Responsibilities of a Director of Programs at Minds Matter Southern California
Shalin, Director of Programs at Minds Matter Southern California, oversees all programming, ensuring "quality for both students and volunteers" across multiple sites, supporting a volunteer-led executive leadership team through curriculum development, evaluation, and staff supervision. This includes directly assisting with program delivery when needed, highlighting a hands-on approach to leadership and a commitment to both student success and staff development.
Program Management, Volunteer Management, Curriculum Development, Staff Supervision, Student Support
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Shalin Craig
Director of Programs
Minds Matter Southern California
University of California, Berkeley, 2015
N/A
Ethnic & Related Studies
Nonprofit, Foundations & Grantmaking
Education
Scholarship Recipient, Worked 20+ Hours in School, LGBTQ, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. Oversees all programing, ensuring quality for students and volunteers and consistency across different sites.
2. Supports volunteer executive leadership team through curriculum development, evaluation, and learning and development.
3. Supervises staff, focusing on investment in their growth and learning opportunities, and directly works with students when needed to deliver programming.
Transcript
What are your main responsibilities within your current role?
As Director of Programs, I oversee all of our programming at a high level. My role involves ensuring the quality and consistency of our programs for both students and volunteers across all our sites, including those in LA and Orange County.
We operate as a volunteer-led organization with hundreds of volunteers. Our structure relies on volunteer executive leadership roles, and these individuals primarily lead our Saturday programming. My job is to support this executive leadership team in various ways.
This support includes curriculum development and evaluation to ensure we're meeting our student outcomes. I also focus on the volunteers' learning and development, along with the logistics and behind-the-scenes efforts needed to run our program and serve our students each Saturday.
Since there are many moving parts, the support I provide varies depending on the team. For instance, this past year, our test prep program has undergone significant changes due to shifts in the environment and attitudes surrounding the SAT. As Director of Programs, I collaborate with our test prep directors to align our approach and ensure our curriculum best positions our students for college applications.
This is just one example of the teams I work with regularly. Other times, my role involves working directly with students, jumping in to deliver programming when there are gaps in the leadership team. For example, I've directly worked with juniors at our Orange County location, which I've found very enjoyable.
I also supervise two staff members: our Volunteer Program Manager and our Program Manager. This is a crucial part of my job, as investing in our small staff and providing them with opportunities for growth and learning is essential.