Q&A with Tricia Pearson, Development Operations Manager
Can you tell us about your work?
I’m on the resource development team, which means I raise money so we can exist as an organization.
As the Development Operations Manager, I maintain a database to keep track of people who’ve donated money to us. I also work on prospecting, which means I do research on the people, foundations, and businesses we think might be interested in supporting our work. I spend a lot of time on LinkedIn getting to know different folks and organizations who are trying to do good in the world.
What brought you to Washington STEM?
At the time that I joined Washington STEM, I had worked in fundraising for six years, mostly in arts and culture institutions. But education plays such a deep role in my family history. My grandfather grew up in an Irish mining family in Montana, and he had to temporarily drop out of school when his father got injured in a mine accident. Later, he and his brother were janitors at their Catholic school to help pay for tuition. After he fought in World War II, the GI Bill catapulted him into getting a college degree. He became a teacher, then a principal, and then an assistant superintendent in Missoula. He deeply valued education and dedicated his life to it.
That family legacy has stuck with me, and I want all students to have access to the education that will set them up for career success.
What does equity in STEM education and career mean to you?
It all comes back to student aspirations. I think that students should have the opportunity to explore anything they’re passionate about.
Not everyone needs to be in a STEM career, but people don’t realize how much STEM is in all kinds of careers. I work in fundraising, which is about people, but I also use math and tech every day.
How do Washington STEM’s values show up in fundraising?
It’s all about who we work with and the way we do our work.
We care deeply about justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, and we are looking for supporters who feel the same way. For example, if we have a sponsor whose logo we feature at an event, we want to be proud to amplify them.
On the other hand, we also think about not exploiting the people we serve as we seek funding. That means not using them as a story or being disrespectful of where they come from.
We drive change at the systems level through Partnerships, Data & Evidence, and Advocacy. What does that look like in your work?
The people, foundations, and corporations that invest in our work are not ATMs. They’re sharing their resources with us to make an impact in the world, and that’s a form of partnership.
One way that we can honor those partnerships is by keeping people in the loop. It’s as simple as sharing our stories and progress with them, so that they know that we consider them to be part of our ecosystem.
Something I believe in deeply is that every donor is making a gift that is meaningful to them. It’s not the size of your pocketbook; it’s the fact that you’re moved to share your resources with our organization.
What inspires you?
The arts, especially theater. I very rarely see a play I can’t get anything out of. It’s so refreshing to get out of our own identities and really understand someone else’s life. Some of my favorite plays are A Thousand Splendid Suns, based on the novel by Khaled Hosseini, and Teenage Dick, which is a retelling of Richard III.
What’s one thing about you that people can’t find out through the internet?
I had three weddings in one year all to the same person. I could explain why, but I think I’ll leave it a mystery.