Building Bridges - Stories of Impact in Baltimore Communities

In this episode, we sit down and chat with Ana Zandarin, M.P.S. '23, a recent graduate of UMBC's Community Leadership graduate program. She shares her powerful insights and experiences. 

She is a dedicated educator and advocate who has worked tirelessly to empower students in Baltimore's public school system. With a background in teaching English as a second language and a fervent belief in the power of community partnerships, Ana's journey is an inspiring testament to the impact one person can make in their city. 

Join us in this engaging conversation as Ana reflects on her time in the Community Leadership program, shares valuable insights on effective partnership-building, and discusses her vision for the future of education in Baltimore.

About UMBC's Community Leadership Graduate Program:
The Community Leadership program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), is designed for individuals like Ana Zandarin who are committed to driving change from the ground up. This interdisciplinary program equips graduates with the skills and knowledge needed to navigate the complex landscape of community engagement and advocacy.

To learn more about UMBC's Community Leadership program, visit https://leader.umbc.edu.

Transcript

Dennise Cardona  0:00  
Thanks for tuning in to this episode of UMBC Mic'd Up podcast. My name is Dennise Cardona from the Office of Professional Programs at UMBC. Today we are joined by special guest, Ana Zandarin. And she is a recent graduate of UMBC graduate program in community leadership. I hope you enjoy this episode. Hey, thanks so much for being here on UMBC Mic'd Up podcast. It is great to have you here, Ana. Thank you. Thank you for having me. You're welcome. So you're in the you graduated from the UMBC community leadership graduate program? And how has it been so far for you what's been going on?

Ana Zandarin  0:39  
It's been great. It's been a, an extremely positive experience, it has really allowed me to deepen my understanding of the sector that I work in, which is the nonprofit sector. But it also allowed me to weave very interesting connections with local organizations with community advocates across the city. So it's been a great, great opportunity, for sure.

Dennise Cardona  1:06  
Great. Now, before I hit record on this, we had a conversation. And it was about the fact that you have lived in a few different really wonderful places. So Argentina, then you went to Spain for many years teaching English as a second language. And then you met your husband, and now you're here in Baltimore. Yeah. Which is a really great just journey through life. And I'm curious being that this is a leadership, Community Leadership graduate program. It's very community centric, basically, around the community of Baltimore, it's very strong. And so I'm curious about what your how you feel the connection is with the community in Baltimore, how does that make you feel being part of that?

Ana Zandarin  1:50  
That's an interesting question, because I hadn't realized how much I missed that local feel. Since I left my hometown in Argentina. I used to live in Barcelona, which is like a very large city, very cosmopolitan. And then moving here, I found that local connection again, that's something that I feel Baltimore and my city, my hometown Rosario really have in common. And I love that locals call Baltimore small to more because it's very much the case, right? You always know somebody that knows somebody, or there's somebody that can make a connection or introduce you to somebody, or let you know more about the work that they're doing in a certain community. And it certainly is a city of neighborhoods. So it's great to have that opportunity to really embed yourself in this communities that you are doing work with and learn more about their costumes and their culture and their history. Baltimore certainly has a very rich history around social justice. So that was something that I was personally very interested in. And this program really gave me an opportunity to delve deeper into all those things.

Dennise Cardona  3:15  
That's fantastic. That you have a an experience with teaching English as a second language. What is it that interested you about UMBC as community leadership graduate program? What is that connection, I'd watch that transition looking like

Speaker 2  3:33  
I would say I was looking to so I have a bachelor's degree from a university in Argentina, and I was looking to get a an American degree. And so I looked into public policy at first. And I really realized that it wasn't in line with the way I believe change is truly affected. I think change really happens from the bottom up. And so I kept looking, and then I found this community leadership program that was interdisciplinary, and that would allow me to not only read about things, but actually do things and create partnerships with other organizations and other local advocates and really learn more about on the ground work in communities. And so that was really the thing that really sold it for me.

Dennise Cardona  4:31  
Yeah. So being part of the community leadership graduate program. What were some of the highlights of that? What did you What were some of the things you took away with your overall experience with the program?

Speaker 2  4:43  
Yeah, I would say something that I found really enriching was the fact that the different cohorts that I was able to share learning spaces with, we were all folks from different walks of life, different backgrounds, you Friends, ethnicities. And yet, we were all brought together because of that interest in service providing service to that community, and better understanding the cultural differences and specific needs of our community. So that approach to that servant leadership, to your city to your place was something that had to it got really imprinted in in me and the way that I do work moving forward. Yeah, I would say that was one of the most meaningful things to me being able to also give a bit more context to all these things that you read sometimes about redlining, or the back Black Butterfly and stuff like that, that it would be so easy for us to leave it in the book and not acknowledge that it's something that decades later, it still affects everybody living in the city almost daily. So yeah, that that was something that I'm constantly thinking about, even after the program.

