Meet-A-FLiP: Trista Harris

It seems like once a week I find a new blog written by a Future Leader in Philanthropy. It's always exciting to see what other FLiPs have to say about our sector. Today's Meet-A-FLiP, Trista Harris, is the author of one of our favorite blogs, New Voices in Philanthropy. Her mission (very FLiP-like) is: "After baby boomers leave the world of professional philanthropy to enjoy lake cabins and to spoil their grandchildren, who will continue the day-to-day struggle for social justice? That’s where we come in."

Future Leaders in Philanthropy (FLiP):What is your background?

Trista Harris (TH): I have been working for nonprofits since I was 15 years old. My first nonprofit job was as a youth sports coach at my local park. From this position I learned that one-on-one relationships are the basis of successful nonprofit work. Since that first job I have worked for local, statewide, national, and international nonprofit organizations doing a variety of positions that all were about improving the capacity of the nonprofit sector to do better work in and for the community. Right before I started at the Saint Paul Foundation I was the Director of Advancement for Portico Healthnet, which is an innovative nonprofit that provides health coverage and health education to uninsured Minnesotans. I led Portico’s fundraising, communications, and evaluation activities to bring this model program’s activities to scale.

I received my Master’s in Public Policy degree from the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute, with a focus on philanthropy and nonprofit effectiveness, and my Bachelor’s degree in sociology from Howard University.

FLiP: How did you come to work in the philanthropic sector?

TH: I knew that I wanted to work on public change issues since my childhood and I thought that I would do this by being the executive director of a nonprofit community center. I really enjoy the synergy that happens when people are brought together because of place and not just by a specific program. But, when I went to graduate school I had a wonderful mentor, the late Dr. William Diaz, who was a former program officer at the Ford Foundation. Learning from him about the broad impact of foundations on the nonprofit sector’s capacity to do good work, I decided that foundation work would give me the landscape perspective of community that I enjoyed so much. He told me that foundation positions were few and far between but that I should prepare myself for the opportunity. I spent the next few years doing that by learning about the grantseeking side of the equation as a fundraiser. During my time as a fundraiser I made connections in the foundation sector and volunteered on a grantmaking committee. Those relationships and experiences are what led to my current position as a program officer at the Saint Paul Foundation.

Established in 1940, The Saint Paul Foundation is the largest community foundation in Minnesota. I provide leadership on the foundation’s initiatives related to civic engagement and philanthropy. I am also responsible for a broad-ranging grantmaking  portfolio which reflects the foundation’s interest in comprehensive solutions to community issues and manage scholarship funds for the foundation. This position has allowed me to use all of the skills that I learned in my previous positions in the sector.

FLiP: What is your blog about? What do you hope it accomplishes?

TH: My blog New Voices of Philanthropy at www.newvoicesofphilanthropy.blogspot.com is about issues of generational change in the philanthropic sector and more broadly trends in philanthropy. We are in a unique period of time where baby boomers are retiring and Gen Xers have made it clear that they are not content with keeping the status quo in the nonprofit or foundation sectors. I believe we are in an important period of rapid evolution in the philanthropic field, which is very significant for a field has been traditionally stagnant (or based on years of history and tradition, depending on your perspective).

This blog has been a great place for new and experienced foundation staff to connect on important issues that will impact the foundation field. It is also a place where nonprofit staff members can add their voices to the conversation about what foundations should become in the next 20 to 30 years.

FLiP: This month, FLiP is asking a range of nonprofit and philanthropy professionals to share the advice they wish someone had given them when they started their careers.  What’s your best advice for our readers?

TH: I wish someone had told me how frustrating it is to push for change on the macro level. When you are tutoring one child, you get to see their progress very quickly and that progress reinforces you to do more. Foundations are making lots of investments in a variety of programs and the change the you see in the overall community is very slow work but where the change happens it is significant.

FLiP: What does the future hold for you?

TH: I am going to continue to write about issues of trends in the philanthropic sector because that is a great passion of mine. In the future I plan to become a foundation CEO and work on social change issues that impact low-income communities and communities of color.