Catherine Foca
Capital One
Career Roadmap
Catherine's work combines: Non-Profit Organizations, Business, and Problem Solving
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Wake Forest University
Graduate Degree
American Government and Politics (United States)
Wake Forest University
Here's the path I recommend for someone who wants to be a Social and Community Service Managers:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Graduate Degree: Non-Profit/Public/Organizational Management
Learn more about different paths to this career
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
After college joined AmeriCorps to get enough hours to apply for school of social work.
2.
Ended up figuring out that I liked the administrative/systems component more than direct service.
3.
Went back to grad school and got to work on evaluation projects like strategic planning for CIS.
4.
Got first job out of grad school overseeing a multi-site evaluation project.
5.
Multi-site evaluation project big fail, but led strategic planning process for re-envisioned org.
6.
Left the workforce to stay at home with kids; invested in local nonprofits.
7.
Came back part time with corporate foundation to develop granting strategy.
8.
Lead community affairs national programs and operations for Fortune 500 company.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Society in general:
You should wait till you're older to lead things. You don't have enough letters behind your name to do evaluation.
How I responded:
Bottom line, I didn't let it stop or intimidate me. I found that humility is a really great attribute to have. So if I engage with "You're right, I have a ton to learn, can you help me answer this question or that question", then you turn a nay-sayer into an advocate. I also educated myself on items that I didn't understand and wasn't afraid to ask questions.