Emily Douglas-McNab doesn’t believe that there is one moment in life that best describes anyone. She believes the picture of one’s life is made up of many moments and depending upon how you react to those moments and treat others is what defines you.
Emily currently works for Battelle for Kids, a national, nonprofit organization that provides counsel and solutions to advance education internationally. She is the Director of Human Capital and works with schools and state departments across the country to build and improve human capital and performance management systems. Emily also writes for the world’s largest K-12 education newspaper, Education Week, as the “K-12 Talent Manager.” In 2013 Emily was recognized by Workforce magazine as an “HR Game Changer” and in 2014 was recognized by Microsoft Education as a “Global Hero in Education” and selected as a Phi Delta Kappa Emerging Leader in education under 40.
Emily is also the founder and executive director of “Grandma’s Gifts,” a nonprofit that provides goods and services to families and organizations in Appalachia. She started the organization in 1993, at the age of eleven in memory of her Appalachian grandmother who died from breast cancer. The organization is run entirely by volunteers and to date, more than $13million in goods and services have been supplied, helping more than 2.5 million people. “I am proud of my work through Grandma’s Gifts but what keeps me up at night is that there is still much to do and many Appalachian organizations, schools, and people to help. I feel blessed to have such wonderful support from my family and friends in my endeavors.”
Trying to balance everything in Emily’s life, she has to work tirelessly and sometimes does her work on little sleep. “I work on average 60 hours a week at Battelle for Kids and travel all over the country. I love my job, but I also love volunteering. When I am home I spend time with my family and run Grandma’s Gifts. This also requires a great amount of time. I use my vacation time from Battelle for Kids to deliver canned food, sort holiday gifts, accompany schools on field trips, and more. I rarely sit and do nothing or just watch TV; this is how I fit everything in!”
Emily hopes to be able to teach people that giving is more than donating thousands of dollars or hundreds of hours of time. She also wants people to be able to realize that you don’t have to be rich and famous to make a difference in someone’s life. “I would love to be able to teach people that living a life of giving makes you happier, healthier, smarter, wiser, and more complete.” Emily also really believes in the quote: “Don’t let someone dim your light, simply because it is shining in their eyes.” “If I had stopped helping people because someone in my life said it wasn’t cool, my life would have taken a dramatically different path. In the end I was helping others because I think anyone who has the ability to help, should.”
For more information about Grandma’s Gifts, please visit www.grandmasgifts.org.