Roslyn Dashiell is PEI Kids’ Executive Director with responsibility for managing the agency’s programs, development, staff, and spearheading its strategic initiatives. Roz implements programs and initiatives for Mercer County’s most vulnerable youth including for child victims of sexual abuse and human trafficking, children impacted by crime, violence and abuse, and youth struggling with mental health challenges.
Roz has over 20 years’ experience in the corporate and non-profit sectors. Prior to joining PEI Kids, she was Director of Community Relations for Gwynedd-Mercy University and Business Manager for Interfaith Caregivers of Greater Mercer County. She was also the grant writer for the Rutgers University’s Walter Rand School of Public Policy offender re-entry program in Camden (NJ) and held executive positions in the financial services and advertising industries. Roz has been a guest speaker for the U.S. Dept. of Justice, and her work has been recognized in regional and national publications. She holds a B.A. from Rutgers University, a Certification in criminology, and an MBA from Centenary University. Roz brings a valuable combination of skills for helping PEI Kids strengthen its programs and achieve its goals for the future.
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Susan Kleiner: Hello and welcome to the ThinkFactory podcast. My name is Susan Kleiner. I’m here with OGC Solutions and I’m your host of today’s episode.
At this podcast, we talk about how ideas are built, voices are amplified, and change is engineered. During every episode, we dive deep into the minds of leaders, innovators, and change makers, shaping our communities and our future. Today, we’re honored to welcome a guest whose work is transforming lives and protecting the most vulnerable among us.
I want to welcome Roslyn Dashiell. She’s the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of PEI Kids, which is a nonprofit organization based in Mercer County, New Jersey, which is dedicated to supporting child survivors of sexual abuse and violence. Before leading PEI Kids, Ros worked in both corporate and nonprofit sectors and had jobs specializing in marketing, business, and programming.
Welcome, Ros, to our podcast.
Roslyn Dashiell: Thank you, Susan, for having me. I’m glad to be here.
Susan Kleiner: Well, that’s quite an impressive biography. And I know that one of the things that interests me the most, and I know will interest a lot of our listeners, is how you transitioned from your corporate background into nonprofit leadership. What inspired that shift?
Roslyn Dashiell: So, I did spend the first, I guess, two decades of my career in the corporate sector.
I was working in the financial services industry, doing marketing. I did a lot of… It was an exciting job, quite honestly, especially coming just a few years out of college. I did a lot of national and international travel, meeting with large financial services and insurance companies, household names we all know, selling marketing and advertising campaigns to them.
So, I did that work for about 12 years. And quite honestly, it was hard work. I put in long days.
And when I put my head on a pillow at night, I just didn’t really feel like I was making a difference. I didn’t feel personally fulfilled by the work I was doing. It was financially rewarding, but I just wasn’t getting a sense of personal satisfaction from the work I was doing.
So, I decided to go back to school. That’s when I got my MBA. And I wanted to apply my business skills to the non-profit sector. I really felt like those skills were transferable from the business world to the non-profit sector, because even non-profits have to be financially solvent. They have to be financially sound in order for their work to be sustainable.
Susan Kleiner: Wow.
So, you weren’t feeling the personal satisfaction. So, you’ve been doing it now, working in a non-profit for, I think, 14 years. And would you say that you checked off that box? You put your head down on the pillow at night, and you know that you’re making a difference, right?
Roslyn Dashiell: Well, I see it every day.
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