My Nonprofit Journey: Mary Wilson

My name is Mary Wilson, and I am the Development Assistant at Charity Navigator. I provide support to a wonderful team of professionals in a fast-paced, interesting, and as I’ve learned, integral part of Charity Navigator.

My journey to this role was never planned.  I began my working career as a Warranty Administrator for auto dealerships.  As one might not expect, an auto dealership is a great training ground for many possible future roles that one may aspire to.  It encompasses meeting sales quotas, customer service, teamwork, technology and requires the ability to apply a bit of ingenuity and fancy footwork to solve unexpected issues. The skills that I cultivated in that industry have proven to serve me well both professionally and personally. 

I’ve always had a keen interest in advocacy and government from the time I was very young, often debating my Social Studies teachers on hot topics of the day. Although I did not pursue a career in that area, the interest has always stayed with me and led to my eventual pursuit of degrees in Political Science and Public Administration, focused on the nonprofit management sector. 

My most recent work experience has been in the nonprofit higher education field.  Working in higher education enabled me to not only earn degrees but to learn more about advocacy and the nonprofit sector.  This aligned with my interests and support in many causes that are close to my heart, such as food insecurity, human rights, and organizations that support children.

My new role with Charity Navigator has provided a great insight to this sector and to the important role that our organization plays in it.  Having the opportunity be a part of this sector at a time where social change and advocacy is moving forward brings my journey full circle. I believe the nonprofit sector will continue to provide many alternative answers for important issues that often take a back seat approach from government and for-profit corporations. I’m proud and happy to be part of it!

Written by Mary Wilson, Development Assistant at Charity Navigator.