The NGO Academy is like most things, a work in progress. And rightly so. Your work and mission is also one of creating—creating change in your particular field.

Peter Drucker noted: “The most effective way to manage change successfully is to create it.”

Even though the work of NGOs is often initiated by a call of the heart, the skills, knowledge and resources that are needed to fulfill the mission non-profits are called to fulfill require even more exacting proficiency than the private sector because there are two bottom lines: the mission and the money.

This site seeks to contribute in small ways. Not enormous or every way, but strategic ways, to the efficacy of NGOs that have as part of their, outreach and lobbying to the United Nations. Part of the focus is on elements of change leadership, advocacy and outreach or lobbying to the UN missions.

But whatever the specifics of the training, in the end…

… it’s all about people

To make a difference in our world we cannot escape the potency of character, integrity, perseverance, and a constant focus on our desired ends. As individuals, we do best when we are learning, engaging, moving, and vital in all our relationships and in our own skins.

Change leaders anticipate the future and build solutions that impact our communities, our families and our world.

My name is Karen Smith
founder of the NGO Academy

Purpose of the Advocacy Algorithm:

To help overworked an underfunded NGOs and non-profits create effective outreach and advocacy teams at the UN that get their message out, even if  the volunteers/interns start out not knowing where the Visitor’s entrance is at the UN, anything about diplomatic protocols or even what the MDGs are.

Karen is the primary trainer but will be interviewing and including the knowledge and experience of others who either work with volunteers (there all kinds of tips and tricks to working effectively with them and minimizing grief for both parties) and/or have spent many years at the UN as effective advocates an lobbyists in various areas of expertise.

Her Experience

Karen has trained over one hundred volunteers and interns to work around the UN in the last 10 years, she’s worked on GA resolutions (that passed) with governments and still works with NGO committees at the UN. Her particular current focus is with ECOSOC’s UNODC (she is currently the Vice Chair of the Alliance of NGOs on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and the Chair of its Working Party on Prevention) and more.

She has spoken internationally on issues of UN renewal (Ethiopia, Costa Rica, Thailand, Japan, Korea, USA, Australia, Samoa, Italy, Russia, Great Britain, Germany, Israel, Jordan, Azerbaijan, Albania, Cyprus) with a focus on the area of transreligious dialogue and where this intersects with security issues. She has worked with UN staffers, done internet TV interviews with the President of the GA (2006) Ambassadors and the USG OHRLLS, attended numerous intergovernmental meetings etc. etc.

In her words, “It’s been a FULL ten years.” And that’s not all.

Karen now wants to leverage the internet to get NGO staff and volunteers better ready to hit the ground and do the work needed to be effective civil society partners with the UN.

Education:

Graduated from the University of Melbourne, Australia with a BSc in physics in 1978 and in 1983 got her Masters of Divinity at the Unification Theological Seminary in NY. She is “ABD” in her doctoral program focusing on providing online resources to those who are dealing with the death and loss.

She is married with three children and lives in Mamaroneck, New York.