Now serving in a new role as Vice President of Advancement and Strategy at Neighborhood Development Center, Tessa Eddy is also the LISC Twin Cities Local Advisory Committee Vice Chair. But her relationship with LISC goes even further back!
LISC Twin Cities Program Officer Jamie interviewed Tessa over lunch to learn more about her new role at NDC as well what brings her to the work.
Can you tell me a little bit about your role at NDC?
TE: My role is a new one for the organization, and a core part of my work is assessing where we want to go and what our needs are as we work through our strategic plan. My role has four key functions: fundraising and development, marketing and communications, community engagement, technology. I’ve worked adjacently to NDC for a long time, but stepping into this role I’ve learned so many new things about the organization that surprised me, in a beautiful way. I’m so inspired by our team, and everyone is committed to the mission in a way that can be really rare.
NDC is one of LISC’s close partners in their work, whose mission is to empower entrepreneurs and community partners in Minneapolis–St. Paul to transform their low-income neighborhood economies from within.
J: What first connected you to LISC?
TE: My first connection to LISC actually goes back to my work at PPL. I was working as a Project Manager and Financial coach and I helped as they rolled out the FOC. It was a brand new program, and I worked with five organizations in addition to PPL including LSS, Clues, and Common Bond. Our program was modeled after the Center for Working Families, and LISC served as the intermediary convener for the five nonprofits with emerging FOC programs. The grant dollars were facilitated through LISC, who did an incredible job bringing us together. So that was my introduction to LISC. And because my work has been so rooted in community, I’ve been continually reminded of the impact of the organization ever since.
Tessa graduated college in 2008 during the Great Recession, a challenging time for many especially in banking, finance, and business. She remained at the bank where she began as a teller at 16, continuing to work there for another year following graduation. After her time with PPL, she stepped into a role at the US Bank Foundation, where her predecessor held a seat on LISC’s LAC committee. Inviting her to fill the role, Tessa jumped at the opportunity.
TE: As somebody younger and new to the industry, being on the LAC was so fundamental to my development. The connectivity it provided, as well as the exposure to folks that have been in the industry for a long time. It’s tough to get into those rooms and have access. Serving on the LAC opened those doors and created a level playing field for me. It was such an incredible asset and I’ve always been so grateful for it. Being in that space allowed me to be a thought leader as well as confident in who I am, while also learning so much.
Now, as somebody who has been on the board for a long time, being a part of the impact that’s happened is tremendous. It also builds connectivity between organizations- I’m able to go back to our leadership and say “here’s what’s going on, how can we be better connected to this work.”
J: What is something that’s exciting to you about the future- for LISC, NDC, or both?
TE: Continuing the connectivity and building on the work everyone is doing is definitely a part. My colleague Ben, who is our VP of Real Estate, works very closely with Kate Speed. For example, we met with a client yesterday who is looking at expanding their space as they’re growing out of it - a woman-owned business. It was great to connect them to LISC and the available resources, finding inexpensive dollars to do the buildout. Where we’re in community with entrepreneurs, being able to pair them with the folks that can see their project to fruition in ways that wouldn’t have been able to happen otherwise is rewarding.
One of the big objectives within our strategic plan is growing out our real estate. So we want to think about how we grow, and in what ways we need to do it differently. I think LISC is a key partner in how we do that. In fact, we will hopefully be presenting at OFN this year, and it will be NDC and LISC staff on the panel talking about the work we do together.
J: That’s great! It seems as though we have organizations working in alignment, and doing so quite organically. There’s not necessarily a community road map - how are we working in the same direction with mutual goals, even without a map? I’m finding comfort and curiosity that LISC, Propel, NDC are working with what feels like the same moral compass even though we don’t necessarily have a joint strategic one. What is driving that?
TE: I think it’s the need we’re working to collectively address. It’s the need. That being said, we would benefit from more strategic alignment. I think of things like GGRF and the opportunity that will present to coalesce and align.. We’re not in competition, we’re in collaboration. We need to move away from everybody doing the same thing separately, and moving towards doing more of our work in continued collaboration. And I think it takes someone like LISC to start that conversation. LISC is looked at as a convener, and thinking about what the key strategies and needs to convene on is huge. GGRF will be one of them.
J: What are some of the things that concern you?As we go into the next moment of transition (in many ways) what from your purview are things we should be mindful and pay attention to?
TE: I think the key thing is being really aligned with what the needs of the community are -as informed by the community. We have to continue to center that. It can’t be about what we think, or what we thought, or what it was, or what we think is the need. We have to stay centered in community need as informed by community, and we have to keep asking! I think that’s the key.
I think also we need to keep thinking about what LISC does well. We don’t have to “keep up with the Joneses” following every new thing. Let’s lean into what we’re already good at and where we have a reputation for being strong. LISC is a great convener. LISC is a great connector. Recognizing we have the same overall goals at the core, how can we do more of what we’re good at, and bring those gifts to the table?
Thank you, Tessa Eddy, for your years of service on the LAC as well as your continued support and partnership!
LISC friends, thanks for reading our first LAC member spotlight! If you want to stay connected, you can follow Tessa Eddy on LinkedIn, and you can also find out more about NDC’s work on their site: ndc-mn.org.