A Sad Farewell to Rebecca Sosinski

Rebecca Sosinski

This was one of my harder interviews. Rebecca Sosinski has been the Invest in Youth (IIY) Program Director since September, 2007 and her last day with IIY is June 30. She will be sorely missed by all who have come into contact with her. Her decision to leave was not easy, but giving birth to Evelyn last year gave Rebecca clear signals that continuing to work and be a full time Mom was a bit more then she bargained for.

I asked her to share her perspective of the IIY program from 2007 to now.

What was appealing about the IIY job and what did the organization look like when you started in 2007?

First the search: Rebecca was looking for some type of educational work after moving to Seattle from Chicago as a newlywed. She and her husband lived in a condo in Federal Way and Rebecca spent most of her first summer in Washington searching for teaching jobs and making friends with the cashiers at QFC! In August she learned that her teaching license from Illinois wouldn’t transfer and that she’d be required to take additional coursework, even with a Masters in Education from Northwestern University. She realized this was her opportunity to explore new avenues in the field of education and consider something other then the 14 hour days she had teaching in an inner city school in Chicago. She focused on part time job postings, thinking this type of schedule would give her time to create a new life in Washington. She did not have to search for long, as she found Invest in Youth and was hired as the new part-time Program Director replacing the very efficient and well organized Heidi. September came quickly and she was thrown into the first chaotic weeks of school meeting students, teachers and tutors. Her first priority was to begin grassroots training for the tutors and to “build those relationships.” There had been turnover in the Program Director position so establishing stability and consistency for everyone involved was important. She quickly established the habit of arriving early and staying late so she could chat with the tutors and learn more about their experiences, pro and con, with tutoring. She also enjoyed making connections with tutors to help build her community in Seattle.

How has the program changed since you started?

Rebecca believes the program has gone from good to excellent and in that process has garnered more respect from donors, tutors, teachers, parents and students. Every aspect of the program has become more professional with more peer recognition for good work. A large grant came in which provided a huge infusion of cash to help IIY “taste” the next level of how other non profits operate. IIY started to ask for more from its partner schools, i.e,, the principals had to be “on board” and so did the teachers. If this became a problem, then another school was selected. More help was asked of IIY Board members and Rebecca asked for more opportunities to give input to the Board. All of this helped strengthen the mission and purpose of the organization in achieving its work through a team effort.

What was the most satisfying aspect of your job?

Working with the tutors and getting the large grant infused her with new energy and focus for her work.

What do you see or want for the future of IIY?

She would love to see a system developed to “follow” some of the students. She hopes resources keep coming in to help the organization continue to reach its goals. She hopes the current staff will stay for many years to reduce the ‘turnover” effect. She would like to see a functioning “substitute” list with on-line support so tutors can find their own substitute when they are unable to tutor.

What are the program’s biggest challenges?

One of the biggest challenges is determining why the tutor list has gone from 95 to 75. Although she can’t prove it she thinks it may be due to two things:

• The economy – people are unwilling to leave work early to tutor or circumstances at work, such as role changes, have required them to have longer days
• Family priorities – Many tutors who have been with the program for 8-9 years have married and are having families so priorities have shifted from volunteering to the home front.

Other challenges include language barriers, principal turnover, parent communication and a way to expand the tutor recruitment pool. On this last challenge, she opines that the “most successful tutor recruitment is done by other tutors”.

In closing, Rebecca said that leaving IIY was one of the hardest things she has done as a professional. She loved the program and people and feels very good about her replacement, Meredith Barrett, and the new ED, Courtney Jones-Vanderleest. With their combined leadership and dedication, she sees a bright future for Invest in Youth. We will all miss you Rebecca – stay in touch!