Kevin Zwick
United Way Bay Area
Washington, DC USA
"There’s nothing more invaluable than just getting involved and working with other people."
Career Roadmap
Kevin's work combines: Non-Profit Organizations, Business, and Helping People
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Sociology
University of California, Berkeley
Graduate Degree
Nonprofit Management
University of San Francisco
Certification
Executive Education
Harvard Kennedy School
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
I grew up in Orange County, California.
2.
My father taught vocational education to people with disabilities and I knew I wanted to do something similar and help others.
3.
I went to UC Berkeley for college because I was drawn to the social justice work that students could do at the university.
4.
I earned my bachelor’s degree in sociology and started my career in the nonprofit sector working for Project Open Hand, which gave me a lot of insight into how housing affects health.
5.
I wanted to learn how to do community organizing, so I transitioned from Project Open Hand to the Industrial Areas Foundation, a community organizing organization.
6.
I then moved on to affordable housing development, working first as a project manager and then moving up to deputy executive director and director of housing development.
7.
After a master’s degree in nonprofit management and several years of experience at my first affordable housing organization, I became CEO of Housing Trust Silicon Valley.
8.
I spent 12 years at Housing Trust Silicon Valley and decided I wanted to work regionally on broader anti-poverty issues, which led to me joining United Way Bay Area.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Society in general:
It's not good to be told no.
How I responded:
Getting told no can be discouraging but we need to adjust our mindset from thinking it's always a bad thing to thinking it's a learning opportunity. Working in the nonprofit sector—and especially in fundraising—I've been told no often. Usually when people tell you no, they're giving you valuable information to learn to improve what you're going to do next time. If you hear no, ask a question. Inquire why. If they give you a reason, use it to think about what you can do differently next time.