Hi! I’m Amy. I’m a public sector and not-for-profit consultant and the founder of Collective Results.
I founded Collective Results in November of 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. When the pandemic hit, I was working in a great job at a local Public Health Unit. I was the Manager of Health Promotion, and my team was in a serious flow. We were engaging with the community, developing innovative strategies, publishing articles, and winning national awards. I was well-supported by my organization to pursue good work and professional development that kept me learning and growing. Things were going well.
In March of 2020, everything changed. The entire Public Health system shifted to respond to COVID-19. My job changed. Everyone’s job changed. We were all COVID all the time. I am so grateful to all of my former Public Health colleagues that put their work and their lives on hold to stop the spread and get everyone vaccinated. You have been true and often under-recognized heroes in the fight against COVID.
When the pandemic hit, my life outside of work also changed. Anyone who knows me knows I am an extrovert. I typically spend all my free time doing things with others. When that stopped because of the pandemic, I had some time at home alone (gasp!) to reflect on how things were going.
My reflection taught me two things:
1. The most important things to me in my work are:
- making a difference,
- being helpful, and
- working in a team.
2. When these three elements are present in my work, I love work and I work relentlessly in the pursuit of doing good.
I was happiest in my former roles when I was mobilizing communities and individuals to solve complex social problems. I realized that I wanted to spend more of my time doing that, and that I wanted to support as many different organizations and communities in that endeavor as possible.
The skills that I gained working in health promotion and management – research, planning, strategy, project management, evaluation, group facilitation, and communications are skills that not-for-profit agencies and public sector organizations don’t always fully have in-house. I wanted to help fill this gap.
My decision to leave Public Health during the pandemic was an incredibly difficult one. I knew that there was an incredible amount of work to do to stop the spread of COVID and get everyone vaccinated, but I also recognized that there continued to be an immense need in the community for work that focuses on other aspects of individual and community wellbeing. For example, community needs around child and youth mental health, family support, and resilience have only increased due to the pandemic. In my heart, I knew I needed to find a way to continue support that type of work.
These were the major drivers for me in deciding to start Collective Results. Collective Results is focused on helping organizations do good work better. I hope you see my values reflected in our mission. And I am so grateful to have pulled together a dream team of talented former public service professionals to support this mission.
This extrovert has also been finding other ways to find meaning during the pandemic. I’ve been perfecting a homemade cracked wheat and honey sandwich bread recipe – a tribute to an old recipe from my partner Dave’s grandmother. I’ve also started doing yoga and running regularly.
What have you learned from the pandemic? Have you made any major life changes? Has the pandemic caused you to feel more or less aligned with what’s important in your life? Drop me a line.
Until next time, keep doing the good work!
Amy