Dennise Cardona  6:11  
Absolutely. Now, some people may be listening in on this or viewing this on YouTube, and are considering going to graduate school, maybe they're on the fence, because I'm not sure if I have the skill set for it. What What kind of skills do I need to be able to be fully immersed in fully successful in a graduate program? Can you share from your experience, some of the critical skills or knowledge is knowledge bases that you went in with or maybe acquired while you were in the program?

Speaker 2  6:41  
Yeah, I would say that, that two major aspects that I really value about the program in terms of skill building was I did the nonprofit pathway within the community leadership program. And the nonprofit sector in the US is very particular, there's, I've lived in other countries, and there isn't a nonprofit sector, like there is in the States. But it really allowed me to have a better understanding of how that sector operates. And learn more about very specific things like board composition and board management and rules and regulations in the nonprofit world, and fundraising and partnership building and stuff like that. And then on the other hand, this program also has a huge component, self reflection within the leadership development piece. So I really think in order to be successful in this program, it's important for candidates to come in with a willingness to be uncomfortable and be vulnerable and wrestle in that place of discomfort where growth happens. Because there are lots of opportunities for challenging your own biases, and questioning your own beliefs, and then revising your own thoughts and improving in that way, your practice as a leader, in my case, as an educator as well,

Dennise Cardona  8:19  
that sounds like power, those are powerful components to a program, absolutely to everyday life, being able to put yourself in that seat of discomfort, because that's really hard to do. But if you can do that, and then learn to overcome that, then you're so much more powerful. And I think engaging with the environment around you, you're able to do that with more resiliency.

Speaker 2  8:44  
Community Work is that it's grounded in partnerships. And so it's, I guess, something that was proven to me time and time again, throughout the program was that true partnerships need to be born out of a transparent and honest conversation, if you will. So being willing to be vulnerable, and be honest about what your needs are, what your challenges are, and what you bring to the table as well. I think it's a huge component of this program, too.

Dennise Cardona  9:23  
Yeah, that's how community bridges are built. Absolutely. So what are you doing currently, since you graduated from the program? What's your role? What are you involved in? How are you using your master's degree?

Speaker 2  9:36  
Yeah, so I'm, I work in education. Since I came into Baltimore, I've been involved in different community and nonprofit organizations supporting students in the public school system. So right now I'm working with an organization core called Arts for learning Maryland, which is an arts based organization, and I'm the director of their Summer Academy, which you is the largest summer program funded by the school district in the city. We serve over 2000 students every year, and we hire over 400 teachers and teaching artists to make it possible. Definitely that component of self reflection and self assessment has been incredibly powerful, and very informative of the way that I want to lead my team and build those partnerships with the district, but also with all of the other individuals and organizations that we collaborate with throughout the summer to make that huge program possible. And I would say, I used to work in a for a community based organization and then moved on to the like the more clearly nonprofit sector. And yet something that I brought with me that was reinforced by the Community Leadership Program was that notion of partnerships at the forefront of the work, understanding that community use, you serve, instead of assuming what their needs are seeing the individual instead of the group and trying to cater to everybody in the same way with a cookie cutter type program. I feel like all of those lessons really inspire the way I want to do the work and just really have a lasting effect on how I want to approach the program that we offer.

Dennise Cardona  11:41  
That was really powerful to great outcome. So part of your education at UMBC was to go was to have a capstone experience. Can you talk about your capstone experience within the program? Who did you work with and partner with? And what were the biggest takeaways from that?

Speaker 2  12:00  
Yeah, I was very lucky to partner with two good friends who are Christina burden, and Joanna Thursby. They are colleagues at Arts for learning Maryland who run another summer program, that's the Bloomberg arts internship, which is a summer program for a rising high school seniors in the city. And they are funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies in New York City. And they allow cohorts every summer to have a job in a local arts organization to drive home the idea that you can work in the arts without necessarily being an artist. And while they do that, there's also a component of college prep, and work life prep, and developing notions of self reflection and identity appreciation to the program that I loved. And when I started working for arts for learning, and I jumped at the opportunity to be able to collaborate with them what they needed me to do, which is something that I to begin with, I appreciate about the structure of the capstone project, because it's not set out to be something that you bring to a partner and say, Hey, I need to do this project work with me. But it's actually the other way around, like you approach a partner and you ask them, How can I be useful. And so what they needed was basically a qualitative research project, because they wanted to better understand the impact that be I had in their previous cohorts. So they want you to talk to their alumni, and be able to better evaluate the program not only from quantitative aspects of like, how many graduates they have, or how many kids sign up for the program to begin with, but also non cognitive aspects such as has their appreciation of themselves, or improved in any way? What about the importance of the sense of belonging that they had while they were in the program and stuff like that? And so that was what we were able to do.

