ABOUT – Danny Knee
(Executive Director)
Danny Knee was born and raised in the Bay Area. He is the Executive Director of Community Investment Corporation (CIC), a nonprofit organization that works to increase access to the economy for Southern Arizonans.
Under his leadership, CIC was recognized by the Tucson Metro Chamber of Commerce as the region’s most impactful nonprofit organization in 2020 and 2022 and as its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Champion in 2021.
Danny is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and holds an MBA from the University of Arizona. He also cofounded a successful web development company, Single Focus Web, with his wife Cecily.
Community Investment Corporation’s (CIC) goal is to promote economic inclusion for all members of southern Arizona, regardless of socioeconomic status.
Our work ensures that more people in our community can buy homes, can access the education they want for their children, and can get the funding they need to start, sustain, and grow their small businesses. The guiding principle we live by is: Nobody who has the desire and diligence to participate in our economy should ever be on the outside looking in
Executive Director (520) 529-1766 dannyk@cictucson.org
ABOUT ~ Scott Evans
Director of Family and School Engagement
Scott was born and raised in the Bay Area and moved to Tucson in 2005. He earned a Master’s in Educational Psychology from the University of Arizona.
Scott understands that family and school engagement is a strong predictor of student success. He believes that education is one of one of the most powerful tools to break the generational cycle of poverty.
Scott has spent over 20 years working with children and supporting families in an educational setting.
Prior to joining the CIC team in 2021 and launching MySchoolsTucson.org, Scott served as the Director of Counseling at both public and private high schools in Tucson for 15 years. He also has coached youth sports (golf and baseball) for over 20 years.
Powered by a local nonprofit (Community Investment Corporation), MySchoolsTucson.org is a one-stop-shop providing free, unbiased and accessible school information for Pima County families who want to save invaluable time, make informed decisions, and engage in their child’s K-12 education.
MySchoolsTucson aims to ensure that all families have the tools and resources they need to navigate the educational landscape. A mobile-friendly, solution for parents exploring schools in Pima County, MySchoolsTucson.org provides a Tucson-centric, family forward interactive map with understandable school information to help families find a school that fits their needs.
COMPANY / ORGANIZATION WEBSITE URL: https://www.myschoolstucson.org/
COMPANY / ORG FACEBOOK PAGE URL: https://www.facebook.com/myschoolstucson
COMPANY PHONE: (520) 529-1766 EMAIL: scott@cictucson.org
Barbara McClure, Executive Director
IMPACT of Southern Arizona
3535 E Hawser Street
Tucson, AZ 85739
Phone: 520-825-0009
barbara@impactsoaz.org
www.impactsoaz.org
SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter |
Barbara McClure wakes up each morning passionate about going to work at a place that improves lives and inspires futures every day! She has been the Executive Director of a Tucson social service nonprofit called IMPACT of Southern Arizona, for ten years. What is it that keeps you passionate about your role Barbara?
Barbara has been a visionary and planner with decades of experience as a small business owner and in nonprofit leadership; her innovative ideas and strategic thinking, along with a talent for bringing the community together, has helped grow IMPACT five-fold in a very short time. Her talents and interests are diverse but all center around helping people, improving the community, bolstering education, building capacity and sustainability, being vocal about the rights and conditions of others, experiencing art, nurturing all inhabitants of your garden, and enjoying life to the fullest.
And now Barbara is about to experience another exciting chapter in her life with hosting a brand-new Radio Show Podcast here on the Tucson Business RadioX Network starting in November.
IMPACT of Southern Arizona is a 20 – year old social service nonprofit stabilizing families and seniors, and moving people out of poverty. IMPACT’s programs are designed to stretch household budgets so earned income can be spent on necessities such as improved housing conditions, fuel to get to work, utilizes, and needed medical attention and prescriptions. Its clients are your neighbors! People come to IMPACT because it is a welcoming place where they are always treated with dignity and respect, and where they find resources, referrals, coaching, and help to attain the skills that can move them forward into self-sufficiency.
Barbara grew up in Pasadena CA, moved to Long Beach for college, got married and started our family then moved to Seattle area ten years later. Took our youngest son on an 11-month motorhome trip to get to Tucson – Homeschooled for 10th grade.
We vacationed at a rustic cabin when I was growing up, where we had no phone or television; and spent all our time outside fishing, hiking, horseback riding, listening to old radio shows, playing pool, reading comic books from the local small grocer, and using our imaginations all day long. I always admired the superheroes who defended people and cities like Gotham and Metropolis, so when our three boys were born, we named them after familiar character: Colin (Bryce for an overlay of Bruce Wayne, Kent, and Parker. Our first grandchild was born last year, and as in the family tradition, named Logan, after the Wolverine. I used to always tell them they were my superheroes – and they still are today!
Barbara loves working with numbers and has always loved math and the organization of things, so accounting seemed perfect, but I soon realized that I if I became a CPA I would have to spend many months inside doing tax returns, and that did not appeal to me as a long–term career! I have a great imagination and enjoy creating things, so thought I should find a better path that might nurture that side of my personality. I was working in the shipping industry in SoCal at the time and fell in love with import and export, so shifted my majors to Marketing and International Business. Those were wonderful fits, and I imagined graduating and moving to the largest port on the planet, in Germany; then, I met my future husband and things took a different turn.
A little bit about how Barbara got into Nonprofit work:
All along with my husband and I were always involved in nonprofits and community volunteer opportunities, and often said it was too bad we could not make a living doing those things we loved so much. Leadership roles in PTO, Boy Scouts, Historical Societies, Junior League, Elks, Rotary and more. Then when we moved to Tucson I looked for a local opportunity to impact my community. A Board position was about to open at IMPACT, and my local bank branch manager, Peggy Smoot, suggested I would be very passionate about getting involved in the mission work there. I worked in the Food Bank.
There are thousands of nonprofits in Tucson. What makes IMPACT Unique is that they bring the community together to stabilize families and move people out of poverty. Our true success lies in partnering with a large number of businesses, agencies, social clubs and other nonprofits. We invest $2.5 million in the community each year, and we do it all with a lean staff of amazing professionals supported by more than 170 volunteer shifts each week! We have put great systems in place to run efficiently, effectively and with a commitment to sustainability and integrity, protecting the community’s investment in our work, striving for perfect audits, being innovative, building capacity and most importantly – treating everyone with dignity and respect. We are an award-winning nonprofit with numerous nods to incredible customer service. Our clients are your neighbors… We improve lives and inspire futures of people living in Southern AZ.
So, IMPACT is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and you have been at the helm half that time. Share with me the things IMPACT has accomplished over the years, and the things you have planned for this celebratory year.
