Welcome to episode 40 of the Today is the Day Changemakers Podcast.
This week my guest is Tanuja Dehne, President & CEO of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.
Tanuja describes herself as a introvert that has a very outward facing presence. She says she is also a Type A personality.
Back in high school Tanuja had a love for agriculture, so she secured a job milking cows at a dairy farm in Easton, PA. She went to the Governors School for Agriculture between her sophomore and junior year. Although, she did not decide to become a farmer as she once thought, she shares how much she enjoyed the experience.
Tanuja entered college as a liberal arts major, but found out that she really had a passion for government affairs and politics, so she shifted gears. She went on to graduate school where she had 5 part time jobs to pay the bills. Listen in to hear how grateful she was for all of her different roles.
After going to law school and building her career path Tanuja worked for NRG energy for 12 years and served as Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer and Chief of Staff. She says that the gift of her work at NRG was seeing that you can have a purpose driven life and career.
Tanuja left NRG Energy with a calling. She had the inclination and inspiration to participate in a yoga training program. All her past experiences have positioned her to be ready to take on the incredibly important role that she is in now at the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.
The Dodge Squad, as Tanuja calls them is in the midst of a transformation both internally and within their community work. They are on an important equity journey. Visit Geraldine R. Dodge website for more information about the organization's focus.
"We are in control of how we show up in this world", Tanuja says. "You are worth the investment. Be intentional about self-compassion – we are not perfect and perfection is not the goal."
She has a lot of gratitude for her career path, who she met along the way, who helped to lift and mentor her. This is truly an incredible conversation!
Don't forget to listen in to Tanuja's answer to, if I knew then what I know now.
Thank you to Tanuja Dehne for this great conversation!
Next week, I welcome Michael Gershe, Founder, Magic of Life Foundation, Speaker, Author, Comedian, College Advisor at Kent State University. Michael wears many hats, but his passion to make a difference shines through in all that he does. He is on a mission to educate everyone about the dangers of drunk driving after losing his mother in a terrible car accident when he was just 8 weeks old. He was a passenger in that car crash as well. Listen in to hear more of his incredible story. Visit The Magic of Life for more information.
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Have a great week everyone!
