Terry Cordaro, Washington Walks Tour Guide

SFP Editor: What is the process of becoming a guide?

Terry Cordaro: We have about a dozen or so guides in the company but there are tour guiding companies all over town. Nearly all pay but the amounts vary. Prospective guides for Washington Walks give a short presentation of a historic site in the city for the company's owner and 2-3 current guides. Once hired, there's a day-long orientation for all guides to meet (the irony is, we're all so busy working during the season that we almost never have time to socialize with each other). There is an exam about historic sites in DC to grant the required tour guiding license. For each tour a guide leads (I lead three), this requires lots of memorization and practice; giving a two hour tour from memory is very intimidating at first. Access Interview and Visit Website

John Hanshaw, founder of the Washington Film Institute

SFP Editor: What inspired you to start the DC film Institute?

John Hanshaw: I put on the Guerrilla Film Fest once a year and people always ask me: 'when is the next one?' So I decided to create the WFI as a organization where I could put on screenings more often (roughly every 3 weeks). It is much easier to program a feature film every three weeks than it is to curate an entire film festival. Access Interview and Visit Website.

Nedra Lee, City Museum and The Historical Society of Washington DC

SFP Editor: How did you become involved with the City Museum?

Nedra Lee: I joined the Historical Society and City Museum staff in July 2002. I was a recent college graduate with an interest in local history and archaeology, and I was searching for jobs with organizations that also held that interest. I saw a job announcement in the City Paper, and got really excited about the prospects of working for a historical society. I applied and I have been with the museum for a year and three months. Access Interview and Visit Website.

Peter Costolanski, Literary club Founder

SFP Editor: What is the goal of your literary discussion group?

Peter Costolanski: As one would suppose, the aim is to provide a forum for people who enjoy literature to get together and discuss various shorter pieces, mostly short stories and poems. But let me back up a bit and explain the group's "common ground" and purpose. Simply put, we're a group of people who appreciate literature and enjoy sharing our ideas about and reactions to it. For most of us, our professional lives in DC, as challenging and rewarding as they may be, become increasingly demanding on our time and energy and cause us to focus more and more on our selected area of specialization. Join the club by contacting Peter and Visit Website. Access Interview

Wayne Williams, Sailing Writer for the SCOW Newsletter

SFP Editor: How did you become interested in Sailing?

Wayne Williams: In First Grade I saw a picture of a sailboat and it seemed to capture the complete sense of exploring and living with nature. From then on these fantasies grew with trips to Catalina Island, books and movies about Treasure Island or Peter Pan, fishing lakes and streams, or even watching Flipper on TV! Access Interview and Visit Website.

Scott Johnson, Sierra Club Inner City Outings

SFP Editor: What are the biggest rewards of working with at-risk youth?

Scott Johnson: I'm tempted to say that the smiles and laugher are reward enough. At a higher level, I really enjoy being afforded the opportunity to try to positively impact these young lives. The kids are absolutely great. Access Interview and Visit Website. To get involved, contact ICO at WashingtonDCICO@gmail.com.

Carmen Iezzi, Executive Director, Fair Trade Federation

SFP Editor: What is the fair trade federation and how did you get involved?

Carmen Iezzi: The Fair Trade Federation is an international association of retailers, wholesalers, and producers who are fully committed to fair trade. Products produced and sold under fair trade terms constituent 100% of their work, because they recognize that business can be an effective tool in promoting development if it is based on fair terms. They strive to not only pay fair wages in the local context, but to support participatory workplaces, mitigate the environmental impact of production, supply financial and technical assistance, offer public accountability, build long term relationships with producers, and educate consumers about the choices that they have in the products they buy all the time. I was introduced to fair trade in grad school and then became a volunteer with the Ten Thousand Villages of Alexandria, where now I am the Vice Chair of their board and run their community outreach program. In October 2006, I started as the Executive Director of FTF. Access Interview and Visit Website.

Stacy England, Special Events Associate, Food & Friends

SFP Editor: What is Food and Friends and how did it start?

Stacy England: Food & Friends was established in 1988 by Reverend Carla Gorrell when a friend, sick at home with AIDS, needed something to eat. In the beginning, meals were donated by local restaurants and all operations were run out of the basement of the Westminster Presbyterian Church. What began as a small effort to help one person has become 3 meals a day for more than 1,350 individuals. Through the dedication of staff, volunteers and donors, Food & Friends has provided a total of 10.5 million meals to more than 16,350 men, women and children facing HIV/AIDS, cancer and other life-challenging illnesses in the Washington metropolitan area. Access Interview and Visit Website.

Tom Goss, Program Manager, Charlie's Place

SFP Editor: What is Charlie's Place and how did it start?

Tom Goss: Charlie's Place was founded in 1990 as a non-denominational, anti-hunger, homeless ministry of St. Margaret's Episcopal Church. Charlie's Place strives to empower individuals and encourage community, health and interdependence among men and women who are homeless and poor in Washington DC. What began as a group of socially concerned parishioners has now expanded to a weeklong program, employing three staff members, which prides itself on its reputation of being a reliable and consistent place of welcome. Access Interview and Visit Website. To get involved, contact ICO at tgoss@stmargaretsdc.org .

Paul Turner, Director for Food for Life

SFP Editor: What is Food For Life and how did it start?

Paul Turner: Food for Life is the world largest vegetarian/vegan food relief. In fact it is probably the largest distributor of freshly cooked meals to the needy anywhere in the world. Our affiliates are now serving up to one million meals daily! Food for Life Global is the official headquarters of the Food for Life affiliates in over 50 countries. Access Interview and Visit Website.

