2 minute read
Brandon White ’09 Chief Program Officer at Capital Partners for Education, Washington, D.C., and Emerging Leaders Alumnus
Brandon first heard about AlumniCorps from his boss, Khari Brown, who was a guest speaker for the Emerging Leaders (EL) program in Washington, D.C. Khari knew that Brandon and his organization, Capital Partners for Education (CPE), would benefit greatly from EL, particularly since Brandon had taken on the newly created position of Director of Learning and Evaluation.
Brandon White '12 (center), joined by Elizabeth Lindsey *07, EL Washington, D.C. Program Leader (left), and Kef Kasdin '85, AlumniCorps President & Executive Director (right).
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Emerging Leaders—AlumniCorps' nine month, cohort-based professional development program— prepared Brandon to make a significant career leap. He shared: “Halfway through the EL sessions, the Chief Program Officer left CPE and I transitioned into her role immediately.” Brandon implemented his learnings from the first four EL sessions right away. “I don’t know that I would have been able to make the transition so successfully without the perspectiveand advice I got from Hilary [Joel '85, EL program facilitator] and my peers… I was surrounded by people facing similar crossroads.”
All EL participants are paired with other program participants as peer coaches, a distinctive element of the program that allows cohort-mates to reap tangible benefits from their growing leadership competencies. Brandon notes, “My peer coach made the exact same move I did, within another organization in the nonprofit education sector in D.C.” EL provides a unifying“AlumniCorps umbrella,” where non-profit, mid-career professionals are able to relate to each other in real time.
Brandon White '12 (left) talks with EL cohort-mate Tenesha Duncan during an EL session.
Brandon and CPE have deepened their AlumniCorps involvement. CPE onboarded their first PP55 Fellow in the fall of 2018. As a PP55 Fellowship partner organization, CPE got access to "a whole new candidate pool,” which was helpful for an organization that has limited time to focus on candidate searches. Brandon is also a mentor to a PP55 Fellow who works for another nonprofit in D.C. He helped his mentee successfully navigate the confusing apartment rental landscape.
In addition to volunteering as a mentor with the Washington, D.C. Area Committee, Brandon has created an engaging seminar series for current Fellows. He firmly believes that “EL alumni would make great mentors and seminar participants," because of their proximity to the age and career stage of the Fellows. “We’re just one step ahead of the PP55 Fellows, so we’re the ideal near-peers! I want us to see ourselves as a part of this community.” We hope Brandon's story will inspire others to get involved with the AlumniCorps network.
