I know I got that from my mother. However, there are other times when I will quietly support others with no fanfare or announcements needed. I just want to do the right thing and I believe I got that from both my parents. They are definitely my role models. Cole: How do you ensure that others benefit from the life-changing knowledge you gained from your mentors? Kerr: I believe that it is important to share what I learned with others, pay it forward, and make myself available to mentor emerging leaders. Sometimes it’s coffee meetings, lunch and other times it’s a phone call. If someone I know wants to chat, I’m happy to do so. We just need to find the time that works for both of our schedules. Cole: What advice do you wish someone had given you earlier in your career? Kerr: I wish someone gave me a little more confidence early in my career. Many would probably not know this based on my interactions today. I’m way more confident and I speak up often when I have something to add to a conversation. When I started my career, I was not very confident. As a first-generation college graduate, I found myself in professional spaces that my parents had not experienced. It was very intimidating at first. It took time for me to believe that my voice should be heard and that my ideas had value. Cole: What inspired you to pursue a career in the nonprofit field & how did you get started? Kerr: That’s an interesting story. When I was in high school and college, my plan was to run for Congress. I always knew I wanted to be in a role where I could give back. When I graduated from college, I didn’t get into the law school I wanted to attend so I decided to pivot and pursue my Masters in Public Administration with an emphasis in non-profit management. I worked full time at a Fortune 100 company while going to graduate school at night. At that point, I still thought I would run for office once I found the city where I wanted to live. Although I was in Long Island, New York (which is where I grew up), I knew that this was not the place where I wanted to live in adulthood.
Photo: McBoat Photography
When the company decided to open an office in Denver, I was asked if I could relocate so I made the move to Denver. I was working in an account management role and began to grow my career where I started taking on more leadership responsibility. (Side note: I ended up meeting my husband, Kevin, three months after I moved to Denver.) Ultimately, I ended up pursuing a role in Community Affairs and this completely changed my career. As I learned more about the non-profit organizations in the Denver community, I realized that I wanted to do more to address the needs in our community. I made the decision in 2011 that it was time to leave the corporate sector and spend the last half of my career working at non-profit organizations that were truly making a profound impact. My husband and I had a family friend who was working at City Year. He was in a C-Level role and as we were talking about the work he did I asked why City Year was not in Denver. This conversation led to an opportunity for me to set up a meeting with the Superintendent of DPS and City Year. I ended up being on the Founding Committee to bring City Year to Denver and when the office was opened, I was offered a position. This was my transition into the non-profit sector and it’s been the most rewarding experience. Just in case you’re wondering if I still have
15 The Acumen
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