Conversation with Be Social Change’s Jenn Lishansky
This week I have the pleasure of speaking with Jenn Lishansky, one of my mentors and my former boss at Be Social Change, an organization that connects social impact organizations and professionals. Interning at this organization showed me the possibilities of what a social impact career could look like and heavily influenced my decision to continue in the space.
What is Be Social Change, and what is its goal?
Be Social Change exists to advance the social impact space. We are a membership community that hosts weekly events, webinars, and networking gatherings for current and aspiring social impact professionals.
The organization was founded as a Meetup group in New York City in 2013. In fact, it was one of the fastest growing Meetups because there was no one else convening the social impact space. Since then, it has grown into a full-fledged social enterprise with a global community of members working to change the world.
Our ultimate goal is to ensure that every job is a social impact job, every organization is socially and environmentally oriented, and all lifestyles are sustainable.
What is your current role at Be Social Change?
I am the Chief Engagement Officer and a Career/Life Coach at Be Social Change. My role is to lead the organization’s engagement with our members and partners. I love my job. I get to find new ways to leverage partnerships to benefit our community and help design our programming content.
How does Be Social Change make an impact? Do you measure it, and is that important to you?
Be Social Change’s impact comes in three primary categories: new skills, insights, and connections for current and aspiring social impact professionals. These are the three areas where we provide the most benefit to our community. We do measure our impact through frequent surveying, and we worked with an awesome team of consultants through the NetImpact NYC Service Corps in 2019 to hone our theory of change and measurement assessment. There are metrics and outcomes we measure to ensure we are achieving our goals. I’m proud to say, our community always exceeds our expectations of what they are accomplishing and how.
What is the most foundational piece of advice you have for individuals who are trying to build a purpose driven career?
My primary advice: Be Social Change.
Be; means understanding who you are personally — your identity, strengths, and purpose that you will bring to your work. It also means acting in alignment with yourself, not losing your energy to burnout or unhealthy workplaces.
Social; means building a personal network and professional coalitions. No single individual or organization can affect change on their own. And, every good plan should follow human-centered design which requires a social approach to problem solving.
Change; is about going forth and putting action toward your impact goals. Then of course, measuring them and checking in to ensure your actions are having the right outcomes.
