“I had a non-traditional career path,” notes Paul. After many years working in operations in the publishing field, Paul joined Guild as the Interim Director of Operations in 2019. During his interviews with Guild leaders, he found he was excited about Guild’s mission and work.
In early 2020, Robert, the previous Director of Operations, returned from leave. Around this time, Guild’s Director of Finance retired. Paul was recruited for this role because of his operations experience, familiarity with the organization, and past experience managing finances at nonprofits. Paul was happy to stay at Guild and he moved into the Director of Finance role in 2020.
Paul and Guild
“I love the idea of working for a mission,” says Paul. He appreciates doing work where the focus is creating a positive impact, as opposed to working for a company where the primary goal is to create revenue. “Whether in Operations or Finance, in some small way, each and every day, I know that the work I do makes a difference in people’s lives,” says Paul.
Paul feels that his job is a continual learning environment. “I like that every day is unique,” he says. During his time at Guild, Paul has tackled a variety of projects from working on committees to working directly with clinical staff.
Paul enjoys supporting Guild’s mission-driven, and client-focused staff. He appreciates working with others who have a mindset of striving to make a difference in their community. He’s noticed that staff are focused on not only meeting needs but making change at a system-level.
Collaboration and Communication
When asked about his leadership style, Paul explains that he values collaboration, communication, and honesty. “I try to be an open and honest leader,” he says. He strives to support the people he works with and help “get them ready for the next step” in their careers.
Paul has learned throughout his career that relationships are important. He values communicating effectively and he sees developing good relationships with people inside and outside his organization as an important way to make change.
Guild is growing and continuing to innovate, and Paul is proud of the work Guild’s finance department is doing to support these changes. The finance department is working on examining current processes and procedures and making them more efficient. It’s important to Paul that his team is able to serve our hardworking staff quickly and efficiently.
In his free time, he volunteers his time doing marketing and PR for his kids’ high school band program. Paul also enjoys competitive fishing.