Feature
The Influencers
Jackie Rotman
TEXT BY KYLE THORNBURG
PHOTOGRAPH BY LUCAS DEMING
Jackie Rotman, 24, leverages philanthropy as a universal tool.
From a professional history that began with bright ideas as a
teenager, Jackie’s career is rooted in quality of life. At 14 years old
she founded Everybody Dance Now!, a nonprofit organization
with a knack for instilling self-esteem into the lives of underserved youth through dance. Now, Jackie serves as the Executive
Director for Spark. Based in San Francisco, Jackie and her team
at Spark use strategy and investment of the global sort to support women’s initiatives around the world and spark altruistic
discoveries along the way.
In a way, your creativity as a young adult was the impetus
for the career that was ahead of you. How does creativity
show up in your life today?
For me, creativity and spirituality are inextricably linked. There
is a beautiful TED talk by Liz Gilbert, the author of Eat, Pray,
Love, about how – unlike our society today where we think creativity comes from the self and the individual–ancient Greeks
and Romans thought that creativity was a divine spirit that came
to human beings from an unknowable source. I feel this way
when I feel inspired and creative–that sometimes an idea or
organization or vision wants to be born, and I get to serve as a
vessel to make that happen, but it comes from somewhere bigger.
When I founded Everybody Dance Now! at fourteen years
old and discovered the beauty of “social entrepreneurship,” that
creativity extended to my work as an organizational leader. I
have always felt social entrepreneurship is a creative art form.
Developing an organizational vision/mission and organizing the
team, strategies, and resources to serve a purpose. It’s a similar
creative process to me as conveying a theme on a stage and organizing bodies and movement to serve a purpose.
Everybody Dance Now! was your first foray into the professional world of philanthropy. What were the most
valuable lessons you learned through that organization
that you apply to your work life today?
One lesson I learned from Everybody Dance Now! (EDN!) is
that you don’t have to wait to make a difference. A philanthropist
in San Francisco, Helen Diller, always used to say, “It is never
too early, too late, or too often to make a difference.” I think
we often perceive that to be in the role you want, you need to
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work your way up a ladder in an institution to gain the necessary
skills. When you have a vision and you’re passionate about manifesting it, you learn the skills and ropes along the way. You find
mentors and team members to help you—whatever it takes. The
scrappiness, resourcefulness, and “learn-as-you-go” mentality
I learned at EDN! are very helpful going forward.
Which professional freedoms or advantages within the
nonprofit sector have you found to be the most enriching?
My work allows me to be a professional “relationship builder.” A
lot of what I do at Spark can be called “fundraising,” and at first
I felt uncomfortable strategically interacting with people when
financial contributions are a potential goal. One of my incredible
mentors, the CEO of Moishe House, David Cygielman, helped
me reframe and see the work I do as “building authentic relationships.” When I saw it that way, I loved that work more and
began to thrive at it. Getting to form deep bonds with many different people and helping them fulfill their passions and needs
for helping others, it is very gratifying.
Who are the women who inspire you most?
In my professional life, Amy Rao and Kathleen Kelly Janus are
two women who inspire me tremendously. Amy, a CEO and a
philanthropist for human rights, is incredibly empathetic and
action oriented; this past month, she has hopped on planes twice
to Lesbos, Greece to help with the refugee emergency. Kathleen,
a co-founder of Spark, is so tactful and strategic based on years
working wit