NYNP blog post 10-12-09

Alejandra Kennedy: Profile of a NYC Nonprofit Trainer
In love with educating educators

Alejandra Kennedy is a National Training Specialist at BELL (Building Educated Leaders for Life). I decided to profile her first because I know that Alex is an excellent trainer, having worked together for four years at my prior job, and she absolutely loves training. We co-facilitated a workshop together for YNPN a couple weeks ago, and it was a pleasure to see her train both because she’s so good and because she actually lights up from the joy of giving workshops.

Alex’s path to becoming a trainer
Alex originally wanted to be a teacher, and she began her work at BELL as an academic tutor while she was in college. Soon after starting this job, she began to work with the training department as well, and she eventually had her first opportunity to train.

“I fell in love with educating educators,” she says. “I felt like I was changing lives by helping develop teachers and tutors to work with underprivileged scholars. I also love how engaged people are in BELL’s mission and goals, and how the structure of training here supports that.” BELL is a nonprofit whose mission is to enhance the educational achievements, self-esteem, and life opportunities of elementary school children living in low-income, urban communities, and the children served are called scholars.

What it means to be a trainer at her organization
Alex is based in BELL’s Bronx office, but she travels to all BELL regions to deliver training to the educators and leaders who run BELL’s academic summer and after school programs. She also facilitates live virtual webinars, and she has contributed to the development of BELL’s e-learning training. She writes workshops and creates training materials, including participant workbooks, leader’s guides, and workshop slides. On the logistical side, she has project managed training nationally, and she has run training events with up to 200 participants in eight classrooms.

At BELL, the training team is organized under the program department, along with the education and assessment/evaluation teams. The focus is on making sure that BELL scholars receive the best possible service, and training topics include general topics such as behavior management, child development, cultural awareness, and team building, and organization-sp ecific topics such as how to implement the literacy and math curricula.

Any educator who has worked with the organization is eligible to apply as a per diem trainer. Alex then screens resumes, interviews candidates, rates their sample presentations, and conducts an eight-hour train-the-train er for candidates who make it through the rigorous process. She provides ongoing feedback and coaching as well.

The future
“One project I'm excited about is the launch of a new training series to provide extra support to struggling staff through shorter, more intense in-service options.”

As for the future of training, Alex predicts that technology is going to become even more important, with virtual classrooms and e-learning bringing training to more people, using fewer resources. “Bottom line: even in difficult economic times, the field of training is safe!”