Dennise Cardona  14:13  
Oh, wow, that's what a wealth of knowledge experience so many takeaways from that. Were there any specific lessons or insights that you gained like light bulb moments that went off? From that experience?

Speaker 2  14:28  
I would say it really made me understand that you need to work smarter, not harder. And things like time management when you're wrapping up a graduate program and working a full time job and have a young family. Really being able to use your time wisely is something that was extremely important. And so there is a tool that we used at work that's project management software that I was able to bring into the project as a way of keeping track of benchmarks and deadlines and stuff like that. And so I thought that was, that was a way of not having to wake up in the middle of the night thinking, what am I forgetting to do, because it was all there. And then something that I guess I lived vicariously through other classmates experiences, was really choosing a partner that's responsive, and that is willing to work with you. I know that some folks had trouble even getting started because they couldn't get a response to an email or get immediate meeting on the calendar. And I was lucky enough not to have that happen. Christina and Joanna were both incredibly generous with our time and helped me with leveraging those relationships and those connections they already had with the alumni. And they were really hands on with helping me curate the questions for the focus groups that we conducted with the with the alumni. And so I would say, choosing a great partner is really important. And then lastly, choosing a topic that you're passionate about and that you are committed to. And for me, like thinking about challenging traditional education constructs. And thinking about the importance of centering these non cognitive factors when we are evaluating educational projects, like those things are really big ones for me, and really close to my heart and to my passions and to the way I want to assess my work or the success of my work. And so all of these things, were super interesting to me. And so it made it, let that thing, do what you like, and you won't work a day in your life. I don't know if that's true. But it definitely helped to be working on something that I was really interested in.

Dennise Cardona  17:07  
I couldn't agree more with you on that one. It's really about like you said, the balance the time management. Because if you don't have that balance, and you're off balance, and what good are you to anybody around you and to yourself if you don't have your balance. So finding the right tools, project management tools are a big I use airtable personally at work. And that is an amazing tool for me for what I do. It helps to keep my brain functioning at full capacity, instead of waking up at two o'clock in the morning wondering, oh, gosh, wait, what other aspects Am I forgetting? Everything's written down. And then that whole having that choosing the right partner, it's really like choosing that can go for anything in life, choosing the right employer, choosing the right partner in life, choosing choosing the right circle of friends, things of that sort. It's key, it's key, if you're surrounded by people that inspire you, or projects that inspire you, then wow, what a gift that is. Yeah, that was the

Speaker 2  18:06  
thing working with them both. They're just so passionate about the work they do. And something that kept coming up. In my conversations with the alumni was the program is great, but how they do it, like the detail the thoughtfulness behind it. We don't feel like we're just a number in the classroom, we really feel like we matter. We feel like everybody knows our names, it continued to reinforce the aspects of that, that aspect of humanity that for us, like I was saying we'd serve 2000 students every summer. So it would be easy for us to hide behind the scale and be like, we have to do it this way. Because otherwise, but I think there's definitely harder when you want to focus on the individuals focus on this specific communities, their needs, hiring local staff, to those school communities, for example, taking kids to a field trip in their neighborhood so that they know that it's a resource that's available to them throughout the year. So things like that was something that was definitely reinforced through working with Christina and Joanna and this project as well.

Dennise Cardona  19:24  
I'm really happy to hear that that you had a really great experience. So my last question to you is, what are you most looking forward to now in the next journey of your life and learning and growing as an individual within community leadership?

Speaker 2  19:39  
I would say something that is perhaps a constant of all of our graduates in the Community Leadership Program is that I want to think that this is just the beginning in the sense of we got a degree but the learning never stops. So this understanding of how partnerships and collaboration are just crucial to community work and to Grassroots Leadership work. That's, that's a never ending journey. And thinking about how lucky I am to work on projects that I am really passionate about, and that I find really fulfilling, and motivate me to challenge myself as a leader and as a people manager, and remain committed to my values, and remain committed to wanting to grow and improve as a leader that centers the humanity of her team and grow in my mentorship capacity in a way that, you know, that notion of climbing, lifting as you climb, right, okay, I don't want to do this alone. I definitely want to support folks around me to grow and thrive and enjoy themselves along the way, too.

Dennise Cardona  21:01  
Thank you so much, Anna, for sharing those insights. You've inspired me to want to continue learning and growing and I know anybody listening is going to be inspired by your words to and it's just sounds like it's been a really great experience for you throughout the journey of your educational life. And so I wish you continued success in those journeys as you move forward in life.

Speaker 2  21:25  
Yeah, thank you so much for having me. And yeah, hopefully we'll get more and more folks interested in such a unique perfect my UMBC

Dennise Cardona  21:36  
Awesome. Thanks so much. You're thanks so much for listening to this episode of UMBC's Mic'd Up podcast. I hope you enjoyed it. If you'd like to learn more about our offerings, do a search for UMBC community leadership graduate program, or simply click the link in the description.