Tag Archives: Coro Pittsburgh

Initiative for Transgender Leadership Fellowship Comes to a Close

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Rayden Sorock is the first Initiative for Transgender Leadership (ITL) fellow, currently placed at Coro Pittsburgh. He shares with us about the ITL, his experience working with Coro over the past several months, and considers what could be next.

So what is the Initiative for Transgender Leadership all about?

Rayden Sorock

Often transgender people are held back from actively pursuing challenging professional experiences, or they are actively turned away from these positions due to discrimination. Two years ago, three friends—R T Peck, Jen Saffron and Madeleine Hershey—decided they would do something to bridge the professional gap for young transgender people. The first project of the Initiative for Transgender Leadership (ITL) was a 10-month paid fellowship position for one transgender youth. That fellow would be placed with a sponsoring non-profit organization in Pittsburgh and would receive mentorship from the ITL team throughout the term.

The primary goals of the Initiative for Transgender Leadership fellowship are: to provide a professional and leadership development opportunity to one trans-identified youth; to serve the sponsoring organization’s mission of diversity, as well as expand its service capacity; and to “change the world”!

How did Coro Pittsburgh and the Regional Internship Center get involved?

Regina Anderson, the former Director of the Regional Internship Center (RIC), requested that Coro Center for Civic Leadership, being the parent organization to the RIC, sign on to be a sponsoring organization. The RIC pledged to provide a welcoming and supportive place to work; to offer direct supervision; and for staff to attend a transgender cultural competency training led by a member of the Initiative for Transgender Leadership team.

I decided to work with Coro because of it’s extensive network in a variety of non-profit and service areas, and because I saw similarities between the opportunity I was given and the internship opportunities I would be working to create and improve as a member of the RIC team. Since January, the RIC and Coro have provided to me direct human resources support, access to trainings, events and resources, as well as enabled my integration into the Coro experience and network.

What are some of the things you have been working on?

For the majority of my fellowship, I have been working with the Regional Internship Center (RIC) and learning all about social media, the creation of successful internship programs, and how to outreach effectively. I went from just taking notes at the RIC’s signature “Creating a Successful Internship Program” workshop to preparing to lead my own. I can see how the process for creating successful internships can be used as model to improve efficiency and sustainability for an organization as a whole.

More recently, I have been working with Misti McKeehen, Director of Operations & Outreach at Coro, on a series of recommendations to improve LGBT inclusion in the part-time Coro program, Women in Leadership (WIL). Also, I am working on a resource for Coro to share with partner organizations and businesses interested in learning more about LGBT workplace inclusion.

What’s next for you? What’s next for the Initiative for Transgender Leadership?

My fellowship culminates Friday November 18th with my final presentation at the Union Project. This event will be free and open to the public. For more information visit: www.transyouthleaders.blogspot.com.

Being the ITL fellow and working with Coro Pittsburgh has helped me build a strong network of people doing great work throughout this region. I feel confident that my experiences in this fellowship put me at a professional advantage and I am excited for what’s next.

For the ITL, we are exploring a few different ideas including continuing the fellowship program and developing a “mentoring the mentors” program to promote peer-to-peer mentorship between transgender youth. I intend to stay involved with the ITL in the future and I know we will continue to do great things. Please stay in touch by emailing transleadership@gmail.com.

Building a Bridge for Pittsburgh Newcomers

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Two organizations collaborate to build bridges between new arrivals and diverse networks and resources in Pittsburgh region

Vibrant Pittsburgh CEO in an information session for the New Arrival's Bridge

Vibrant Pittsburgh CEO in an information session for the New Arrival's Bridge

Since Pittsburgh is known as the “City of Bridges,” what a better initiative to start in the city than one that is called the “New Arrivals Bridge Project?”

Have you recently moved to the Pittsburgh Region or do you know someone who has?  Need a bridge that connects you to the region’s diverse resources and communities?  Want to network with our region’s diverse leaders?

Vibrant Pittsburgh, in partnership with Leadership Pittsburgh Inc., is launching the New Arrivals Bridge program to strengthen newcomers’ connections to community resources, social networks and information that they, their partners and spouses, need to thrive in our region.

Starting in August, this five-month program will feature a monthly session, in a fun and casual atmosphere, culminating with a closing event at the end of the year.

To learn more or to complete a program interest form please click here. Interest forms are due by June 30th.

If you have any questions, please send an email to events@vibrantpittsburgh.org or call the Vibrant Pittsburgh Welcome Center at 412-281-8600.
Please share this information with your colleagues and other newcomers in the region. Thank you!

