The Skills Gap No One Warns You About
Dr. Ashley Samuels spent years as a school principal before stepping into nonprofit leadership at the Birmingham Education Foundation. She expected to bring her expertise with her. What she didn't expect was how much new ground she'd have to cover.
"Leading a nonprofit brought a new set of responsibilities in fundraising, governance, and organizational development," she says. "It was a real shift, and at times I felt the weight of a skills gap in areas that were critical for the foundation's growth."
It's a transition many nonprofit leaders recognize but don't always name. The instincts that make someone excellent at serving a community don't automatically translate into knowing how to run a board or build a fundraising strategy. For Dr. Samuels, closing that gap meant finding the right partners.
AAN Made the Difference
Through AAN's trainings and the Nonprofit Executive Leadership Institute, she found both practical knowledge and confidence. "AAN gave me access to a network of leaders who had walked this path before me," she says, "and their insight helped me apply my strengths as an educator to this new space of nonprofit leadership."
Two experiences stand out. Participating in AAN's Nonprofit Film Festival gave the Birmingham Education Foundation a way to tell its story to a wider audience — a film they still use today. And serving as a moderator for a panel discussion on educational advocacy connected her with leaders across Alabama who share her passion for transforming education.
Her Advice to Other Leaders
Dr. Samuels is direct about what she'd tell a nonprofit leader who hasn't joined AAN yet: "Membership is an investment in both your own leadership and your organization's long-term health. You'll gain access to resources, advocacy, and a peer network that will support you in ways you can't always anticipate but will definitely need."
At the end of the day, the work is still about the same thing that brought her into education in the first place — making sure every student in Birmingham City Schools has a path to success, regardless of zip code.
Learn more about AAN's Nonprofit Executive Leadership Institute and other professional development trainings.