BRITTANY KNIGHT
Executive Director of the Joyce Ivy Foundation
About brittany
Brittany Knight was named Executive Director of the Joyce Ivy Foundation in 2018 after having previously served as the Director of the Joyce Ivy College Admissions Symposium in 2015-2016. Brittany is a Midwesterner and has spent time living in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and currently resides in Michigan. Brittany began her career in education by working in the Admissions Office at Middlebury College, where she cultivated her interest in college access. She then went on to lead all efforts relating to the recruitment, selection, and matriculation of traditionally underrepresented student populations at Lafayette College before joining the Joyce Ivy Leadership Team. Brittany received an AB in Chinese from Middlebury College and an EdM from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She cares about anti-racism, equity, and promoting women into positions of leadership. Her interests include exploring places through food, speaking languages other than English, and sharing time with family and friends. She currently lives in Kalamazoo, Michigan with her husband who is a surgical resident at Western Michigan University. They are expecting their first child in November 2020.
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You can learn more about the Joyce Ivy Foundation below:
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CAREER
What does the executive director of a nonprofit organization do?
As an executive director, you oversee all operations of the nonprofit. This includes the direct programming that the nonprofit may give out, whether it’s working with students or a certain population. There is the fundraising and development element of making sure that there is funding to sustain your activity. There is the budget and finance side of things, which involves making sure that the expenditures are in line with the funds you’re bringing in.
This work is not monotonous. There is always something new and different.
For my role specifically, there is a lot of networking and communicating with different constituencies, including the Board of Directors, current and potential donors, staff members, and the students we serve. Most nonprofits have a Board of Directors, a group of individuals who play an integral role in overseeing the nonprofit and ensuring its sustainability.
This type of work could appeal to anyone who is driven and excited by connecting with others and likes to have different things going on. This work is not monotonous. There is always something new and different. With being an executive director, you always have to be ready to learn and jump in. If you do not know how to do something, that is totally fine! You cannot expect what you need to know in the future, but you have the flexibility to learn more. You are not afraid of knowing that you cannot be an expert in every area, but you have the ability to ask questions and find out the information you need to lead a team and help you move forward.
what does a typical work day look like for you?
This question highlights what is most exciting about being in a role like an executive director: every day can be a little different. What my day looks like now, during the summer, is very different than what it looks like in the fall and spring, which is when many of our programs take place. For example, summer is typically a time to reflect, regroup, and take a look at the past year. There is a lot of planning and many strategy conversations, specifically with the Board of Directors, in order to look at how we performed and use that to create goals for the upcoming year. In the fall and spring, we are coordinating our college admissions symposiums or workshops, meeting with donors and potential partners, and conducting the bulk of our work, which is evaluating applications and selecting students to receive scholarships. This is much more driven towards the student-facing side of things rather than just making preparations.
Why did you choose to work in the nonprofit sector and specifically with the Joyce Ivy Foundation?
I've always had an interest in education. Prior to this role with the Joyce Ivy Foundation, I was working in higher education for a couple of years and was able to determine my real focus in higher education, which is college access and the in-between point from K-12 education into college.
I do really believe that education can be such a powerful social determinant, and it can be a really important way for everyone to access the opportunities that they should be entitled to.
I was interested in why this pathway can be seamless for some students while others face barriers along the way. I started thinking about how I could be a part of the solution in removing some of those barriers and helping others navigate the process better.
I do really believe that education can be such a powerful social determinant, and it can be a really important way for everyone to access the opportunities that they should be entitled to. I've definitely always been drawn to working with people. In the nonprofit world, especially in an executive director role, it is all about the people and their relationships.
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Working with the Joyce Ivy Foundation is a total dream job for me because it marries and pairs my interests and passions while also providing me an amazing opportunity to learn, develop, and continuously grow my own skills. It is a good balance of personal alignment in terms of values and mission but also professional development. As much as I put into this role, I get a lot out of it.
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Trajectory
How did you decide what you were passionate about and eventually wanted to do as a career?
COLLEGE & FINDING A MAJOR
I started college with a very open mind in terms of what I could potentially major in. I went to Middlebury College - a small liberal arts institution - so I knew I would get a very broad education, which is something I was interested in. My way of declaring my major was a little bit off the beaten path. I majored in Chinese and minored in Psychology, but it was never necessarily an intentional thing. I did not arrive to campus on my first day of freshman year and tell myself, I’m going to major in Chinese. I never did that, and I actually never would have thought that.