Yoga in Pittsburgh – A Conversation with Kimberly Musial

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I’ve lived in Pittsburgh for about seven years now and during that time I’ve seen an increase in the number of people engaged in physical activities such as yoga, biking, and running.  The number of yoga studies that have opened in the past couple of years is just incredible! The return of the Pittsburgh marathon has had such a wonderful influence on the city.  I know there are a bunch of us at Coro Pittsburgh participating in the marathon.

The RIC has also blogged a lot about biking in Pittsburgh: how to be safe, why it’s fun, and how you can be involved.  I thought I’d combine a few of these ideas: yoga, biking and one other thing Pittsburgh has a lot of: entrepreneurs.  I had the opportunity to speak with Kimberly Musial, former Coro Pittsburgh Fellow in Public Affairs, and owner of the Yoga Hive in the Glass Lofts on Penn Avenue.

Yoga Hive Pittsburgh

Yoga in Pittsburgh

RA: What is the Yoga Hive?

KM: The yoga hive is a community-minded studio located in the neighborhood of Garfield.  We offer a variety of yoga styles that include vinyasa and kundalini. Our teachers have all studied with different teachers and have their own unique style. We also offer meditation, which is a really important supplement to the yoga poses.

RA: Why is yoga important?

KM: Everyone has their own reasons for this.  I think it’s important to check-in with your body and mind on a regular basis.  When I don’t practice regularly, my muscles can feel it, my mind is more scattered and agitated and I feel less grounded.  Yoga has been the most transformational part of my life and many other practitioners will tell you the same.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything negative attributed to the practice of yoga. It’s good for your mind, body and soul.

Kimberly Musial yoga in pittsburgh

Kimberly Musial owner of Yoga Hive in Pittsburgh

RA: What do you tell people that might be skeptical about trying yoga?

KM: It’s good to be skeptical of all things.  Blind faith is never good, but, I also believe in having an open mind and giving everything a try.   Most people who are skeptical or nervous feel that way because they have never done yoga before and are embarrassed that they will look out of place or will be too inflexible.  I am reading a book called Poser: my life in twenty-three yoga poses. There is an excellent quote I’d like to share on this point: “Like everyone else, I was terrified of a roomful of people who were good at it. Little did I know then that only very occasionally in yoga do you stumble into an entire roomful of people who are good at it. And when you do, they often turn out to be assholes.”

 

Yoga for Bikers

RA: Very apt point, and a very good reason for us to try some yoga!  I heard you have a new yoga class for people that bicycle, can you tell us more?

KM: Yes! We started this class in March since we had a lot of folks bicycling to the studio and students were saying that they were prepping to run the Pittsburgh marathon or other races. I think yoga is a really important supplement to both activities.  I myself am a runner and cyclist and feel the tension that sits in my hips and legs after just one ride or short run.  The class itself is 60 minutes, 730-830 PM every Tuesday.  We hold poses for awhile to get deep into the muscles and allow the body time to adjust.

Biking in Pittsburgh

RA: What advice do you have for people who are biking in Pittsburgh?

KM: Be safe! Check in with Bike Pittsburgh‘s efforts frequently.  Wear your helmet, put your lights on, and use your hand signals.  Take care of your body – you give your bicycle a tuneup on a regular basis, yoga is a tune-up for your body.  It keeps your joints, muscles and mind healthy and strong.

RA: What other classes do you have that we should keep an eye out for?

KM: We’ve got some amazing workshops coming up. This weekend we’ve got Hula Hoop Yoga in collaboration with Steel City Hoop Union and Stefanie Moser!

 

Thanks, Kimberly!  Remember, if you are new to Yoga Hive, you can receive unlimited yoga for two weeks for just $10!  see our banner ads on the blog and website for more info.  Also, check out this great video that highlights great things happening in Pittsburgh featuring Stefanie Moser! (If you’re having trouble viewing the video, click here.)

 

FNTV Belong from Brad Knull on Vimeo.

 

The Importance of Social Media Jobs

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Image extracted from: The Humanity Exchange

Social Media has dramatically changed the marketing landscape, and the ways we interact both with each other and with the organizations and brands in our lives.  For better or worse Facebook and Twitter and Linkedin are here to stay.  Everyone has a blog, and along with getting real time news updates, you’re going to be inundated with posts of what people are eating for lunch, and spam comments from marketers who have pegged you as their target demographic.

I’m a big fan of social media.  It’s how I connect with a large part of my world.  I’ve learned A LOT from both creating content, and from interacting with others on line.  Here at Coro Pittsburgh, we use social media everyday, and it has been crucial in staying connected to our alumni, and the Pittsburgh community we are committed to transforming.  When social media is done well, and there are plenty or organizations doing it well, it creates a valuable way of interacting with a group you may not have much contact with otherwise.

