Scot Kersgaard, JVA Consulting

At JVA, we are fortunate to work with some very powerful people. Some are powerful in the traditional sense in that they hold public office or run multimillion-dollar organizations, but that is not what I am talking about.

The power I speak of is the power of personal will, the power that comes from the knowledge that a person can—through his or her actions—change the world for the better. Virtually every client organization that JVA works with has one or more persons with that quiet power—that absolute certainty that what they do with their lives matters.

Given the kinds of clients we work with, it should come as no surprise that JVA itself is full of people who have that same quiet power—that commitment to simply do what needs to be done. Over the next few months, we are going to use this blog to feature some of those people and the good work they are accomplishing in the world.

Last week, we wrote about Laura Morales, a dancer with Life/Art Dance Ensemble, a nonprofit that brings modern dance to low-income senior homes.

This week, meet Lucinda Kerschensteiner, who runs our Fort Collins office and works with JVA clients on strategic planning initiatives.

She started and runs Uhambo, a nonprofit that helps make life easier for people with disabilities in South Africa.

Uhambo has been in the news lately (see Huffington Post article) because of another nonprofit, The Pollination Project, which recently awarded Uhambo a $1000 grant that will be used to help parents of children with disabilities become champions who can guide their communities toward greater inclusion of children with disabilities.

“People with disabilities are systematically marginalized all over the world, and advocacy and education are crucial,” said Alissa Hauser, executive director of the Pollination Project, in a press release announcing the grant. “Lucinda and Uhambo are creating positive , proactive solutions that mitigate stigma for people with disabilities living in rural South Africa.”

At JVA, we walk among giants. Thanks Lucinda.