Nobody would think to be an executive director of a nonprofit, you need to major in Chinese. Nobody would ever say that. And yet, here I am.
I started taking classes in Chinese since I had a little exposure to the subject in high school. I thought it was really interesting. I always loved foreign languages, and this encouraged me to continue learning about it in college.
I just kept taking more classes because they were so fun! There was a ton of work, but I just loved it. I couldn't imagine not taking it. I even ended up doing a language program, which was a nine-week full immersion experience over the summer. During my junior year, I decided to study abroad for a semester in Beijing. Before I knew it, I was on the path to the Chinese major, and it was something that just would have seemed silly to not do.
But, there were some times along the way where I felt pressure. I knew I was doing this major and following this path because I'm really passionate about it, but I asked myself what is the end goal?
I was lucky enough to have professors, advisors, and my family, who were all very supportive. They told me: if this is something that you're passionate about, the rest will follow as long as you're working hard and you know that you want to continue to find success.
I was really lucky and fortunate, honestly, to receive that type of messaging. I don't think everybody does.
I was really lucky and fortunate, honestly, to receive that type of messaging. I don't think everybody does. I want to acknowledge that for many students, and especially students who might be coming from a low income background, they feel the pressure to have to earn money to support their family, and all of that is very legitimate. I want to position my story and say that I had certain privileges that not everybody would. In some ways, I had certain barriers that maybe not everyone would.
POST-COLLEGE & first job
When I was applying for jobs out of college, I was kind of lost. I knew that the skills I had acquired to learn Chinese and my experience abroad provided me many transferable skills that could be used in many different arenas. But, I didn't have something necessarily concrete.
I applied to all different sorts of jobs: in the tech industry, those focused on education, and jobs in finance. The common thread through all of these was a connection with the Chinese language or China. Ultimately, my first shot out of college was working in finance at a boutique investment bank that did quite a bit of business with China. This is something I would have never imagined for myself. While it was interesting, I was not passionate about it. It was not the same type of feeling I got when I was in a classroom studying Chinese and when I felt like I could interact with people and make connections across differences.
During that time, I started volunteering for my alma mater, Middlebury College, as an alumni interviewer for high school students applying there. And … I loved it. That's what I would share with my friends and family at the end of the day. After a while, they were like: “Well, have you ever thought maybe you should be doing more stuff like that, rather than your current job which you hate?” That was a little bit of a lightbulb moment for me.
I ultimately ended up quitting my job at the investment bank with nothing else lined up. I was lucky enough to feel comfortable to do that. That's not something that in everybody's journey or story they can feel comfortable doing. It was risky in a lot of ways. For this reason, I would say be comfortable taking risks but also with the full acknowledgement that it is not always an option for everyone given their circumstances.
In my story, I ended up taking a risk in a very serendipitous fashion. There was a position open in the admissions office at my alma mater. I applied on a total whim. I just wanted to try it out and see how it went, and everything just clicked from there.
I loved interacting with students and learning about the inner workings of higher education. Certainly, I had been a part of higher education as a student, but to understand the administration part of it was really fascinating to me. I was able to further reflect on my pathway to higher education - why was I able to have a pretty seamless transition from K-12 to higher education while some students could not? This question kept coming back to me.
Be comfortable taking risks but also with the full acknowledgement that it is not always an option for everyone given their circumstances.
I did a lot of recruiting. I visited high schools in all different parts of the country and even the world, too. This caused me to continually question, why is it that some high schools are incredibly well-resourced where students clearly have opportunities and are benefiting from them while this is it not the case at some schools? Why is it that certain students are overrepresented at schools that are not funded as well?
These questions captivated me. This made me want to at least try to be a part of some of the solution. I ended up going to graduate school in higher education and working in admissions at Lafayette College. In this role, I worked on recruiting and helping students from a wide range of backgrounds acclimate to the campus.
THE JOYCE IVY FOUNDATION
The Joyce Ivy Foundation came into the picture when I interned for the Foundation as a graduate student. As a woman from the Midwest, the mission of this organization resonated with me. I stayed in touch with the Foundation for a couple years after my internship.
I started as an intern with the Joyce Ivy Foundation, and now I run it! While there were many years between these two events happening, you have to take advantage of these opportunities and know that they might unfold in ways you've never anticipated. You never know what one experience might turn into.
I started as an intern with the Joyce Ivy Foundation, and now I run it.
