How to Raise a Family and Build a Fulfilling Education Career - Diana Wilmot

Raising two young children pushes mother Diana Wilmot to find a career in education psychometrics where she can raise a family and work a job where she is fulfilled intellectually and able to give. Her education and evaluation psychometrician role at the Santa Clara County Office of Education allows her to make a contribution toward providing children a great education.

What Peer Health Exchange Teaches College Volunteers - Louise Davis

In Chapter 1 of 20 in her 2009 Capture Your Flag interview, Peer Health Exchange (PHE) co-founder and Executive Director Louise Davis shares how college students translate the in-classroom PHE experience into broader health and education public service ambitions. College students trained to teach public high school health education with PHE generally find themselves more deeply committed to public service.

How Decision Frameworks Can Build Teen Confidence - Louise Davis

In Chapter 2 of 20 in her 2009 Capture Your Flag interview, Peer Health Exchange co-founder and Executive Director Louise Davis shares how frameworks and taught in PHE Decision-Making and Communication build teen confidence and accountability. Specifically, decision-Making frameworks taught to high school students do two things: First, they instill the right to make a decision in each teen; second, they empower the teen to make the decision.

How Good Communication Builds Trusted Relationships - Louise Davis

In Chapter 3 of 20 in her 2009 Capture Your Flag interview, Peer Health Exchange (PHE) co-founder Louise Davis shares lessons learned from teaching high-school students healthy communication skills. Direct, clear communication, specifically both being clear and listening clearly, is an anchor when building trusting relationships and is fundamental to PHE classroom experience.

How Non-Profit Peer Health Exchange Measures Success - Louise Davis

In Chapter 4 of 20 in her 2009 Capture Your Flag interview, non-profit Peer Health Exchange (PHE) Executive Director Louise Davis highlights how knowledge, skills, and attitudes are three factors driving healthy behavior in teenagers. PHE pre- and post- tests these factors to measure success teaching teens healthy decision-making skills. PHE also uses student program evaluations to measure program effectiveness and gather feedback to improve how they empower students to make healthy decisions.

Why Yale History Major Chose Non-Profit Education Career - Louise Davis

In Chapter 5 of 20 in her 2009 Capture Your Flag interview, Peer Health Exchange (PHE) co-founder Louise Davis studies history, specifically American Race Issues at Yale University, to better learn the context and patterns underlying socioeconomic and racial issues driving classroom and community inequality. Davis complements classroom experience with on-the-ground work in New Haven, Connecticut schools. Combined, these two efforts motivate Davis to start PHE and train college students to teach high school students health education and decision-making skills.

How to Turn School Project into a National Non-Profit - Louise Davis

In Chapter 6 of 20 in her 2009 Capture Your Flag interview, Louise Davis graduates Yale University and builds upon her local high school health education volunteer work in New Haven, Connecticut by creating a national non-profit, Peer Health Exchange (PHE). Davis, PHE co-founder and Executive Director, shares lessons learned over six years doing the work and managing organization growth rolling out the program systematically to areas in need across the country.

How New Haven Influenced Decision to Attend Yale - Louise Davis

In Chapter 7 of 20 in her 2009 Capture Your Flag interview, Louise Davis shares how, while in high school, she prioritizes colleges located in urban settings. The school should have resources committed to serve the local community in need and allow students to apply the resources. Seeking something comparable to her San Francisco childhood, Davis decides to attend Yale University, given its high priority serving the local New Haven, Connecticut community.

How Childhood HIV and AIDS Experiences Shaped Purpose - Louise Davis

In Chapter 8 of 20 in her 2009 Capture Your Flag interview, Louise Davis shares how, while in 6th grade, she sees an HIV positive friend get AIDS-related infection and pass away. The effect is lasting and pushes Davis to then begin volunteering locally at HIV/AIDS organization Project Open Hand in San Francisco. Meeting HIV positive peers, Davis sees how with proper health education and empowerment, transmission could be significantly reduced. Over time, this leads Davis to start Peer Health Exchange to provide health education and healthy decision-making skills to teens.

How Gandhi Words Help Align Passion to Purpose - Louise Davis

In Chapter 11 of 20 in her 2009 Capture Your Flag interview, Peer Health Exchange co-founder and social entrepreneur Louise Davis shares her interpretation of Gandhi's words "You must be the change you want to see in the world". Davis begins by identifying values and beliefs - being true to yourself - and then making an impact by taking action to put these passions to work.

