IMPACT E9: Bethany Neumann and Frank Hernandez; Youth On Their Own

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About Bethany Neumann

Bethany Neumann is the Director of Development & Communications at Youth On Their Own, a nonprofit organization that supports the high school graduation and continued success of teens experiencing homelessness.

She started her nonprofit career with Habitat for Humanity Guatemala in Xela (pronounced Shay-La), Guatemala, where she also served as Development Director.

Over the past two decades, Bethany has worked with youth in both the nonprofit and education sectors, both here in the United States and abroad.

She is passionate about creating movements for change that empower local communities and the people within them. 


About Frank Hernandez

Frank Hernandez is originally from Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, Mexico, and is an accomplished musician, composer and teacher.

He traveled with the international traveling company for Up with People. His time with the company was spent performing throughout the US and Europe, conveying a message of multi-cultural diversity, acceptance, and community service.

After this experience, Frank joined Arts for All to assist with development. He is now the organization’s Assistant Director.

Music has always been at the center of his life, and Frank has written the score for productions of Where the Wild Things Are, AntigoneThe HobbitBabe the Sheep Pig and Arts for All’s own Aladdin 

He has traveled extensively as a motivational speaker while sharing his music.  
Former Governor Janet Napolitano appointed him to the Board of Directors of Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and Blind.

Mr. Hernandez is the past president of the Children’s Music Network and the Pastor of Worship and Youth at Lifebridge Church. He was chosen by the U.S. Department of Health to present in Mexico City at a conference in 2002. In 1998, he served on the President’s Committee on Employment for People with Disabilities. In 1997, he received a President’s Citation for Volunteerism. In 1990, he was the Program Chair for the National Council on Disabilities’ Youth Leadership Program. 

www.artsforallinc.org  

www.facebook.com/artsforalltucson     

You Tube: Arts for All Films 

About the Host

Barbara McClure, Executive Director  
IMPACT of Southern Arizona 
3535 E Hawser Street 
TucsonAZ  85739                                                    
Phone: 520-825-0009
barbara@impactsoaz.org 
www.impactsoaz.org

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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 longterm 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. 

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