By: Amanda Graves
Karen Bell-Dancy has been the Executive Director of the YWCA of Lincoln since 2016 and was the first African-American to hold the position. Bell-Dancy has an Executive MBA in Management Degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Bloch School of Business and a Bachelor's in Psychology from Clark Atlanta University. She has over 30 years of experience at various levels of the education system, including 6 years as the Director of Distance Education here at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Bell-Dancy will visit the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on Tuesday, April 2nd as a keynote speaker for the Meet the Nonprofits event from 1:00PM – 2:30PM in the Nebraska Union Ballroom.
Nonprofits can be less familiar to students than most careers, and traditional job fairs don’t always show them all of this path’s possibilities. The event will provide insight into the world of nonprofits and answer students’ career-related questions while connecting them with professionals from a variety of nonprofit organizations. Over a dozen nonprofit employers from around Nebraska and the Midwest will be present at the event to offer their knowledge of the field, including YMCA of Nebraska, Arbor Day Foundation, and CEDARS.
“A nonprofit may not be the epitome of what you think a career opportunity would be but keep your options and ideas open, and it may just grab you at some point,” Bell-Dancy said. “Sometimes we get so fixated on what our career pathway will be, but we have to be mindful and thoughtful about what the opportunities that presented themselves to us are and that maybe it could be something to try. Even better, it may be the perfect fit.”
Bell-Dancy said that the most rewarding part of working in the nonprofit field is the ability to see the impact of the work they do and what the work means to the community. Bell-Dancy spoke of her witnessing the full committee and unicameral vote on the Legislative Bill 390 on Tuesday, one that Bell-Dancy has strongly advocated in support of around school resource officers.
“I actually did a testimony on that bill and we were able to see that bill get unanimous approval and move out of comity,” said Bell-Dancy. “We are able to know that for the families and students we are supporting, this bill is something that will be a good family enhancement and community engagement item. We were able to experience the direct impact on how our work served the community.”
Bell-Dancy recommends that any student who may have curiosities or interests in the nonprofit field to “just try it”. Just like with a for-profit organization or company, you need to have some kind of hands-on experience. In order to get your foot in the door of the nonprofit field, she recommends you try obtaining internships or to go out and volunteer with the nonprofit. And it doesn’t need to be one where you have a lot of knowledge in – she even mentioned that it may be best if you don't.
“Stretch yourself with something you may not have an understanding about and then you can also learn from them as well. That way you can learn from what the needs of your community are. Have the spirit of a civic-minded individual and attend events of specific nonprofits and/or volunteer with that nonprofit. You learn more about the community and the nonprofit world, but you learn even more about yourself.”
For more details on the event, go to https://go.unl.edu/meet_the_nonprofits.
More details at: https://go.unl.edu/meet_the_nonprofits