by Grace Hintz

What is it like to help children in foster care? Jessica Ross can answer that question. She works at Treehouse, which is a nonprofit Seattle-based organization.

To begin, Jessica Ross didn’t even know that a Chief Development Officer was a job. Secondly, before Jessica was Chief Development Officer [CDO] at Treehouse She worked at Lifelong AIDS Alliance.

During Jessica’s free time she likes to spend time with her family. She also likes to knit and read. Jessica has two children and she and her wife Allison share the work at home so their life is easier.

Jessica’s job is very important and here is why. To start, Jessica thinks about how to work in different ways with lots of different people. Secondly, Jessica organizes and goes to lots of meetings with colleagues and donors to get information about how best to support children in foster care. Thirdly, Jessica makes sure that children in foster care have the same opportunities as other kids by helping them plan for their future.

These are a few responsibilities of a Chief Development Officer (CDO). First, the CDO plays a very important role in nonprofit businesses. For example she is responsible for planning and implementing strategies for sharing stories and raising money. The CDO also has to cooperate with the CEO, staff and the governing board to help kids. As you can see these were some of the responsibilities of a CDO. Now let’s look more at what Treehouse does.

Firstly, Treehouse astoundingly increased graduation rates for youth in foster care. Secondly, Treehouse is trying to support policies that improve the foster care system for families. Finally, Treehouse has a long-established commitment to helping kids connect with community by playing sports, going to camp and having supportive adults in their lives.

If you like to help people and you like a challenge then Treehouse could be the place for you. Jessica contributes to her community by helping children in foster care. Even though working with children in foster care isn’t always easy, it’s still worth it.