Adam Poeschl is a middle child. It’s partly the reason he signed up to be a Connector.

“I’m pretty good at staying neutral about things,” the Bozeman, Montana local says. “I grew up having to be the diplomat between us [brothers].”

The other reason is that he’s already helping plug people in to the resources in their community as an Americorps VISTA volunteer at the Human Resource Development Council of District IX. With the Idealist Network, he’ll be taking those skills one step further.

“There are a lot of people who lie in bed at night thinking about how to make the world a better place. But they have no idea how to take action,” he says. “What I’m really excited about is facilitating an easy way for people to start.”

Gallatin Valley in Bozeman, Montana—known for Montana State University,
world-class skiing, and the great outdoors.
(photo courtesy Adam Poeschl.)

Adam’s experienced this firsthand: when he became interested in nonprofits, he had no idea where to begin to look for ways to get involved. Bozeman has an active volunteer community, but many of the more visible opportunities with food banks and mentoring organizations quickly get snapped up. It took him six months to get a volunteer gig shelving books at the library.

“I think a network like Idealist can help lay out all the other agencies and opportunities in town that people didn’t even know existed,” he says.

Now, as a Connector, he’ll start by calling nonprofits in Bozeman to suggest they create a profile on Idealist. He’ll also be thinking about how else he can pass on good information.

“I’m easy to talk to. I don’t get overly worked up over things. I’m a good co-conspirator,” he says. “And I’m good at getting things moving, but I don’t like to steal people’s thunder.”

—

Do you live in the Bozeman area? Join Adam. Not in Bozeman? Look for a Connector Team near you.