Sitting Down with Brandi Jimenez, Citizen Schools Operations & National Service Director
“Always follow the opportunity, the opportunity to grow.”
Brandi Jimenez has been a vital part of the Citizen Schools team since January, 2018. Named the 2021 recipient of the Tulaine Montgomery Village Builder Award, Brandi serves as our Operations & National Service Director. In this role, she partners with senior and regional leadership to ensure a best-in-class experience for our AmeriCorps service members and enhances a robust infrastructure that ensures a continued track record of compliance with grant standards. A former AmeriCorps service member herself, we took a moment to speak with Brandi about her role at Citizen Schools.
When you think about the word community, what part of your role at Citizen Schools really embodies that word and why?
I think of my role as very much a community builder responsible for fostering connections and creating infrastructures to help steward those connections. Identifying shared goals, needs, concerns, and expectations are key to informing what systems and tools might be needed to support the collective growth. The way you can obtain that information is through relationships—the stronger the better!
Serving in New Orleans, 2009 with Recovery School Districts, focus on disaster relief from Hurricane Katrina
Tell us about your journey to Citizen Schools and your work as an Americorps Service Member, how has that guided you in your career?
AmeriCorps NCCC Campus in Sacramento, CA 2009, transition time between projects. It's a small break after wrapping one project and prepping for the next.
My AmeriCorps service really led me to my role at Citizen Schools! My first service year was with AmeriCorps NCCC. I had just graduated from my local community college, Wharton County Junior College (WCJC), and I was getting ready to apply for the Peace Corps. A friend mentioned NCCC to me and suggested I give it a try. I had a great experience and was in an environment where almost everyone already had plans for their graduate studies. It inspired me to go back to school and get my bachelors degree. That’s exactly what I did—graduating in December of 2011! After graduation, I went directly into my AmeriCorps VISTA year in Washington and had another amazing service year. It motivated me to go back to school once again. Grad school is one of my proudest accomplishments. Working full time, going to class after work, and being a person who does better with hands-on learning vs. traditional learning was a real struggle for me. Despite it all, I graduated with my MPA in December of 2017 and moved to Boston for my job at Citizen Schools. A friend sent me the job listing because it supported an AmeriCorps program and since I will talk anyone’s ear off about my AmeriCorps service, I applied on a whim given it was all the way in Boston and I was living in San Antonio, TX. The job was the perfect next step for me and I accepted the offer! Through these almost four years, it’s been an honor to play a small part in the journey of our members serving in the AmeriCorps Teaching and Maker Fellowships. Their commitment and dedication to our communities is inspiring and something I feel personally responsible for stewarding.
What has helped shape you along your path?
Not sure where I got this motto from, but it’s been with me for as long as I can remember. “Always follow the opportunity, the opportunity to grow.” For me, that opportunity could be financially, intellectually or even exploring a new aspect of myself. It's easier said than done in a lot of cases, given not all of us are allowed the same opportunities for growth, but every opportunity that has come my way, that feels right, I’ve taken. It’s guided me to amazing people, doing amazing things, and has allowed me to contribute to issues that are important to me like the work Citizen Schools does in closing the opportunity gap.
Serving in Hattiesburg, MS 2009 with Recover, Rebuild, Restore Mississippi focus on disaster relief after hurricane Katrina and housing renovation for underserved communities.
What support systems do you have in place personally that help keep you going daily?
I’m a pretty low key person by nature. Exploring new places and new practices gives me joy! I’ve started to work yoga and meditation into my daily routine and I’ve never been more excited about my “to read” list.
Brandi’s journey, and the community she’s built throughout Citizen Schools, speaks volumes of the impactful work of our staff members and how it correlates directly with our mission of helping all students to thrive in school and beyond through hands-on learning and career mentors.
Thank you for all you do, Brandi!