What I Wish I Knew . . . with Trista Harris

Trista Harris, Executive Director of the Headwaters Foundation for Justice, thought she was going to run a nonprofit organization after graduate school, but her mentors gave her some great advice that changed the path of Trista’s career.  In this “What I Wish I Knew . . .” video, Trista explains how her advisor from the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs suggested that she take her interests in nonprofit capacity building to philanthropy, where she could spread her insight and energy to multiple organizations.

Trista says that affinity groups have been incredibly important to her professional development, as have resources from groups like GrantCraft.  But, she says one of the most important things to remember when taking a position in the field is that ” you didn’t get smarter, prettier, or funnier” when you started working for a foundation.  Trista says there are two ways to approach the work: you can either be a steward of community resources or you can act like you’ve won the lottery.  Trista encourages grantmakers to approach the work with humility and honesty for greater effectiveness.  Thanks, Trista!

View other videos in our “What I Wish I Knew . . .” series:

Ellis Bullock

Claire Chang

Jeneen Hartley Sago

Joan Cleary

Patrick Troska

– Stephanie Jacobs, MCF director of member services