A strange career journey

The early part of my career was spent in the non-profit sector. First I was involved with state and local advocacy with AARP (this parlayed into regional advocacy on federal issues towards the end of my time there). Then I was the office manager for a small church. An Episcopal congregation with a solidly progressive bent, I was quite at home. Generally, I considered business to be destructive and “the problem”. With that, I delighted in the notion of trying to save the world. Then, through a series of accidents, I moved to the corporate world, working at Starbucks in Corporate Social Responsibility. During this time, I focused mostly on environmental affairs, but worked in a number of side projects. Thus, even in a Fortune 500 company, I was saving the world.

Now, though, I find myself in the belly of the beast, at Microsoft. I am in Operations, and supporting finance within that. MSFT does have a Corporate Citizenship team, and does good philanthropical work. But I am far removed from all that. I miss that work, yet I find my work fulfilling, which (frankly) surprises me. For ages, I thought that social mission and service were the only ways I would feel value. I see that I can add value across a wide variety of endeavors. Also, I’ve learned so very much about the challenges business faces, and how that impacts their citizenship. And that so very many business leaders are trying their very best to be good neighbors. Now, what will I do with that knowledge? Hmm...