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MARCH 2005

Ruth Messinger, Executive Director of the American Jewish World Service

Factors in Career Choice:I chose the job of running an international development agency when I was looking for something different to do after I left local government. It gave me an opportunity to transfer all of my skills and at the same time to learn a whole new field in international development. It’s a combination of fundraising, public speaking, staff management and looking for the right ways to make social change. One of the benefits of this job is that we work at a very grassroots level on small projects. Even though they are not creating revolutions, the projects are making a difference in their communities so you get to see

Obstacles: One of the things that’s fun about politics is that it’s full of challenges everyday, trying to convince people both legislative and government colleagues of new ideas and  finding new ways to make change. I find that really exciting to do. That’s a major challenge and was true most of my life. At the American Jewish World Service, I have had to meet the challenge of running a small successful organization.  To have a staff and a budget that continues to grow I confront managerial issues continuously such as figuring out how to grow and expand an organization and figuring out how to take an operational staff and help them to become managers and public leaders in their field; how to find new ways to talk to various factions about the importance of global work and getting people to develop a greater international sensibility. It’s always a challenge to convince people that they can make a difference. A lot of the information about the state of the world is overwhelming but I don’t think people can retreat to the convenience of being overwhelmed.

Mentors: My mentors include my mother, who was a professional who did important leadership work in public relations at the Jewish Theological Seminary for many years. She was also involved as a lay activist and was on a variety of boards and took all of her work very seriously. My other role models include women in politics and a former boss, Fred Watson, the director of a community school where Messinger was an assistant. He taught me that if everyone thinks you are doing a wonderful job, then you are probably not implementing change. Steve Sutherland, a social activist,  taught me that life is too short not to  enjoy. He would always poke fun at himself and help other people see the humor in what he was doing.

Turning point: There is no specific turning point in my life. I try very hard and I continue to try very hard to keep growing.

Advice: I try to give people lots of responsibility and keep encouraging them to take some chances. I would tell young people these days, despite what their parents may tell them, there is much too much emphasis on choosing a single career path.  Kids should feel that they have the luxury of looking into a variety of jobs and picking and choosing among them and that’s one way to grow. They should find bosses that give them a chance to grow and shouldn’t stay in work situations or with bosses that are keeping them from growing. It’s better to keep moving. Everybody should take economics and learn something about the structure of government, and people who choose to work in not-for-profits should learn something about fundraising.#

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