I was leaping into the unknown by starting to work in admissions. But, when I look back on it, this type of work was always right under my nose. I knew I always loved working with students. I knew I always loved working with people and being in a mentorship capacity. I knew all of those things, but I didn't have the ability to translate that into a career at first. Know what you love and acknowledge it, but also be open to things that you don't know you might love.
It does not do you a service to limit yourself at the beginning and become set on one thing because it then shuts you off to all of these other opportunities out there that you just might not even know about. And that was certainly the case for me.
What challenges have you faced in your career?
How did you overcome those challenges?
SELF-DOUBT
At the start of my career, I had this feeling that I needed to prove myself. I think this is something that women internalize a lot of - this mindset that I have to go above and beyond to get noticed or this feeling that I’m not qualified so I shouldn’t even try.
I have felt this play out in different ways throughout my career. This has been a mental exercise for me of acknowledging when I’m having these feelings and asking myself, why do I feel this way, and what is the source of these feelings?
Even going into my role with the Joyce Ivy Foundation, I questioned myself. I had a master's degree, experience in higher education, and many skills that would equip me for success in this role, but I still had my doubts. Am I good enough? Do I have enough experience to be an executive director? You have to catch yourself in these moments and remind yourself that if you've been given a spot, you are there for a reason. This is something that I have battled with and will probably continue to battle with, but seeking out mentors and looking to other women for inspiration has been really helpful for me.
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PURPOSE
I’d say figuring out my passion and ultimately what I wanted to do was a part of my journey. There is a lot of pressure to figure out what your goals are and how they align with your passions. It is really important to take a deep dive into some self-reflection and ask yourself, what is important to me? Does this align with who I am and what makes me happy?
Comparison
I found myself falling into the trap of not feeling good enough for a position because somebody was going to be more qualified than me. But, that is not for me to decide, right? That's for the people who are interviewing me and reviewing my application to decide. It is important to advocate for yourself. You can start advocating for yourself by just submitting an application to things even if you don't think you have a chance. We all have internalized these messages. Society has put them in us, and we are not immune to them. It's fine to have these thoughts, but recognize them and then squash them. Apply for the job! Negotiate for that first salary!
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WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO IN YOUR FREE TIME?
I love to travel. This was cultivated really early on when I was younger. Growing up, I moved around quite a bit, and this was mostly related to my parents’ jobs. In some ways, moving was like traveling at first because I was always going to these new places. I always found it really exhilarating to go to a new place and explore it.
When I was in middle school, my family lived in Germany for two years. I went to an international school, and this was an amazing experience. With that, we were able to do a lot of travelling throughout Europe. Growing up in the Midwest, I had never experienced that before. It was really important for me because, at such a young age, I was able to see and understand that there are all different types of people in the world and to learn about their stories. I really appreciate having this instilled in me from a young age. It definitely cultivated my interest in studying world languages and studying abroad.
It’s so cool to be able to learn about different people through travel and also learn about different people through food. I think that food is such an organic and human way to connect with people. I really love that, and that's something I definitely enjoy as well. I like finding restaurants and trying new foods!
What have you read that you think everyone should read?
I've been reading a lot of stuff recently related to social justice and racial equity. I would say that this has been really salient for me right now. With everything going on in the world, these are essential topics to talk about and understand.
My family and I started a book club. We're in the process of reading White Fragility, and we're going to read How to Be an Anti-Racist next. These are base level critical race theory teachings.
I think everybody in the United States should have a baseline understanding of critical race theory and understand how their identity shapes and has shaped their experiences in different ways while living in this country, which truly has always been focused on white supremacy. The more you talk about it and understand it, I think the better we can all be.
Who inspires you?
All of the women in my family. They are very strong-willed. Growing up in that environment, it was just always so assumed that as a woman, you would be strong. If you had an opinion, you would share it and your opinion was valued just as much as anyone else's. I didn't even realize that this was unique or something to even comment upon until I began to see that it’s not always the norm. I'm so grateful for that.
On top of them, I was lucky very early on in my career to have mentors who took me under their wing. They felt like an extension of my family.
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What advice would you give your younger self?
Stick to your course.
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The alternative can be just as good, if not better.
You are smart, motivated, driven, and have something to offer.
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Because of these abilities and advantages, it is my responsibility to do more and give back more.
Believe in yourself.
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Because I have been able to believe in myself and others have believed in me, I have been able to grow up and benefit from these privileges. I am more accountable and have a greater responsibility to do something productive and worthwhile with that.
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