortable being themselves and to support each other in all ways.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
While I think you should always keep learning, the biggest thing that has worked for me is meeting with my team and asking them how can I support them, how do they like to be recognized and what are their goals. I can read or watch all of the materials available but if I don’t know what works best for them then it is a mute point. Our employees, volunteers and teams can be your best resource when adjusting and growing as a leader.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.leukemiatexas.org
- Instagram: @leukemiatexas
- Facebook: @leukemiatexas
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-mcbride-dunn-10ab6652/
- Twitter: @leukemiatexas
Image Credits
JP Bonnelly