As CEDAM has grown and brought on new programs, we’ve increased our capacity to better support our programs. This included the creation of the Grants & Contracts Coordinator position and the hiring of Tara Smalley! Tara has a diverse background in operations and business management. Our communications specialist, Jennifer, chatted with Tara to get to know her a little better and see what she is most excited about in this role at CEDAM.

Jennifer Lareau-Gee, Communications Specialist: Can you give me a brief overview of what you were doing before joining CEDAM and how that led you here?

Tara Smalley, Grants & Contracts Coordinator: My most recent position was in nonprofit work at an organization that focused on gender equity and helping development organizations build gender equity into their projects and developments. That was the first jump I made, the first job I got, outside of academia. After that, I realized I really enjoyed the nonprofit life and having a more direct connection to the folks that we’re trying to help. I found my academic work very fulfilling but it’s a little meta, they’re a couple of layers removed from actually making a difference to a person. I was excited to find a place where I was still in the nonprofit space and making a more direct difference.

Jennifer: When you were working with that gender equity nonprofit, were you doing the same kind of role or were you doing something different from your position at CEDAM?

Tara: I had kind of a jack-of-all-trades role because I was the fifth employee at the organization; I was the first administrative operational person. At that time, they didn’t really have any systems or anyone who understood operational concerns. So, I just kind of did everything on that side of the house over the term of my five years with them. I think I started as an executive assistant, then I went to operations management, then I went into business management as the organization grew and our needs became more sophisticated.

Jennifer: What are you looking forward to most in this role, working at CEDAM?

Tara: I’m really excited about the history of CEDAM and coming in at this particular moment where you guys have grown so much in the last two or three years. It’s a great time to formalize some of the systems and bring everyone into the same house so-to-speak where we’re all speaking the same language when we talk about our grant processes. I think the thing that drives me to do the work that I do is the belief that better systems make us more capable. With everything that is ahead of CEDAM right now potentially, if we can have really good policies and systems in place, then we can go further faster.

Jennifer: What excites you most about community development as a field?

Tara: The position I’ve come from and what I’ve had experience with is the scenario where global development tends to be based on donors from the global north who come in with a specific idea in mind of what area they want to work in or what exactly they want to do. They have an idea that they’re going to invest x number of dollars in a developing nation somewhere in the global South and get what they think is the best result out of it.

I really struggled with that over the years. The voices of the actual people whose lives were essentially being changed were not heard; they were not invited into the early conversations about what was needed or even what kinds of resources would be most meaningful to them. They kind of were thought of after the grant was already approved and then things being tacked on.

I’m excited about the opposition of that, of being a part of a less paternalizing process. I really appreciate that the remit of CEDAM is quite broad and responsive. I appreciate that, although CEDAM is based in Lansing, there is a really concerted effort and a thoughtful design to reach out all around the state. People are making frequent visits to the communities, being responsive, and starting the conversation with open-hearted questions about what would make a difference in this space.

Jennifer: What do you want to get the most out of this role?

Tara: I grew up as a theater kid; I was a stage manager all through school. That trait of being very aware of everything that’s going on in an organization, helping keep things organized and running smoothly so the production on the front end is as good as it can be, is satisfying to me. Being a little person at the center of the web and seeing what’s going on and helping keep things moving is very satisfying. I don’t usually gravitate towards work that involves a lot of recognition but things where I know that I made a difference to what’s going on and my colleagues know that they can rely on me to have an answer, or get them the answer if I don’t have it, and help them make their day easier.

Additionally, as a transient Michigander, I am really looking forward to deeply getting to know Michigan and becoming just an involved conscientious citizen of the place I live in.