How to Overcome Fear of Working in Non-Profit Industry - Louise Davis

In Chapter 12 of 20 in her 2009 Capture Your Flag interview, non-profit Peer Health Exchange co-founder Louise Davis speaks to common fears and conflicts many have about working in the non-profit industry. Davis shares how many non-profits now integrate a business approach to measure outcomes and results to complement ideals and passions.

How to Be More Successful in Non-Profit Fundraising - Louise Davis

In Chapter 13 of 20 of her 2009 Capture Your Flag interview, Peer Health Exchange (PHE) co-founder Louise Davis discusses fundraising and how PHE treats donors as investors. The investment approach, which includes a data-driven framework, keeps contributors vested in how PHE affects positive change in teaching high school students health education. This data allows Davis to better connect goals and results, which inspires her to work more passionately while setting larger goals.

How to Prioritize Goals and Avoid Distractions by Saying No - Louise Davis

In Chapter 14 of 20 in her 2009 Capture Your Flag interview, non-profit Peer Health Exchange (PHE) co-founder Louise Davis addresses why turning down requests - deciding to say no - not central to the PHE primary mission constant challenges her and her team. Davis and her team prioritize discipline to avoid distraction from the PHE purpose providing health education to high school students. To do this, PHE aligns efforts with its clearly stated primary mission and continuously evaluates decisions based on the principles.

Transcription: 

Erik Michielsen:  What has been the most difficult part of your journey to date?

Louise Davis:  I think the most difficult part of my personal journey is deciding where to say no to the things that are always pulling on your work and impact.  Which is just to say, I think when you are committed to a cause like we are, to health education, you end up opening yourself up to a lot of different demands on that cause.  I think many if not all of them are really legitimate.  But to do one thing really well you have to just do one thing or do as close to that one thing as possible.  For us and for me, it has been a challenge to just be really clear, focused, and disciplined about that one goal and not get too distracted by the many other things that are totally legitimate that demand our time and energy, my time and energy.   Right now we are at that point where we can start to imagine doing more than we have done in the past and it is a really exciting moment.  I think we have to stay very clear on what it is we are going to do and what it is we are not going to do.  It is always harder to say no than it is to say yes so I think that is a constant challenge in this work.

Erik Michielsen:  How do you go through setting those priorities and following through with them?

Louise Davis:  We try to just be really clear in our mission and our work what we are trying to achieve and we map every opportunity directly to that mission.  If it does not have a direct map, we don`t do it.  We try to be really clear about that.  

How Volunteer Non-Profit Finances Growth in Down Economy - Louise Davis

In Chapter 17 of 20, Peer Health Exchange (PHE) co-founder Louise Davis shares how the non-profit's 2008 Los Angeles expansion highlights how organizations can finance growth and build stakeholder loyalty amidst a down economy. Today, PHE serves 700 students in the greater Los Angeles area.

How a Non-Profit Executive Balances Priorities - Louise Davis

In Chapter 18 of 20 of her 2009 Capture Your Flag interview, Peer Health Exchange (PHE) co-founder Louise Davis shares how leaving the PHE classroom teaching environment for an executive leadership position changed her expectations on what she can contribute to the organization. Davis highlights the important need to balance management with annual classroom visits to see students and volunteers firsthand.

How Incentive Structure Motivates Non-Profit Teams - Louise Davis

In Chapter 19 of 20, Louise Davis, Peer Health Exchange (PHE) Executive Director and co-founder, highlights how the non-profit structures incentives to motivate team behavior and commitment.

How Non-Profit Can Improve High School Health Education - Louise Davis

In Chapter 20 of 20, Peer Health Exchange Executive Director Louise Davis discusses what her organization can do to help create a national, standardized high school health education system for teenagers.

How Business Professor Mentors Entrepreneurs - Mike Germano

In Chapter 8 of 13, Quinnipiac business professor Dale Jasinski draws parallels in his own lessons learned to mentor Carrot Creative co-founders Mike Germano and his partner Robert Gaafar on business fundamentals, including cash flow, managing people, and scaling operations. The relationship provides Germano and Gaafar reinforcement they are not alone on their journey, a key element for entrepreneur confidence-building.