Just weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic began, Stephanie Tyler Smith ’13 began a new role at Food For Free, a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving those at risk of hunger in eastern Massachusetts.
It was one of the few hunger relief organizations to remain open in the challenging months ahead.
Food For Free not only stays open, but opens up new ways to provide fresh, nutritious food to those in need. During the 2020 lockdown, the organization’s emergency grocery delivery program served around 2,000 households a week at peak times. Since then, Food For Free’s programs have continued to grow and innovate.
Smith’s leadership skills have recently earned her a spot boston business journal The “40 Under 40” list recognizes the professional achievements of individuals who give back to the Boston area.
However, she quickly noticed that the driving force behind her success was teamwork. “It’s not my personal victory,” Smith said. “The only reason I got this is because I lead an amazing team at Food For Free.”
smith is vice president of programs free food, overseeing the many partnerships and programs that enable the organization to serve more than 150,000 people in eastern Massachusetts each year. The nonprofit sources rescued, donated and purchased food from multiple sources and works with more than 100 community agencies and schools in more than 20 different Massachusetts communities to help those in need. Smith manages a team of nine who, with the help of more than 250 volunteers each week, execute various projects, delivering grocery boxes, frozen meals and more to those in need.
Smith’s successful career at Food For Free hasn’t all been plain sailing. She studied French at St. Olaf and said she often worries about how to best use her major in the future — a future that seems unpredictable.
“I don’t think my goals were ever really achievement-based,” Smith said. “Back at St. Olaf, I had no idea how my passion for being a force for good would manifest in the present. Nothing was ever very clear to me.”
During her junior year, Smith spent a semester studying abroad in Rennes, France, with a temporary study abroad in Paris. After this experience, a popular trajectory for many St. Olaf French students is to enter teaching, first as a teaching assistant to French teachers in K-12 English classes through France’s teaching assistant program. Smith did it for a year after graduation, but felt lost when she realized she didn’t want to be a teacher.
“I went back to the drawing board and talked to an alumni career advisor,” Smith said. Free from St. Olaf Piper Career and Career Center Alumni Career Services, such as career counseling and cover letter and resume assistance. “I think my trajectory after St. Olaf has been a really big inspiration for a lot of current students because it’s not linear at all.”
Alumni Career Services at the Piper Center helped Smith see that she was torn between two different career fields, which she had experience with in previous summer jobs: what Smith called “the field of helping people.” and outdoor education. She decided to work part-time for a year as a Therapy Tutor at Children’s Friends and Family Services and as a Senior Lecturer in Outdoor Education at Gordon College.
After exploring this year, Smith still finds her favorite career is serving the tangible needs of others. She started working as a food program coordinator at the Beverly Bootstraps Community Services Food Pantry. She said her skills as a former Piper Center peer counselor during her time at St. Olaf were put to good use there, as she assisted many pantry clients with career counseling.
“I guide low-income or unemployed people through the job search and application process,” Smith said. “I help them find a new job, or their first job, with their resume and cover letter, because their Overturned by some uncontrollable force. It’s directly because of my expertise at the Piper Center, which I love doing – not only meeting basic needs like food, but also supporting people on their long-term career journey is comforting. “
This initial experience helped solidify her career goals tied to her passion for helping others. Smith has leaned throughout her career on what she considers to be the core pillars of St. Olaf – a commitment to lifelong learning, curiosity and living a life of worth and service. She thinks fondly of her wide-ranging experience at St. Olaf, from playing intramural volleyball and makeshift broomball to singing in the church choir to the occasional musical theatre. She said the liberal arts experience gave her the ability to see the value of each individual contribution and talent.
“One of the essential skills in leadership in a really fast-growing and high-achieving nonprofit is working well with people who are different from you and appreciating people who have completely different areas of expertise,” Smith said. “I think that’s what the liberal arts teach you to do—it creates a sense of humility by developing a basic respect for people who are passionate or good at things that you’re not interested in or good at. That recognition creates a sense of humility. A culture of teamwork is critical to success.”
One of the essential skills in leadership in a really fast-growing and high-achieving nonprofit is working well with people who are different from you and appreciating people who have completely different areas of expertise. I think that’s what the liberal arts teach you to do — it creates a sense of humility by developing a basic respect for people who are passionate about or good at things that you’re not. This recognition creates a culture of teamwork that is critical to success.Stephanie Taylor Smith ’13
A native of western Connecticut, Smith felt an adventure about attending college so far from home. She sees the fluidity of her career path as a continuation of her openness to new opportunities, just as she did as a new college student.
Smith recounted her experience at Quo Vadis Retreat for second-year students, a weekend retreat where students have focused interactions with alumni, faculty and other students about their career goals. Smith remembers resonating with St. Olaf Professor of Chemistry and Environmental Studies Paul Jackson ’92, who used the phrase “There’s no there, there,” referring to the idea that you have to focus on the present moment and cultivate happiness in the here and now.
“You can’t live your life thinking that things are going to be perfect for you in the future and you’ll figure it out,” Smith said. “Believe that one decision will lead to the next set of decisions. Everything will be fine.”
