As we talked with Delquanda Turner in mid-January, the community manager’s passion for engaging the community and families was refreshing and clearly heart-felt. Her insight into community planning, effective leadership, and non-profit organizations was hard to hide. As Community Planning Manager for the Juvenile Welfare Board in Central Florida, Turner spoke eloquently on several non-profit and community issues.
The gems the Your Outcomes Well Team gleamed from Turner, during this conversation, are the seeds for our 3rd blog Series – which begins today with this post.
- In this new series, several of the insights and thoughts shared by Turner will be explored. She’s led workshops on non-profit startups. During our conversation with her, several compelling issues within the not-for-profit sector were discussed.
- She has worked at the Juvenile Welfare Board (JWB) for over eight years. Investing in children, strengthening the community is the motto of JWB.
Real leadership, real talk
In describing effective community leaders, she practices what she encourages others to do. What must these leaders be able to do? They must, Turner feels:
“Be able to go into the community, sit at the table, and talk real talk. There have been times that I’ve gone into the community, that I’ve had to take off my ‘work badge’. ‘First of all, this is Delquanda. I was born in this community, and I’m the mother of an African American male’. Sometimes I have to let the community know who I am as an individual”.
Meeting the community where they are can require, she strongly feels, taking off one’s work badge and talking real talk. Leaving the community out of the loop, or talking in a way which is fake, isn’t going to work well.
A proud mentor: Giving back to others
“One of my proudest accomplishments is being a mentor. I mentor six students right now though a program sponsored by the Pinellas Education Foundation – Take Stock in Children . . . that’s a very neat thing. Being a mentor is just so instrumental because someone invested and mentored my son”.
In words and tone, this mention of her work as a mentor captures well Turner’s deep-seated joy at giving back to the children in her community in Central Florida, the St. Petersburg/Clearwater (Pinellas County, FL) area.
Connecting the dots
Because of her experience working in the community, Turner is very good at guiding groups in the community in change initiatives. Her ability to ‘connect the dots’ allows her to point these groups to resources, assist with capacity building and sustainability, and to get the word out about collective impact initiatives and partnerships.
We will share other thoughts, tips, and strategies from our great conversation with Delquanda Turner in the upcoming weeks on this blog.
- The next post in this Series: ”True Leadership: A Non-profit Leader’s Toolbox”.
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Your Outcomes Well
Better outcomes through Best Practices (Non-profit leaders)
Delquanda S. Turner, MBA
Her Community Service includes . . .
Pinellas County Schools – Volunteer and Take Stock in Children Mentor. Volunteer at Pinellas Education Foundation Enterprise Village and Finance Park. Mentor a group of male high school students.
Professional Opportunities Program for Students, Inc. – St. Petersburg Chapter Advisory Committee, Member. Provide feedback, resources, and data as needed. Supervise 2 high school graduate students during summer internship at the Juvenile Welfare Board.
National Foundation for Transplants – Campaign Treasurer. Support the fundraising efforts for a transplant recipient throughout her journey.
Leadership St. Petersburg – Alumni Association, Member. Bring awareness of Juvenile Welfare Board’s mission and values as well as from the community and as a parent.
Tampa Bay Interest Group BCDI – Pinellas Vice President. Bridge the bay between Pinellas and Hillsborough counties to advocate for and strengthen early childhood education and family engagement programs via the Black Child Development Institute.
Empath Health Care Council – Member. Support, learn, and share resources in the African American community around caregiving, HIV, and end of life.
Your Outcomes Well
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