Scott Beale, Founder of Atlas Corps

SFP Editor: What inspired you to start Atlas Corp?

Scott Beale: While working with anti-human trafficking leaders in India, I realized how much knowledge Indian nonprofit leaders had to offer and the value that nonprofit exchanges could bring to the United States. After talking to the founder of the 'Indian AmeriCorps,' I began to imagine what an Indian Peace Corps would look like and what US organizations could learn from India leaders and vice-versa. The Atlas Corps model was also inspired by the globalization of the private sector: good ideas and talented people cross borders to strengthen companies and grow economies. I thought, "If this can be done in the private sector, then why not in the nonprofit sector?" Access Interview and Visit Website.

Mark Chalfant, artistic and executive director washington improv theater

SFP Editor: What is the Washington Improv Theater and how did it get started?

Mark Chalfant: Essentially, WIT is a big laboratory/garden/playground for spontaneous collaboration and creativity. Please don't make me choose one metaphor! This takes the shape of a multi-ensemble improv theater company of over 40 players and an exhilarating and surprising improv training program that reaches over 150 students each semester. Plus WIT is other things: community outreach workshops, corporate training, short films ... Did I mention it's a laboratory? Around 1996/97 a bunch of us were studying improv with WIT's founding artistic director (the company was essentially dormant at this point after a successful run in the late 80s/early 90s) and we decided we wanted to perform. Once we did our first performance it just felt imperative that we do more. It's just been growth of every variety since then. Access Interview and Visit Website.

Neil Alpert, Director of Institutional Relations Washington National Opera

SFP Editor: What inspired you to work for the washington national opera?

Neil Alpert: To tell you the truth, most people think that a job is a job, but that isn’t how I approach the Opera. What attracted me to it is the spirit of creativity embodied by our General Director, Placido Domingo. The man is an absolute visionary and I strongly agree with his vision for a vibrant cultural institution in DC that provides great art to a great city. The Opera goes far beyond putting on expensive shows for a select few—we really add to the community through our education projects and through exciting initiatives like this year’s Opera in the Outfield. The Maestro’s vision combined with those that work at the opera were my attraction to WNO. Access Interview and Visit Website.

Steve Ma, GEO (Green Executive Officer), Live Green

SFP Editor: What is Live Green?

Steve Ma: Live Green is all about making green living easier and more affordable. We offer our members discounts to businesses that are not only making planet-friendly choices, but also offer great products and services at competitive prices. We also support other green efforts including affordable eco-friendly housing and office buildings. Access Interview and Visit Website.

Tracy Chiles McGhee, Executive Director of WOMANIFESTING

SFP Editor: How did you come up with the idea to start WOMANIFESTING?

Tracy Chiles McGhee: In late December 2009, I was updating my Facebook status. After a successful day of writing, I typed in "Tracy is manifesting" and at the last second I decided to add "wo" to the front of the word and came up with a new word 'womanifesting'. The word resonated with my friends instantly and even more so after I defined it. Initially I thought the definition could be used to inspire women to appreciate their gifts more and to share those gifts in the form of volunteering to support other women. However, I decided I wanted to do something that would make a stronger impact so in February 2010, I incorporated WOMANIFESTING (WOMA for short) as a non-profit that would focus on supporting women and girls by providing them direct services. Access Interview and Visit Website.

Jim McBride, President of Network for Progress

SFP Editor: What inspired you to start Network for Progress?
Jim McBride: During the Virginia Primary, I hosted some of the first volunteer events in the state and the nation. The idealistic energy and diverse people involved had so much to offer but I felt that after the primary the same community and culture from the traditional campaign efforts wasn't there. So I want to take what we learned and use it to build an organization that promotes it. There isn't another organization that advocates for the grassroots as its main mission in the comprehensive way we want to. After every election there is always an enthusiastic group of volunteers with very few incentives to stay involved. So we lose them to other activities. But I want Network For Progress to use reunions, happy hours, forums, rallies, trainings, speakers and other tools to keep people involved in any fashion possible so they're more likely to come back the next time we need them. Access Interview

Interview with Chrissy Spangler, JUST LIKE JOSHUA

SFP Editor: As the founder of JUST LIKE JOSHUA, what do you hope to accomplish in this leadership position?
Chrissy Spangler: hope to help parents realize they are NOT alone! I hope to establish a resource network where parents can communicate their experiences to one another in hopes that they can use that information to better their own child. I hope to have the community rally around these children and show them that they are loved and accepted. I hope we can work together to ensure EVERY child has the financial means to receives the services, equipments, appointments, training, tools, etc. that they need to improve their quality of life.

Access Interview

Spencer Vliet, Founder of Everyone Deserves Music

SFP Editor: What inspired the idea for Everyone Deserves Music?'

Spencer Vliet: he whole thing came about pretty organically. I volunteered with kids from Southeast DC for a few years through the Sierra Club's Inner City Outings (ICO) program. One of my fellow volunteers knew I was a drummer and asked me if I'd be willing to help fix up an old drum set that's in the community center of the neighborhood we work with. That's really all I started out to do, but then I saw the passion that a couple of the neighborhood kids had for playing this drum set at every opportunity, even though they'd never been taught or had any lessons. That really spoke to me as a former kid who was obsessed with drums and music. I realized how lucky I had been when I was young to have been able to take private lessons, to have parents able to buy equipment and music for me, to have my own drum set and to be able to play it every day. I grew up in middle class suburbs taking all of these things for granted, but these are all opportunities which are denied to a lot of kids in less fortunate urban environments. When I saw the love these kids had for playing music, I immediately knew I wanted to help nurture their talent and passion by helping provide some of the opportunities to them that I had. Access Interview and Visit Website