Meghan Trombly, Director of Programming, sets the national program strategy and oversees the development of program content and evaluation at Generation Citizen (GC). Meghan also supervises local staff in four locations to ensure programmatic success.
About Meghan
Meghan Trombly, Director of Programming, sets the national program strategy and oversees the development of program content and evaluation at Generation Citizen (GC). Meghan also supervises local staff in four locations to ensure programmatic success.
Meghan comes to Generation Citizen from Strong Women, Strong Girls (SWSG). She joined SWSG in its infancy, building the core structures and tools to increase the number of girls and women empowered by more than 650%. She served in diverse roles at SWSG, including Boston Program Manager, South Florida Launch Director, Director of Operations and National Director of Programs. Prior to SWSG, Meghan served as an AmeriCorps Service Leader with City Year and as an AmeriCorps*VISTA Leader with the International Rescue Committee.
Meghan has received a Comcast Leadership Award, an honor bestowed each year to only five of the over 14,000 City Year Alumna. She led the SWSG communications team that was honored with the Massachusetts NonProfit Network’s Excellence Award in Communications. In 2009, Meghan was also recognized by the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network as the Young Professional of the Year. She graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelors of Arts degree in American Studies and a minor in Women’s Studies from Providence College. She also holds a Master of Arts degree in Sustainable International Development from Brandeis University.
We asked Meghan to share her wisdom about nonprofit leadership. Learn more from Meghan at YNPN Boston’s event, Channeling Wisdom: Young Nonprofit Leaders Speak Out, in Boston on January 21, 2014.
What does leadership mean to you?
Leadership is uniting people in a process that elevates or transforms the community and the individual.
What is your leadership style?
Drenched in sweat, with my hand in the huddle ready to cheer, my coach looked over at me and said to the team, “That’s what you all should look like after every single practice.” Leading by example is huge for me. Giving your all and revealing the strengths of others, regardless if you get the MVP trophy or not.
Can you share an example of a time when you successfully led a team through a challenging time or scenario?
A founder’s transition is one of the biggest challenges any organization and leader can face. When Strong Women, Strong Girls’ Founder Lindsay Hyde moved on to business school, I played many different roles and worked to ensure the organization’s stability in the absence of a President. The staff rallied to ensure efficient organizational operations, high quality programming, and external confidence.
What advice do you have for nonprofit professionals trying to build their leadership in 2014?
Apply the Strong Women, Strong Girls program model to your life; focus on relationships, role models, and skill-building opportunities! Build a cohort filled with diverse and mutually supportive relationships. Find a role model or mentor who can coach and push you to be your best. Seek out experiences that challenge and force you to stretch until it’s just a little uncomfortable.
What leadership resources have you found useful?
- The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook by Peter Senge, Art Kleiner, Charlotte Roberts, Richard Ross, Bryan Smith
- The Leadership Challenge by Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner
- Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain
About Generation Citizen
Generation Citizen (GC) strengthens our nation’s democracy by empowering young people to become engaged and effective citizens. We envision a democracy in which every citizen participates in the political process. GC teaches teenagers direct political action. Through an innovative in-class curriculum, students work with local leaders to fix local problems. Through this real-world experience, our teens are building an active democracy. Our innovative, action-based program will revolutionize civics education in this country. Generation Citizen is building a new generation of youth activists and leaders; a generation inspired and equipped to make change. Learn more at www.generationcitizen.org