Dwight Powery

I had been at Hewlett Packard for 28 years and had been thinking about moving to the nonprofit sector for work with more meaning.  In 2012, when HP offered an early retirement package, I was 51 and I jumped at it.

Then, a friend of mine said to me: “There’s this program called Encore.” I googled it and connected with the manager of the Silicon Valley Encore Fellowships program.  She told me how the fellowships connect business professionals with nonprofits for a year and how both sides win. I saw this as a chance to give back and to start a transition.

I was matched with Innvision Shelter Network, an agency that provides shelter for Bay Area homeless individuals and families – 1000 people a night – in Santa Clara County, California.  The goal is that, within 150 days, the clients become self-sufficient and move to their own place.  We call it “Beyond the Bed”, not just a place to sleep and get food, but job training and financial literacy including how to use Linked In!  I have done everything from evaluating food service vendors, to converting the phone system, to managing a move.

Before, all I knew about the homeless were the people I saw on the streets panhandling.  But 60% of our clients are families – people who lost their homes because of a medical emergency, or the car broke down or they had to choose between rent and food.  I have utilized my skills, not just in my core technical areas from HP, but also the non-tech piece of leadership development and teamwork.

The nonprofit culture is different and you have to be humble.  This agency has successfully helped homeless clients for 25 years and that is to be admired.  What I brought to the table was an appreciation for the systems we use in the corporate world – how to run a meeting, have an agenda, leave with action items.  I helped institute a new communications policy to keep everyone engaged throughout the organization. After my fellowship, I accepted a permanent job at Innvision as VP of technology and operations.

Before, my job was all about corporate impact. This is all about social impact, people impact.  If there is something  you are passionate about, there are nonprofit agencies that can utilize your talents.