Alliance/Public Allies Partnership

In September 2006, the Alliance for Children and Families, in partnership with Public Allies, launched a project called Turning the Tide. This twelve month initiative stems from a series of regional scenario planning exercises in 2005 which observed the absence of young professionals in the child and family services segment of the nonprofit sector.

The Alliance hopes to better understand the barriers and opportunities to recruiting talented young professionals to nonprofit human service careers, as well as what child and family agencies must do to be more attractive magnets for young professionals interested in nonprofit careers.

Accordingly, Tom Lengyel, Alliance director of research, will be conducting geographically dispersed calls of about thirty Alliance members in the upcoming months. Alliance member human resource directors should be prepared to discuss their efforts in recruiting and retaining young professionals in their staff.

Turning the Tide’s project director is MacArthur Antigua, an independent consultant and coach and Public Allies alumnus.

The project’s advisory board, comprised of one Public Allies staffperson, two Alliance staff, along with four Alliance member executives and four Public Allies site directors, is as follows:

Alliance member Thomas Curcio, president/CEO, Board of Childcare of the United Methodist Church; Alliance staff Peter Goldberg, president/CEO, Alliance for Children and Families; Public Allies member Roger Hesketh, Public Allies Delaware; Alliance member Brian Langdon, president/CEO, Family Services Woodfield; Alliance staff Linda Nguyen, New Voices at the Civic Table project director, Alliance for Children and Families; Public Allies member Patrice Pennington, Public Allies Cincinnati; Alliance member Gayle Ricks, president/CEO, Growing Home Southeast, Inc.; Alliance member Nancy Ronquillo, president/CEO, Children’s Home and Aid Society of Illinois; Public Allies staff Paul Schmitz, president/CEO, Public Allies; Public Allies member Andrea Tavilla, Public Allies of Arizona; and Public Allies member Ato Walker, Public Allies Silicon Valley.

Cornerstones for Kids, an initiative of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, has generously funded the first six months of Turning the Tide.

Questions about Turning the Tide may be emailed to MacArthur Antigua at info@massivecreativity.com.