Our Newest Addition - Kasandra Tenbarge

By: Hadassah Moore | Project Coordinator, First Things First Porter County

The First Things First Porter County team has grown again! Introducing Associate Director Kasandra (Kasie) Tenbarge, CFRM. Most recently, she served as Major Gifts Officer at Valparaiso University after tenure at United Way Northwest Indiana.

A trusted fundraiser and relationship developer with more than 18 years of experience, Kasie has helped to build and execute successful campaigns, programming, events, and volunteer boards across higher education, non-profit, and business sectors in Northwest Indiana which makes her an excellent addition to our team.

Kasie has lived and worked in Northwest Indiana for the nearly the entirety of her life and admits a deep appreciation and love for the Region. I sat down with Kasie to discuss her transition to our team and what’s ahead.

What interested you about joining First Things First?

I met Mary Jane years ago and have remained familiar with her work. But more than that, I have worked across a variety of industries (education, philanthropy, media) and have always seen a clear connection between early childhood experiences and how they impact all areas of life. Every basic need addressed by the non-profit community can be traced back to the root cause of early childhood experiences.

Additionally, I am inspired by collective impact and this particular opportunity to join in the “start-up” phase of FTF. Bringing the two worlds together (collective impact and early childhood experiences) is exciting and can directly benefit my extremely local community.

So, you’re a month into this position. What has been a highlight so far?

Oh boy! I have a lot of highlights! Something that sticks out to me is the amount of interest across all areas of impact. There is no one I have reached out to or had a conversation with that isn’t interested in the topic of early childhood experiences in one way or another.

Along those lines, it’s very validating and interesting to me how willing and eager everyone is in the topic. No matter the lens they look through (education, mental health, food/shelter support), we realize the common denominator is early childhood experiences. The immediate “spark” that happens when I begin a conversation about what FTF is doing is very inspiring.

What can our community partners expect from you?

Our community partners can expect me to begin introducing myself and asking questions about how we can work together toward a greater systems change. Along with that, I plan to challenge partners and community members to think about how Porter County (and beyond!) will look differently in 25 years if we are consistent in our work now. I hope to capitalize on current and new partnerships to impact change.

I also don’t want to be afraid to reach out beyond Porter County. Our connections across the Region can lead to stronger connections and opportunities within Porter County. We can’t deny that FTF’s greatest area if influence is within Porter County, but a regional focus will also result in more Porter County impact.

You can learn more about Kasie here.