2010 - OVER TWENTY YEARS IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR

In 1988, at the age of 14 I obtained my first public service job as a Afterschool Specialist in the Minneapolis Department of Parks and Recreation and with the Minneapolis Public Schools.  I would never had imagined that since those years working with elementary and middle school children in South Minneapolis that I would have enjoyed so many wonderful experiences I have had.  The following is an outline of the first 20 years:

1988-1996

In 1988, I was a freshman in Minneapolis and began to get involved in service through my high school and in my community.  As a senior in high school I started working in local and state politics.  I served as a state delegate for my community.  One of the most memorable experiences was helping coordinate a walk on behalf of an elderly neighbor that was beaten and robbed.  It served as the first time in my life that I was able to have a meaningful experience in social change.

In college I began to delve deeper into social change efforts and became a community organizer.  Working with the Minnesota Fair Housing Campaign, Minneapolis NAACP and Minneapolis Community Action, where I worked on housing rights, voter discrimination and racial equality.  I continued working on political campaigns, having served as a paid (but lowly) staffer in local, state and national politics.  I learned that political organizing was not going to be a career.

Below is a picture of me working with a group in Selma, Alabama in the summer of 1996.  I had visited this group several times after making an initial trip with a group at college.  I was fortunate enough to work to establish a local lending library and youth center for children in a local housing project.  That summer I also worked as a community organizer in neighborhoods of the south-side of Chicago.   

1996 - 2000

Following my years in Minneapolis and community organizing in Alabama and Chicago, I moved to New York to serve in a year-long, faith-based volunteer program through the Good Shepherd Volunteers.  I was placed in Brooklyn to work in the housing projects of Red Hook to coordinate afterschool programs at PS 15, also as an AmeriCorps member.  I made 93 cents an hour and lived in an old convent with several other volunteers. As an aside I started a college and career center, helping high school seniors get into college and local residents obtain new jobs.  It was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.  Below is a picture of me helping a local high school senior who ultimately went on to attend a college in upstate New York through a scholarship.    

My work in Red Hook continued and kicked off my work as a consultant.  Two brothers had started a local football league with kids from the housing projects and asked me to help them, for which I did pro-bono,  I was able to help them in a variety of ways, including organizational development and marketing.  This work led to other consulting work, including work with the Irish Arts Center, Do Something and Covenant House.  Below is a photo of Red Hook Rise, the formal organization I helped establish and still stands today.   

During this time I started graduate school at New York University (MPA) and Columbia (MBA).  I also met my awesome wife in the only for-profit job I have ever had (outside of caddying as a youngster).  I finished my work as a Management Consultant for the City of New York Administration for Children Services before my wife was called to the Washington, D.C, area to help a friend start a children's theater. 

2000 - 2006

I came to DC area, living in the quasi-rural town of Middleburg, VA.  Horse country and very wine and cheesy.  It was definitely not what I was accustomed to.  I found a job with the national organization, America's Promise, which was founded by Secretary of State Colin Powell.  I was the Director of States and Communities and it was my job to travel around the United States and work with community and state government leaders on how they could more effectively partner and work with young people.  I also led a national AmeriCorps program.  It afforded me the unbelievable opportunity to see the United States.  It was an awesome experience.  Below is a photo of me leading meeting with juvenile justice leaders in Wisconsin at a maximum security prison for young people. (Photo a little grainy...)  

With 90% travel and having just got married (not a good mix for a new marriage), I decided to move on from AP and was named as a consultant to the District of Columbia Public Schools for a year-long contract revitalizing the Office on Homeless Children.  This began a series of consulting and interim efforts where I was working with organizations in financial and organizational crisis.  From there I led a social service agency aimed at housing the homeless.  This experience allowed me to lay groundwork for long-range community impact which will impact many individuals and families.  In basic terms, it provided me the opportunity to test out all of the ideas I had had to this point.  The results are as follows:


  • The creation of a volunteer house and program to serve low-income children and families in rural Virginia.
  • The creation of a home for homeless, pregnant women in suburban DC.
  • The creation of a homeless warming center for homeless men, women and families.
  • The creation of homeless drop-in center, including showers, computers, mail service, etc.
  • The creation of an ongoing funding program for organizations that serve low-income families.
  • The creation of a homeless services center that includes a thrift store, counseling rooms, etc.

This work is some of my proudest achievements as the effects of my work will be felt for a long time in this community.  Below is a photo of me serving as Santa Claus at an event.  This work was done through a nationally-recognized youth effort I started, bring together low-income teens and high-wealth teens to serve together on behalf of the community that they shared but rarely ever coexisted in.  We were giving donated books to children in a rural housing development.   HERE is a link to an article that discusses the effort and some of John's experiences of growing up in poverty.

During this time, Leenie and I also had our first son, Max (current Cuidiu Mail Room Supervisor) and I finished my MBA.  Leenie and I also got involved with our church, starting in Middleburg and continuing today with our current church.  Below is a photo of me at a girls orphanage in Honduras.  This started the growing seedling I am having toward working with international groups.   

I finished my work in the DC area doing work as an interim COO with a national organization, which afforded me the opportunity to travel nationally and again work with an organization through severe financial and organizational turmoil.  It was my third organization that I had provided leadership through either a turnaround, restructure or merge.  In this work I was able to work with groups affected by Hurricane Katrina.  Below is a photo I took, one of my favorites, that is a cross with the quote from Joshua stating "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."  Notice the water line below the plaque which is where the water had reached during the flooding.   

I have returned to the New Orleans area several times since that initial trip, mostly to help community groups with fund development and financial management. 

2006 - Present

In 2006, Leenie and I decided to move back to the New York City area to be closer to friends.  I started teaching at NYU and working as a interim CEO of a long serving human service agency in Brooklyn.  The organization was the fourth organization I had lead through a turnaround or merger.  I was also named a Senior Fellow at the Support Center for Nonprofit Management looking at executive leadership issues.

Cuidiu ended the 2008 year with 15 clients and the 2009 year with 22 clients, including federal, state and local government and non-profit groups, our first international client and serving new areas, including groups in the health corporate partnerships and the environment.  In addition, Cuidiu saw the release of its weekly newsletter and blog Red Beans and Rice, which reaches over 1500 organizations and individuals through out the United States.  Finally, Cuidiu formalized it's pro-bono program with Cuidiu Grants.  Cuidiu currently gives out more than $25,000 a year in free consulting work.  

Below is a photo of me giving a speech at a fundraiser for immigrant children and families.   

 

Great Success in 2009 and Looking Forward to 2010

  Nina and Max on Christmas 2009

 

2009 brought the addition to the Brothers family, Nina in March.  In 2010, Cuidiu Consulting hopes to formalize more work for its partner consultants and continue to expand its work into new arenas.  We look forward to our continued growth and work in this important space.