Kristine Sloan On Why She Doesn’t Believe in 5 Year Plans

Kristine’s large and crazy family

She had 5 people she considered to her parents (4 out of 5 are entrepreneurs)

Early on she learned that there is no traditional career path

On her two undergraduate degrees in Economics and International Affairs

How she designed the Masters degree and how this degree serves her now

On when is a good time to go to Grad school and why she took a year between undergraduate and Masters

How Kristine worked her way through her undergrad and Masters

On Kristine’s plan to getting into the job market post Masters

How she paid for her field work for her Master’s thesis and resulted co-founding a company in Ghana

How she kept working on campus after she graduated from her Masters

In early 2014 Ebola hit Africa and the company had to shut-down operations

How Kristine found another job in East Africa for All Across Africa Kazi Goods in Burundi and she was mandatory evacuation

On her painful transition out of International Development

How Kristine took 3 months off, drove an old van around the American West to think of next steps

On embracing pain, changes in professional identities and making it through the transition

How she identify the problem for her: lack of leadership and that’s how she got to Startingbloc

How she got the job at Startingbloc as interim director

Kristine’s take on a five year plan and why she doesn’t believe in them

She applied from her van, drove to the interview, got the job at Startingbloc and left her 3 month solo trip

After 2.5 years working for Startinbloc and how she loves leadership and the mission

On working for someone as opposed as creating your own organization

Kristine’s take on social entrepreneurship

Kristine’s best (not) career advice she has received

Kristine’s take on failure

3 things folks need to do to pursue a career on impact according to Kristine

Where the van is right now