Catherine Foca
Senior Director, Community Affairs; Vice President, Capital One Foundation
Capital One
Milestones
My road in life took a while to figure out.
After college joined AmeriCorps to get enough hours to apply for school of social work.
Ended up figuring out that I liked the administrative / systems component more than direct service.
Went back to grad school and got to work on evaluation projects like strategic planning for CIS.
Got first job out of grad school overseeing a multi-site evaluation project.
Multi-site evaluation project big fail, but led strategic planning process for re-envisioned org.
Left the workforce to stay at home with kids; invested in local nonprofits.
Came back part time with corporate foundation to develop granting strategy.
Lead community affairs national programs and operations for Fortune 500 company.
Education
High School
Bachelor
Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University
Career
Senior Director, Community Affairs; Vice President, Capital One Foundation
Develop and implement a corporate giving strategy for my company that advances economic opportunity for children, families and communities that lack resources.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Non-Profit Organizations
Business
Problem Solving
Day to Day
Lots of meetings- focus on goals and strategies, checking in with my direct reports, firespotting for my peers, problem-solving. Honestly I probably spend 4-5 hours a day in meetings. I also do a lot of site visits to nonprofits, helping them understand their strategy and finding shared success and goals. Finally, I spend time developing metrics and objectives related to strategies.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for college students
Volunteer in nonprofits so that you have practical experience to apply. Read, read, read...
Recommended Education
My career is not related to what I studied. I'd recommend this path instead:
Bachelor
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Society in General:
"You should wait till you're older to lead things. You don't have enough letters behind your name to do evaluation."
