Name: Madeline DeVeney
Job Title: Training Associate
Where do you hail from:
I grew up in Omaha, but I’ve lived here for the last 8 years. Lincoln really grew on me!
What is it they say you do:
I make sure that NRPVYC’s projects run smoothly by working with Cassie to take care of the details. Design work, working with vendors, a bit of web design, setting up for trainings, we do whatever needs to be done.
Who are your early influences/who inspired you most:
I’m really inspired by people who got out there and became successful doing what they love, no matter how “against the grain” it is. Reggie Watts, Ellen Page, and Julia Serano all come to mind.
What has been your greatest source of career satisfaction/ proudest achievement:
From 2016 to early 2018, I ran a monthly intersectional feminism discussion series that I’m super proud of. It was very gratifying to be able to give people who are normally denied a voice a platform to speak about their experiences and connect with others in the community who have gone through the same things.
What has been an unexpected detour/ greatest frustration/disappointment:
I didn’t expect to be working in this field, actually! I graduated from UNL with a degree in biology and plans to get my Ph.D. and become a professor. I ended up not going to grad school for personal reasons, but somewhere in the middle of that, I stumbled into a career that’s been very rewarding for me, personally and professionally.
Family life/hobbies /community involvement:
My wife, Sarah, and I have been together for 7 years now and married for almost three. We’ve got a lovely network of chosen family in Lincoln that I couldn’t live without and truckloads of blood family in Omaha. My three brothers have 10 kids between them (and two grandchildren already!) so it’s nice to go home and see all the little ones. In our free time, we do a lot of camping, hiking, and gardening. We also pitch in at the local mutual aid center, Common Root, for their annual Pride festival and some other projects they do.
The quotation I live my life by is......
I’m not much of a quotation person, but if I had to choose, I’d pick this Margaret Atwood quote:
“Another belief of mine: that everyone else my age is an adult, whereas I am merely in disguise.” ― Margaret Atwood, Cat's Eye
Imposter syndrome is real and affects a lot of people. It’s good for me to remember that others feel like that too.