Adeeb Khan: Profile of a Red Crosser

Posted on June 17th, 2009 by Wendy Harman

This post by Rosetta Thurman originally appeared on the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network. She interviewed Adeeb Khan, Director of Health & Safety and Community Services at our Mile High Chapter.

How did you make your way into the nonprofit sector?
From the time I was young, I thought I wanted to become a sports journalist. So I went to school at the University of Southern California, majored in journalism and covered one of the greatest college football teams of all time. Soon after I graduated, I knew that I had to do something more meaningful with the thousands of hours I was planning on devoting to my career. So, I started volunteering with the Red Cross while looking for work and a position opened up for a grant writer a few months later.

What is your educational background and area of expertise?
I was a Journalism and Communication major at the Annenberg School at the University of Southern California. I have participated in various leadership and nonprofit management programs. I currently work in the areas of program development and management.

Tell me about your current position. What does a typical day look like for you?
Currently I am the Director of Health & Safety and Community Services at the Mile High Chapter of the American Red Cross. I manage 12 full-time and 5 part-time staff. The programs I manage provide first aid, CPR, AED and babysitters training to over 60,000 individuals in the state of Colorado and 23,000 rides for elderly, ill and disabled individuals per year. A typical day involves one or two meetings with employees to discuss individual programs. I am usually working with other organizations and companies developing partnerships with the Red Cross. Working with senior staff to resolve some organization-wide planning and changes. Checking revenue streams, budgets, expense reports, and constantly re-examining programs in search of new opportunities.

Where do you want to be in your career 10 years from now?
I cannot say that there is a specific position or job area that I see myself in 10 years from now. No matter what I want to be involved in work that is benefitting others, and whose mission is virtuous. Ultimately I want to build my skills to be able to make significant changes to develop a community with a greater perspective and sense of philanthropy.

What one piece of advice would you give to young professionals just starting their nonprofit careers?
You must view a nonprofit as a business in order to be successful. Too often there is an incorrect perception that nonprofits are a place where the culture is never stressful and the rewards are frequent. However, the approach young professionals should take is to constantly, and thoroughly evaluate every practice of your areas of expertise. Look to where to cut expenses and always push your organizations to collect all the low-lying fruit. One of the great things about nonprofits vs. corporations is that we have the ability to utilize unique resources like volunteers. These resources should be strategically managed, and never overlooked. The great thing about nonprofits is how much can be accomplished when an organization is able to correctly facilitate the desires of those who wish to contribute to a cause.

Filed under: Health & Safety

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One Response to “Adeeb Khan: Profile of a Red Crosser”

  1. Be Sparkly and Other Tips to Rise Above the Social Media Clutter « BC/DC Ideas, on October 6th, 2009 at 4:15 pm Said:

    [...] in September. I presented with Holly Ross of NTEN, Alyssa Kopf of Community Shares of Colorado and Adeeb Khan of the Mile High Chapter of the American Red [...]

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