Especially for non-profits, social media is an obvious answer.  What?  We can reach hundreds and thousands of people with our mission, and it’s free? Sign us up! And that becomes part of a problem.  If it’s free, is it really worth it?  Should we bother with social media, or is it a waste of time for our already over-stretched employees? Should we have social media jobs?  If someone’s spending all this time on facebook and twitter, how can they be working?  This question is more and more often met with the answer, I know, we’ll hire an intern to do it!

In a lot of ways, hiring an intern to manage your social media makes a lot of sense.  They get this stuff!  They’re tech savvy, they can create facebook profiles in their sleep, they tweet all the time, social media jobs should be a dream for them.

Except that then you start running into the bigger problem of entrusting the management of your brand, your reputation, and your mission, to someone with potentially very little professional experience, who is part-time, new to your organization, and doesn’t have the commitment or buy-in of a full time employee.

Take for instance, the recent debacle Marc Jacobs ran into with having an intern manage their twitter account.  The intern, apparently not the right fit for the company, got fed up with the job, took their anger to public on Marc Jacobs twitter account, and fired off a few inflammatory tweets as part of their very public resignation.  You can read about it here.

Image extracted from: Fashintern.com

Granted, most of us don’t, and never will have the brand recognition of Marc Jacobs.  But that doesn’t mean that we should take social media jobs any less seriously.  Your social media should not be managed solely by an intern.  If there are no full time employees willing or able to be involved with your social media marketing strategy, then perhaps it’s not a strategic media outlet for your organization right now.

This isn’t to say that interns can’t be involved.  Interns are smart, and creative, and are coming into your organization with a fresh perspective.  Of course they should be involved.  Our interns produce content for all of our social media accounts.  Especially if they are interested in social media jobs and marketing, this is a fantastic learning opportunity for them to gain hands on experience that they can reference later in their careers.  But our interns are monitored.  Their content is edited before it is posted, and at the end of the day, full time staff is responsible for what’s representing Coro Pittsburgh online.

The fact is, that social media management is a real job.  Yes it’s kind of goofy that a working professional is paid to “tweet”, but your brand and reputation are too valuable to not do it yourself.  Social media is part of marketing now, and should be recognized as a valuable tool, and not a waste of time to be pawned off on an intern.

Women in Leadership Class XIV Group Project

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The Coro Center for Civic Leadership Women in Leadership (WIL) Program is the only leadership training program in southwestern Pennsylvania devoted specifically to women. Coro is committed to preparing diverse leaders to address important issues facing the local region. WIL offers the participants an opportunity to enhance personal leadership potential within a network of people dedicated to creating positive change for women. WIL is a twelve-week, part-time, evening training program designed for high-achieving women with demonstrated leadership experience.

WIL Class XIV, which graduated in June 2010, represents a group of women from diverse walks of life sharing many passions including volunteering in our communities and our churches, traveling, participating in sports and dancing. Public relations, non-profit, law, education, research and finance are a sample of the array of career choices the individuals in our class have made. We experienced the challenges of leadership through varied curriculum components of WIL. Throughout our program, we also grew individually and as a group as we learned more about our community and one another’s diverse experiences and beliefs.

Even though our interests and goals are diverse, we share two key commonalities: a passion for helping each other and other women achieve our personal and professional goals, and a desire to strengthen our communities. As a part of our program, we were challenged to complete group project focused on a relevant issue facing women in the community. We chose to produce an eBook that could easily reach women in both the local community as well as a broader audience beyond Pittsburgh.

Our eBook contains articles and inspiring quotes based on our own and other strong women’s experiences that are meant to help women from every walk of life excel in their personal and professional lives. It is our pleasure and honor to share our eBook with you.

Please visit www.wilpgh.org to download our eBook and please feel free to share it with others!

Women in Leadership

Women in Leadership eBook Cover

Coro Pittsburgh is accepting applications for the next class of Women in Leadership, WIL XV, through December 10, 2010. Applications can be completed on line at http://pittsburgh.coro.org/apply.

Women in Leadership (WIL) offers the participant an opportunity to enhance personal leadership potential within a network of people dedicated to creating positive change for women in the region. Women in Leadership is a twelve-week, part-time, evening training program designed for high-achieving women with demonstrated leadership experience in the private, public, or non-profit sectors.

For additional information contact Kelsey Halling at 412-208-0251 or khalling@coropittsburgh.org