Professional Resume'

Skills & Abilities		• intensive training in servant-leadership and flat leadership techniques • professional visual artist, photographer, and artistic/design consultant • accredited career development, art, English and MS software instructor • interactive work with special needs groups including homeless populations, at-risk students, abused children, (ex-)offenders, adult students, and underserved populations • extensive grant-writing/evaluation/research/management experience • 20+ years of volunteer management, public service, project creation and management • excellent communication/public speaking skills • experience in all aspects of non-profit administration and operation, and board service and development • professional experience in economic development, membership management, and governmental/political/community activism
Experience		Director - Works In Progress Louisiana Shreveport, LA May 2014 - present Responsible for all functions of nonprofit agency which provides business development workshops/project funding grants to creative professionals in 26 North Louisiana parishes Nonprofit Consultant Northwest Louisiana June 2011 - present Research, write and manage grants and databases for various nonprofit clients and creative professionals; use Constant Contact, SAGE, Excel, Access, ServicePoint, WIX and other MS/web-based/database programs; train grant writing and database personnel; assist nonprofit organizations with 501(c)3 applications, Articles of Incorporation, bylaws, board selection, etc.; acquired $500,000.00+ in grant funding from various sources including the State of Louisiana DHH/OPH, Beaird Foundation, Caddo Parish Commission, Blue Cross/Blue Shield Foundation of Louisiana, Gamma Mu Foundation, Grayson Foundation, R.Q. Terrell Charitable Trust, Caesars Foundation, MAC AIDS Foundation, Elton John AIDS Foundation, U.S. Office of Personnel Management Combined Federal Campaign (OPM CFC), Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundations, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation, et al Director of Serving Ministries - First United Methodist Church Shreveport, LA June 2005 – October 2010 Responsible for leading a large mission ministry that created/implemented community outreach programs including ex-offender services, homeless outreach, and prison ministry/education programs; assisted people in need of various types of emergency assistance; managed FUMC Community Grants Program, community volunteer education and training, and internship program; significantly increased church’s local missions budget; hosted annual outreach events for people in need, e.g.: Christmas Love Feast, Operation Stand Down;  served as liaison between church and community non-profits/agencies, and represented the church at local/national mission-related events; presented educational seminars about serving/outreach to various civic/religious/non-profit groups, and published numerous articles re: community outreach and social justice concerns President - West Edge Artists’ Co-op Shreveport, LA June 2005 – October 2010 Founded, organized, and managed a regional nonprofit arts organization; directed operations at art gallery in downtown arts district, worked with film industry to provide services for set designers and artistic directors; curated art exhibits at local businesses; consulted/collaborated with other arts agencies on local/state level Instructor - Career Technical College Shreveport, LA June 2004 - July 2005 Taught Computer Education, Career Development, English and Composition/Writing; coordinated with staff & management re: lesson plans, teaching goals, and other aspects of proprietary college; reported grades, student progress and provided student advancement recommendations; consulted students on specific academic/career goals Art Instructor - Shreveport Regional Arts Council Shreveport, LA August 2003 - January 2005 Taught comprehensive art lessons to elementary public school students; responsible for reporting detailed data to Shreveport Regional Arts Council for state/federal grants Database Administrator - Volunteers for Youth Justice/CASA Shreveport, LA October 2001 - October 2003 Implemented/maintained new database for CASA program; instructed case management staff in use of database; interviewed and screened new volunteer case managers; wrote grants for various VYJ programs; hosted events for donors/board members, and assisted with collecting donations for high-risk foster children; consulted with administration on new/existing program development; created arts-based juvenile diversion program; worked with adjudicated children in the anger-management program
Education		Centenary College – B.A., Art and Visual culture - 2004 Louisiana Tech University – 1988 - 1990
Community Service		·         Former Commissioner - Shreveport Mayor’s Women’s Commission (2015) ·         Member – National Association of Professional Women ·         President – N.O.W. Shreveport/Bossier (2013 – 2015) ·         Former Board Member - Meadows Museum of Art at Centenary College ·         Advisory Board Member – Highland Cultural District ·         Founding Board Member - Noel UMC Community Arts Program ·         Former Commissioner – Louisiana Governor’s Women’s Commission (2005) ·         Contributing Writer – HenryHarbor.com, ForwardNow.com, et al ·         Juror/Curator/Critic – Shreveport Art Club, Bossier Arts Council, et al ·         Louisiana Civil Law Notary (1998) ·         Contributor – Louisiana Coalition for Reproductive Freedom, Forum for Equality Louisiana, various political campaigns ·         Community Supporter/Organizer - Shreveport Opera, Baylor University Kappa Omega Tau Fraternity, Meadows Museum of Art, Philadelphia Center HIV/AIDS Resource Center, MLK Health Center, Holy Angels Residential Facility, ACLU,  Shreveport House Concert Series, Renzi Education and Arts Center, Montessori School of Shreveport, YWCA, Volunteers of America, Multicultural Center of the South, ACS Gender Studies Conference, Northwest Louisiana Art Gallery, Betty and Leonard Phillips Deaf Action Center, Community Renewal International

