I worked with Ohio Citizen Action in the mid 1990s...

I worked with Ohio Citizen Action in the mid 1990s after canvassing for several years with Greenpeace. I was immediately impressed with their much more thorough training and with how they wanted me to take on a leadership role as soon as I was ready. The other thing that really impressed me was how focused and goal-oriented they were. Every night, we were expected to knock on so many doors, reach so many people, get so many signatures, recruit so many members and get so many letters or postcards. It was made clear to me that my performance every night was connected to how effective the organization was and that made me really feel part of something. I ended up canvass directing in Columbus for a year before leaving to try my hand at other non-profits, but then years later I came back when a program director position opened up. I've been back since 2007 now and am so proud to be investing in a new generation of activists and building the organization for its next incarnation.