Kimberly Walker, Associate Director, Learning and Development, Arabella Advisors and Ph.D. candidate, Leadership and Change, Antioch University, will lead the charge during the Upswell workshop, Identifying and Managing Power in Social Change Work. Check out more about her, including the experience that has left a lasting impression on her work today.

Q: Time freezes for everyone but you for one day. What do you do?

KW: I’d probably go on a day trip to a place that’s normally really crowded. Or maybe to a few of my favorite restaurants, then a beach in the afternoon all by myself.

Q: What would you change if you could get a “do over” in your life?

KW: I wouldn’t change anything, actually. I think everything happens for a reason, and there’s always something to learn from experiences you’ve had, positive or negative.

Q: What’s a skill you have that you wish you could use more often?

KW: I’m really good at planning trips, including international and solo travel. I’ve been to 22 countries so far. I wish that I could use that skill more often because I wish I could travel more often!

Q: What one incident or occurrence in your life has had the most influence on the work you’re doing today?

KW: I think working in the field of homelessness for about six years and seeing progress being made on that issue, in terms of reducing the number of people experiencing homelessness, had a really deep impact on me. I saw that progress on something that seemed huge and overwhelming was possible, and I also saw the need for cross-sector collaboration and how powerful that could be.

Q: What one thing would you change about the nonprofit sector right now if you could?

KW: I would love to see more funding for general operating support for nonprofits, and great compensation for folks working in that sector that rewards the hard and really challenging work that they do.