An Interview with our new Executive Director
826 MSP recently welcomed Dr. Jamal Adam to our team as our new Executive Director! During his first month, our Communications and Development Intern, Lark Lasky, spoke with Dr. Adam to get a sense of his first couple of weeks with our organization.
Check out the conversation below!
Remember to check out our Next Chapter Fund. Support this campaign to welcome Jamal, and to show your support for our organization during this exciting time of change.
Dr. Jamal Adam celebrating the publication of our latest anthology, Rehumanize Me, at the release party in June. Photo taken by Uche Iroegbu.
What drew you to 826? What led you to the job opening?
I think what drew me was the fact that this was an educational organization, and a small one. Most of my professional life, I’ve been in higher education. In that situation, you’re part of a big machine, where you do your small part. So I’d already been thinking about trying other areas, you know, non-profits. So when I saw this, I thought, “This is a small organization focusing on youth, and education. This is an area where I can leverage my skills and experiences, and make a difference.”
How do you think the experiences you’ve already had have helped prepare you for this work?
I served in three areas in higher education. I did teaching, administration, and for a while I was a counselor. In that role, I was working with students one-on-one. I was working with students in that setting, understanding the strengths and challenges they face in life, while also understanding my role to help them reach their potential. That experience I look back to. This also informs a lot of how I value leadership, and my approach to leadership. I try to focus on the relational aspects of leadership. If there is a good, trusting working environment, people are more likely to succeed in their jobs and be able to advance the mission of the organization. That background in counseling was important to me when I was moving into the position. It meant I was able to understand new relations, you know, and motivations. One thing you have to do in counseling a lot is sit back, and listen. I found that is very helpful. To sit back, listen, and not make a decision based on insufficient information. If you don’t understand something, ask questions. Say, ‘I don’t know, tell me more.’ I think it’s a skill-set that I have found very helpful in this process.
I had talked a bit with our outgoing Executive Director, Sam, about the many—and sometimes overwhelming—aspects of this job. What are some of the exciting challenges you have experienced so far?
That is true, it can be overwhelming. You have to wear a lot of different hats. I used to work in an environment where we had a large human resources department, a giant financial department. Whatever decision I would make in that setting, there would be people who were looking out for that in other areas. But here, you know, I’m everything. I’m human resources, finance, and administration. I have to check the voicemail, you know. The number of small tasks that you have to do is a lot! That being said, I’ve been thinking conceptually about how I could make things more manageable. Part of it is the learning curve, and adjusting to a different setting. That helps me realize that it will not be this way forever. I have so many things to keep track of, and to plan, but pretty soon all of that will be routine, and will open up my time to do more of the things that I hope to.
What are some of the things that you’re excited about looking ahead into the coming school year?
I’m looking forward to coaching the staff, and having more interactions with students. I want to work more on the development side, and I want to start cultivating relationships with our donors.
I think that time will bring more understanding on my side, in terms of the operations of the organization. Once we’re in full steam in the school year, I’ll see more about how it all works. I’m really excited to immerse myself in that area, and to develop a feel of the work, and see my role in that time.
To close up, what are some of the things you want to mention to our community? What are some of the goals that you have for our organization?
I think my biggest goal right now is to develop an understanding of all of the different aspects of the organization. That is my short term goal. I think to be able to go into the ideas I have, I first need to understand the organization.
In this day and time, when there’s a lot of folks paying attention to issues that affect young people—whether that’s finding their place in society, mental health, well-being, educational success—these are all things I’ve been involved with in my professional life. I mentioned this earlier, but there are benefits to having a small organization. If there is an adjustment that needs to be made, it’s easier to make that adjustment, and to address the needs of the communities we serve, immediately. Looking in the long run, we want to expand our partnerships with schools, we want to establish expansions of some of our programs. I am thinking about the ways that we can streamline the operational side of things, so that nothing becomes too overwhelming for our staff. Things like data collection and evaluation—day to day administrative things—I am thinking about ways to improve those areas. I want to give more time to what we need staff on, which is developing that relationship with our students. I am still gathering information, and learning about the organization, and the people that make the organization work. I’m looking forward to seeing where I can make the most contributions.