UBB Staff Spotlight

We are pleased to welcome Stephanie Tam to the University Beyond Bars team! Stephanie joined our staff as our new Development, Communications, and Operations Assistant a month ago. She will be involved in most operational aspects of UBB. She will help spread the word about our impact by handling all of our social media platforms, managing and updating our website, and writing blogs and e-newsletters. She will also support day-to-day fundraising activities through appeals, acknowledgements and donor cultivation efforts.

She is a graduate of the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington. She has interned for Global Washington, Sahar, and West Seattle Helpline as a development and communications intern. She recently came back from South Korea, teaching English to elementary and middle school students at Chungdahm Learning for two years.

Why did you decide to apply for this position at UBB?

At the time, I was interning for West Seattle Helpline, and my internship was coming to an end. I was in the process of researching and applying for jobs, when I came across UBB's job post about a development, communications, and operations assistant position. I have previously interned for three non-profits, and wanted to continue to develop my skills in communications and development at a non-profit. 

I also applied for this position because I really admired UBB's mission, which is to empower prisoners to fulfill their potential through communities of higher learning that transcend prison walls. I admired how UBB is a non-profit that is committed to providing prisoners with educational opportunities through their programs - not just academic, but they also in art, literature, philosophy, student leadership courses, and more. I wanted to be a part of the UBB team, in making efforts to create a social impact on their students, and to help them feel empowered.

What are your goals for this position?

I definitely want to improve UBB's online presence by updating their website. I recently added a page for blogs, where we can promote our current programs, events, and campaigns. Through blog writing, I want to highlight more of UBB's board, staff, students, instructors, and volunteers so that our donors and supporters can learn more about us and why we joined UBB. I also want to improve UBB's online presence by utilizing all social media platforms - UBB already has an active Facebook and Twitter account, but they did not have an Instagram account. Through social media, I want to share all of the work that UBB does for our students, and to incorporate more storytelling - I want to fully engage our donors and supporters through the perspective the board, staff, students, teachers, and volunteers, as well as providing quotes from our students about how UBB impacted them and their outlook on education. I also want to post more about current issues regarding prison education reform, so that our readers will know more about the issue, and to come up with solutions with us at UBB.

I want to continue to develop my skills on the development side of non-profit by writing more e-newsletters and campaigns, and to participate more in fundraising and event planning.

What are you looking forward to in working at UBB?

Besides meeting the goals I have made for this position, I look forward to continuing to develop my skills in development and communications in non-profit. This is the career route I want to take, and I believe that this position at UBB will help me to get there.

I also look forward to getting to know the board and staff - they have far more knowledge and experience in the non-profit world, and show similar interests in social justice and community development as I do.

We are excited to have Stephanie join our team, in hopes to inspire and empower our students in prison to pursue an education, and to ultimately have a better future.