9 Qualities Of Truly Confident People

by: Dharmesh Shah
Founder and CTO at HubSpot

First things first: Confidence is not bravado, or swagger, or an overt pretense of bravery. Confidence is not some bold or brash air of self-belief directed at others.

Confidence is quiet: It’s a natural expression of ability, expertise, and self-regard.



 It comes as no surprise they all share a number of qualities:


1. They take a stand not because they think they are always right… but because they are not afraid to be wrong.

Cocky and conceited people tend to take a position and then proclaim, bluster, and totally disregard differing opinions or points of view. They know they’re right – and they want (actually they need) you to know it too.
Their behavior isn’t a sign of confidence, though; it’s the hallmark of an intellectual bully.  Truly confident people don’t mind being proven wrong. They feel finding out what is right is a lot more important than being right. And when they’re wrong, they’re secure enough to back down graciously.
Truly confident people often admit they’re wrong or don’t have all the answers; intellectual bullies never do.

2. They listen ten times more than they speak.

Bragging is a mask for insecurity. Truly confident people are quiet and unassuming. They already know what they think; they want to know what you think.  So they ask open-ended questions that give other people the freedom to be thoughtful and introspective: They ask what you do, how you do it, what you like about it, what you learned from it… and what they should do if they find themselves in a similar situation.  Truly confident people realize they know a lot, but they wish they knew more… and they know the only way to learn more is to listen more.

3. They duck the spotlight so it shines on others.

Perhaps it’s true they did the bulk of the work. Perhaps they really did overcome the major obstacles. Perhaps it’s true they turned a collection of disparate individuals into an incredibly high performance team.
Truly confident people don’t care – at least they don’t show it. (Inside they’re proud, as well they should be.) Truly confident people don’t need the glory; they know what they’ve achieved.  They don’t need the validation of others, because true validation comes from within.  So they stand back and celebrate their accomplishments through others. They stand back and let others shine – a confidence boost that helps those people become truly confident, too.

4. They freely ask for help.

Many people feel asking for help is a sign of weakness; implicit in the request is a lack of knowledge, skill, or experience.  Confident people are secure enough to admit a weakness. So they often ask others for help, not only because they are secure enough to admit they need help but also because they know that when they seek help they pay the person they ask a huge compliment.  Saying, “Can you help me?” shows tremendous respect for that individual’s expertise and judgment. Otherwise you wouldn't ask.

5. They think, “Why not me?”

Many people feel they have to wait: To be promoted, to be hired, to be selected, to be chosen... like the old Hollywood cliché, to somehow be discovered.  Truly confident people know that access is almost universal. They can connect with almost anyone through social media. (Everyone you know knows someone you should know.) They know they can attract their own funding, create their own products, build their own relationships and networks, choose their own path – they can choose to follow whatever course they wish.  And very quietly, without calling attention to themselves, they go out and do it.

6. They don't put down other people.

Generally speaking, the people who like to gossip, who like to speak badly of others, do so because they hope by comparison to make themselves look better.  The only comparison a truly confident person makes is to the person she was yesterday – and to the person she hopes to someday become.

7. They aren’t afraid to look silly…

Running around in your underwear is certainly taking it to extremes… but when you’re truly confident, you don’t mind occasionally being in a situation where you aren't at your best.  (And oddly enough, people tend to respect you more when you do – not less.)

8. … And they own their mistakes.

Insecurity tends to breed artificiality; confidence breeds sincerity and honesty.  That’s why truly confident people admit their mistakes. They dine out on their screw-ups. They don’t mind serving as a cautionary tale. They don’t mind being a source of laughter – for others and for themselves.  When you’re truly confident, you don’t mind occasionally “looking bad.” You realize that that when you’re genuine and unpretentious, people don’t laugh at you.  They laugh with you.

9. They only seek approval from the people who really matter.

You say you have 10k Twitter followers? Swell. 20k Facebook friends? Cool. A professional and social network of hundreds or even thousands? That’s great.  But that also pales in comparison to earning the trust and respect of the few people in your life that truly matter. When we earn their trust and respect, no matter where we go or what we try, we do it with true confidence – because we know the people who truly matter the most are truly behind us.