A Vision for Change: Jessamyn Sarmiento's Journey in Humanitarianism
I had the privilege of photographing Jessamyn Sarmiento, Chief Marketing Officer at World Food Program USA, a nonprofit affiliate of the United Nations World Food Programme serving over 15 billion meals to hungry people every year.
“We are very emergency based, in essence, news driven. When we hear about a new world crisis or disaster we wait until we know we can send food and then we jump into action. It is extremely fast-paced. Once we have a mandate, we turn something around really fast.
“We are working to increase brand recognition and raise funds in the US. There are many places in the world today experiencing famine-like food shortages.”
“This kind of work requires an ability to immediately power up. I have found it is easier to dial back intense energy than to dial it up.
In offering advice to a younger person Jessamyn advises, “To have the ability to work in a fast-paced environment, look for opportunities to have the most responsibility so you can learn on the job. For instance, get your foot in the door of a political campaign. At the grass roots level, you’ll have to be a jack of all trades. In a few years, you’ll learn how to manage many things on your plate all at once.”
“Or join an agency, coming in as a junior person, there is a lot of pressure. You are required to do a lot of writing. It gives you the tools to be able to handle working in an environment that is fast-paced.
“In either job, you have to juggle many things always presenting your plans in a logical order. That skill comes in handy as you climb the ladder and you manage up.
“Trust your instincts. Don't second guess yourself. If you’re the only one of some group represented in the room or the younger person willing to take risks and reach for things you believe in, do it! The worst thing that can happen is, you try, it doesn’t change and you learn some things.”
“For my first job I was fortunate to get on a political campaign. I started off as the lowest person on the team. But I leveraged every opportunity which led me to the White House! There I found people doing things for good.
“When I worked in consumer marketing, I started as a vice president and ended up as a partner, leading a unit of 10 people and managing eight million dollars in business. I learned a lot.
“I truly believe those jobs helped me meet amazing people going places and doing important things. I look for those kind of people to hire.”
“My headshot experience was great; comfortable and confidence building. Alissa and her team listened to me, which made me feel like it would reflect well in my photos. Headshots in the past didn’t look like me.”
“Alissa has an intuition about people and captures their personality in her photos. She had me bring different outfits, ones I may not have chosen. But when I saw my pictures I said, ‘That can't be me, but that’s me!’ I highly recommend Alissa and All About Headshots.
Thank you so much, Jessamyn!