MDVA awards $20,000 to JMA client serving Minnesota veterans.

JMA client providing environmental protection and education was awarded $5,000 from the Poehler Stremel Charitable Trust.

JMA client bridging career equity gaps through IT training awarded $20,000 from Travelers Foundation.

JMA secures a $10,000 grant from Richard Schulze Family Foundation for a Charter School in Minneapolis.

The Schulze Family Foundation awards $10,000 to JMA client in IT workforce training for at-risk youth and minority communities in the Twin Cities area.

JMA client serving Minnesota veterans receives $2,750 in Walmart Community Grants.

Ecolab awards $30,000 to JMA client training youth/young adults for IT careers in St. Paul.

JMA secures $275,000 from DEED Pathways to Prosperity for client training adults for IT careers.

Employee Spotlight

Shaine Picard - February Featured Employee

An alumnus of the University of Minnesota and MN School of Public Health, Shaine brings over 10 years of experience in customer service, management, research, fundraising, and development. She has worked in various capacities with nonprofits like Southeast Como Improvement Association and the Coalition of Somali American Leaders, as well as several local for-profit start-ups in the Twin Cities Metro. Shaine also volunteers locally and internationally with organizations including Relay for Life, Feed My Starving Children, and Foundation for International Medical Relief of Children. She enjoys travelling, cooking, skiing and yoga in her spare time.

Briefly describe what you do in a day.

I spend a lot of time every day working with clients to identify their needs/goals and working with staff to complete projects. Its my job to ensure a smooth and easeful process and successful project completion. My day is ALWAYS different, which is one of my favorite parts of the job. 

What is the best part of your job?

The team. JMA has a group of talented people that join together to get it all done – there’s a lot of reliability, trust, and support. 

What is your proudest moment at JMA?

There are so many… a big part of my job is working with other staff to ensure they can be successful. That they understand the client, the project, and the expectation. When I have the feeling that we are all working together as a well-oiled machine, that’s when I feel most proud – no matter the size of the project. 

What are three words to describe yourself?

Calm, positive, reliable. 

How do you define success?

When you are constantly working on funder and client deadlines, it is easy to define success as meeting these deadlines. But at the core, our work is bigger than that. Successful grant proposals, events, communications, etc. translate into our clients’ ability to impact the communities we love.

 

On a day to day basis, success is doing what we said we would, and leaving work fulfilled. 

What is the best meal you’ve had?

I LOVE food and a lot of my travels involve trying to find the best local restaurants. One of my favorite meals was when I was living in Philadelphia. My husband and I found ourselves without Thanksgiving plans, so we went to Parc in Rittenhouse Square. We enjoyed a quiet night filled with wine, tuna carpaccio and lobster risotto. It was a perfect, non-traditional holiday!