Career Path of a Manager Strategy and Impact at Meals on Wheels America
Morgan's career path, beginning with a desire to work in the nonprofit sector, focused on "building partnerships," evolving from anti-human trafficking work at Polaris to roles at No Kid Hungry and RAINN, leveraging this skillset to reach the current position at Meals on Wheels America, where the focus on combating senior isolation through pet partnerships perfectly aligns with their passion. This journey demonstrates a strategic career approach built upon identifying and developing a core strength—relationship building—across diverse nonprofit settings.
Nonprofit Sector, Partnership Development, Program Management, Social Impact, Career Pivoting
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Morgan Hultquist
Manager, Strategy & Impact
Meals on Wheels America
University of Arizona 2014
N/A
Political Science, American Studies
Nonprofit, Foundations & Grantmaking
Business Strategy
Scholarship Recipient, Greek Life Member
Video Highlights
1. Morgan's career path highlights a commitment to the non-profit sector, starting with an early interest in anti-human trafficking and transitioning to food access and senior care. This demonstrates adaptability within a chosen field.
2. Her experience showcases the value of identifying and developing core skills, specifically relationship building and partnership development, which have been transferable across various non-profit roles.
3. The example of combining her passion for animal welfare with her professional work in senior care at Meals on Wheels America highlights the possibility of aligning personal interests with a fulfilling career path.
Transcript
Could you walk me through your career path, starting with your experiences in college? Please include any internships or jobs you had before your current role.
Yes, absolutely. My name is Morgan, and I work at Meals on Wheels America as a manager on the strategy and impact team.
From the beginning of my freshman year at the University of Arizona, I knew I wanted to work in the nonprofit industry. For much of my college experience, I was set on a career in anti-human trafficking. During my junior year, I had an internship in Washington D.C. with an anti-human trafficking nonprofit.
The stars aligned, and I was able to get a full-time position with that organization, Polaris, after graduating. I moved to D.C. and started my career in this field. I initially believed I had to pick one specific area and build my career solely within it.
While that approach works for some, I've learned that it's important to find what you're good at. For me, that's partner and relationship development. This could be social media, fundraising, or nonprofit operations, but figuring out your strengths and applying them to any field has worked well for me.
In my case, this involved building partnerships with community-based organizations, corporations, and government agencies to advance the organization's mission. After my time at Polaris, I moved to Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry Campaign.
I worked there for about three years, supporting local partners, community-based organizations. My work focused on helping them increase access to school meals, breakfast in the classroom, summer meals, and other federal nutrition programs. During this time, I also volunteered for a local rape crisis center for four years.
When it was time to move on from No Kid Hungry, I found a position with RAINN, which operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline. In this role, I supported their hotline clients by establishing contracts with companies, government organizations, and nonprofits to build customized hotlines serving survivors. This involved working with external partners to build upon our existing work.
To get to where I am today, when I left RAINN, an opportunity opened up at Meals on Wheels America. I missed working in the food access space, but this role had a unique focus on meal delivery to older adults, with a primary emphasis on reducing social isolation and loneliness through pets. As a huge animal lover, it was a perfect fit.
Going back to partnerships, a key part of my role here involves working with PetSmart Charities to accelerate our efforts supporting older adults and their pets. We also collaborate with a network of Meals on Wheels providers across the country to create successful and sustainable programs that reduce social isolation and loneliness among older adults. I know you might be wondering about the connection between pets and Meals on Wheels, but I promise to explain more.
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