BIO ~ Julia Young
Partner Development Specialist – Donor Network of Arizona
Raised in So CA, Julia Young joined Donor Network of Arizona in 2019 after 20+yrs in government relations at a major telecommunications company in AZ. She has extensive experience working with AZ lawmakers, city governments, industry associations, and non-profits.
As Donor Network’s Partner Development Specialist, she channels her passion for organ donation by engaging with staff at the Motor Vehicle Division offices, which is where most Arizonans register to be organ donors.
Donor Network of Arizona is the state’s designated Organ Procurement Organization. We manage the registry of donors and help facilitate the gift of life for those on the transplant waiting list while supporting donor families and honoring their loved ones’ legacies.
Our mission says it all: We make the MOST of LIFE through the gift of organ and tissue donation. I personally challenge myself and others every day to realize Arizona’s potential to save and improve lives.
Currently we and our partners are gearing up for National Donate Life Month which occurs every April. Donate Life Month is one of many annual observances and celebrations giving donor families a special opportunity to share and honor their loved ones’ stories
COMPANY PHONE: (602) 222-2212
Email: julia.young@dnaz.org
COMPANY WEBSITE: https://www.dnaz.org/about-us/
COMPANY FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/donornetworkofarizona
Everyday, 17 people on the transplant waiting list will run out of time. Every 9 minutes, a new person is added to the transplant waiting list.
We have lots of volunteer opportunities.
One of the ways to help transplant patients is to purchase a Donate Life License Plate. They cost $25 of which $17 dollars goes to a partnering non-profit called Transplant Community Alliance.
BIO ~ Rachael Blackketter
Education and Engagement Manager –
Tu Nidito Children and Family Services
Rachael is a graduate of the University of Arizona and resides in Tucson with her husband and two teen sons.
She grew up in Washington, but has called Tucson home for 25 years. She is also a proud mom to two older children in college – a UA Wildcat and a LeTourneau University Yellowjacket.
In her free time you’ll find her hiking trails in search of waterfalls in the desert or flying with her husband in his homebuilt airplane in search of the best breakfast burritos in Arizona.
Rachael Blackketter is Tu Nidito’s Education and Engagement Manager and she is passionate about training the community in ways they can walk alongside those who are grieving. Rachael has spent decades volunteering and training volunteers that make a difference in the lives of children. At Tu Nidito she uses her trauma awareness and empathy for families experiencing loss to inform her grief training and education. Tu Nidito is on a mission to create a community of acceptance and understanding for those grieving a serious medical condition or death.
Our vision is that Southern Arizona becomes a compassionate grief informed community. Ensuring that No Child Grieves Alone. Tu Nidito offers free grief support groups to children, teens, young adults and their caregivers who are grieving a death loss or the loss of health from a serious medical condition.
Email: rachael@tunidito.org
COMPANY PHONE: (520) 322-9155
COMPANY WEBSITE: tunidito.org
COMPANY FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/tunidito/
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.
