‘I wake up and I can’t wait it get into that office’— Q&A with Carrie Zeisse

PORTLAND — Just three weeks ago, Cape Elizabeth native Carrie Zeisse (high school class of 1986) got a chance to return home after a 20-year absence, thanks to her new job as senior vice president of operations at the United Way of Greater Portland.

Most recently director of finance at United South End Settlements, and before that the vice president of economic development at the Boston Harbor Island Alliance, Zeisse holds a master of business administration degree from the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which she pursued after several years in the magazine industry.

It’s been a long journey from her days as a photography student at Maine College of Art, and Zeisse recently spoke to The Current about what the future holds.

Q: How does it feel to be coming home?

A: It feels wonderful. The prospect of returning to my roots and raising my family in a place where I know it’s great to have kids, and to be closer to my family, it’s the greatest thing, as is working for a wonderful organization like the United Way. It’s an amazing opportunity. I’m really excited to be joining that staff.

Q: What influenced your decision to apply most – the chance to come home, or to work at the United Way?

A: The opportunity itself was very intriguing, but the combination of that and the place was just too much to ever pass up. It was like a dream come true.

Q: What did you find ‘intriguing’ about the United Way?

A: I think the strengths of community engagement in this particular United Way makes it a really healthy and vibrant chapter. I’m fascinated by the mission of the United Way in terms of empowering lots of other nonprofit organizations. It’s just incredible. And I felt like the reputation of CEO Sue McCormick is incredible strong.

Q: Has the reality lived up to your expectations?

A: Oh, the staff here is so highly engaged and motivated. It feels like a really, really exciting place to work. Every day has been an adventure. I wake up and I can’t wait it get into that office.

Q: So, what does a senior vice president of operations do?

A: I’m charged with overseeing finance and information technology, and supporting all of the business functions of the organization, so that it runs smoothly. I work directly with the CEO to make that happen.

Q: What goals do you have in your new job?

A: I look forward to really helping to bring to life some of the cultural elements that are associated with our strategic plan, and just helping the organization get a turbo-charged injection of efficiency, so they can do their job even better out in the community and with our donors.

Q: Is your art school background at all helpful in the corporate hierarchy?

A: I think the one thing about me specifically is that I have a fairy unique right-brain/left-brain orientation. I have all of this creative problem-solving training, and a way of looking at the world through a humanistic lens, which I think was magnified in art school, and I think that was augmented by this very analytical quantitative MBA that taught me how to look at systems process, to look for levers and to look deep into data to find solutions. I think the combination of those two things together is pretty powerful.

Q: What is your favorite United Way program?

A: Oh, it’s so early, and not being on the program side, I’d hate to single out one. I just have to say I’ve been really impressed with all of the community investing that I’ve seen. I’m incredibly impressed by the depth of knowledge and compassion that I’ve seen at all of our programs.

Q: For those who don’t know, what does United Way do?

A: The United Way works with corporations and other organizations to reach out directly to invest and to collectively campaign and assign money to investments in community programs that focus on education, income and health initiatives, driving a platform of measurable change we’d like to see in those areas. We invest in a wide portfolio of programs that we think can systemically create the outcomes we’re hoping for.

Q: For the man on the street, what does that mean, exactly?

A: We basically work as an agent of social investment for the people who invest with us, who are interested in real community action.

Q: What program could your donors invest in that would put an end to the need for agencies like the United Way?

A: Oh [laughs], after only two weeks, I don’t think I have that perspective.

Q: What kind of community action do you think the Portland area needs most?

A: Well, I personally am very interested in programs that target youth and education. That’s an area that I have an vested interest in with my child, but I don’t want to speak from the United Way in that regard. Still, I believe in public schools and programs that support our kids.

Q: How has Cape Elizabeth changed in the two decades you’ve been away?

A: It’s crazy, some things are completely different but many things are just the same. Some of my favorite elements of Maine are the natural elements. This is an amazing place to be connected to nature and that never changes. But then I went to the IGA the other day and was surprised to see that’s still there and hasn’t changed either.