Judy Watson Olson

Michigan Nightlight: What does being a leader mean to you?
Great Lakes Center for Youth Development President and CEO Judy Watson Olson: It means using my skills, my energy, my passion and my position to bring people together to achieve common goals -- especially the common goal of strengthening and supporting our youth environment. Also, being a leader is greater than me and my leadership. It means not only having greater people in our organization, but in our community.
 
Being a leader is also about the strength of our organization. We strive to make our organization a leader, too -- a leader for the nonprofit sector here in the Upper Peninsula.
 
What is your dream for kids?
 
I have so many. First and foremost is that they live in a caring family and community and have the opportunity to grow to their full potential by having their basic needs met: health care, food, housing and safety.
 
Another dream I have is that every child be given the opportunity to volunteer and serve so that they can learn and grow

Young people need caring adults in their lives. They need opportunities outside school to engage them in positive activities. Young people also need to be seen as important and valued members of their communities.

through helping others and see the world beyond themselves. One of the best avenues for this is through youth programs, but all young people can be exposed through schools; we know that service learning helps improve academic outcomes for kids.
 
I dream that every child finds a spark or passion to motivate or excite them about life. It might be a musical skill, a sport, or an academic interest like math or social science. When vulnerable kids can find a spark, it can help prevent risky behaviors and promote positive outcomes like success in schools. 
 
What is one concrete thing that could be done to improve the environment for social sector work in Michigan?
First, we need to make sure that we continue to provide assistance to struggling families and use nonprofits to help with that work. I think that there should be more effort to strengthen nonprofits so that they can be sustainable in this assistance work. I see too many nonprofits challenged by not having enough operating income -- they have to work so hard on fundraising that they don’t have the ability to provide as much assistance as they want. So many nonprofits are vulnerable. They respond to the immediate needs and then cannot concentrate on strengthening their organizations.
 
Increasing support for capacity building, like providing training and technical assistance, and operation funding would be a good investment, because if nonprofits are fiscally sound, they will be better able to deliver their programs.
 
How do you know you’re making progress?
One way we measure progress is by using the 40 Developmental Assets (which is a framework for positive youth development that was created by the Search Institute). These assets are the strengths that young people need in their lives to grow up healthy, competent and caring. Here in the Upper Peninsula, we have been measuring these assets since 1997.
 
Every two years, we survey youth in the community about how they experience their environment; we have seen 26 of the 40 developmental assets increase by five percent or more over the 13 years since we started doing it. That means the youth environment has improved.
 
For instance, we have seen significant improvement in family support, caring school climate, and in restraint from using alcohol or drugs. Youth environment can mean many things. It’s not only what young people experience, but it’s also about having a healthy community with everything from good economic development and jobs, to access to health care, to strong

Our role is to help nonprofits and schools help children. And when multiple organizations are brought together around a common goal, they can be so much more powerful than they could have been working alone.

schools for a great education, to support for people who are hurting.
 
What are you most proud of?
I am proud of our organization’s focus on vulnerable youth. Moving to that strong focus has taken many years learning about community needs and about the biggest challenges in the youth environment. Our earlier focus was for all youth, and that was really important, but what we learned from that was that there was always a segment of young people that didn’t have the skills and support that they needed. 
 
Young people need caring adults in their lives. They need opportunities outside school to engage them in positive activities. Young people also need to be seen as important and valued members of their communities.
 
What roles do networks and collaborations with existing youth-centered programs play in your professional career with Great Lakes Center for Youth Development?
This really goes back to the beginning of my career as a Michigan State University Extension Agent in 1976. Networks have everything to do with our success and the development of my career. I have always worked in collaboration with others -- building on the skills of others so that they can be effective in whatever mission they are trying to achieve. 
 
Personal relationships are very critical, too -- even in networks and collaborations -- so taking the time to strengthen those relationships is really important.
 
Our role is to help nonprofits and schools help children. And when multiple organizations are brought together around a common goal, they can be so much more powerful than they could have been working alone.