To subscribe, click here
DANIELLE WILBERG knew she was in the right place the moment "I walked through the doors of Parkland College in October of 2017." She'd just been hired as the foundation's associate director of annual fund and alumni relations -- a different role than the one she has now -- and remembers: "I fell in love with the work being done here from day one."
So, when the opportunity to return to Parkland presented itself recently, Wilberg jumped at it. On April 1, after five years away, she took over as associate vice president for development and executive director of the Parkland College Foundation, succeeding the retiring Tracy Wahlfeldt.
It's familiar territory for Wilberg, who like husband Rick, is a Champaign native and former Centennial Charger. They have two children who'll share an alma mater with Mom -- a son who graduated with a degree in physics last weekend from the University of Illinois and a daughter who just wrapped up her freshman year studying biology at the UI.
"My four-pound Yorkie may be the favorite of our family, though," she jokes. "He is always happy to see me."
Wilberg took time out to answer questions from Editor Jeff D'Alessio in the 282nd installment of our weekly speed read spotlighting leaders of organizations big and small.
My one unbreakable rule of the workplace is ... be innovative. I once had a supervisor who told me to think of the most audacious way to get people to want to attend an outdoor event and then go make that idea work.
You might not be able to land a rocket as the main attraction, but you might be able to get a hot air balloon.
My professional role model is ... hands down, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The way she was able to build coalitions to create change around big social causes is what inspires my work in philanthropy.
Identifying new opportunities for individuals and businesses to come together to create impact for our students and programs comes straight from her playbook of bringing people together for good.
My philosophy on meetings is ... they are great if they have a purpose and actionable follow-up items. There is nothing better than coming together as a team to tackle a new strategy or idea and then having an implementation plan so that everyone involved feels that their input and time are valued.
The hardest thing about being a leader is ... prioritizing. In a setting as large and complex as Parkland College, there are so many incredible philanthropic opportunities to highlight.
Having to prioritize which area to focus on when they're all deserving is incredibly difficult.
As far as my single favorite Parkland moment goes ... since I'm so new, I'll share from a time when I worked at the Parkland College Foundation previously. My favorite moment was seeing the impact that a retired nursing faculty member had on the program after she generously donated the funding for a new birthing simulator.
Yes, that's a real thing.
I can't live without my ... calendar reminders. I tend to get lost in a task -- thankfully, that chime keeps me moving to where I need to be.
The three adjectives I hope my staff would use to describe me are ... strategic, innovative and inspiring.
On my office walls, you'll find ... only my framed degrees and a small painting. Thankfully, I don't have a ton of wall space, so it doesn't look as bare as it sounds.
I'm frugal in that ... I keep the foundation budget lean, efficient and focused on impact.
If I could trade places for a week with any other business person in town, I wouldn't mind switching with ... my very good friend Cindy Somers from Spherion. We're both in the business of connecting good people with opportunities.
Plus, I'd spend the week planting little notes all over her office so we'd have an excuse to randomly connect in the middle of a workday.
The single-most important question I ask job candidates during interviews is ... what about this role inspires or motivates you?
The first thing I do when I get to work most days is ... make sure that I have time each day to be proactive in reaching out to supporters of Parkland College. Meetings can take over, but if I can connect with someone outside of campus who loves Parkland as much as I do, then I have had a successful day.
For lunch ... my goal is to have lunch with someone at least once a week, but if I'm in the office, I'm eating at my desk.
When it comes to winding down after work ... my husband and I are new empty nesters. We put our phones down -- or at least try -- for an hour right after I walk in the door every night and catch up on each other's day.
The last luxury in which I indulged was ... in December, when I went to Paris with my sister and two of my best girlfriends. We visited museums, the Palace of Versailles, ate in cafes, visited Christmas markets and had the best time. There is never a bad time to go to Paris.
The most beneficial college class I took was ... Nonprofit Financial Management. I obtained my master's in higher ed administration in 2021 from North Park University.
But if you asked what my favorite class was, it was the Ernest Hemingway major authors class I took when I was an undergrad at the University of Illinois.
For a good read ... I'm one of those annoying people that reads a lot -- which include audio books, Kindle books and books with actual paper. So far this year, I have finished 36, so it's hard to pick the last good one.
One from this year that I reference quite a bit is "The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Caused an Epidemic of Mental Illness," by Jonathan Haidt.
I also really enjoyed "The Great Believers," by Rebecca Makkai.
For exercise ... I have slacked off on my exercise routine since I started this new role on April 1, but typically I try to get outside and walk three miles four to five times per week.
I'm up and at 'em every day by ... 5:30 a.m. Lately, I've been reading on my Kindle for 30 minutes before getting out of bed. Mornings are much slower with the kids out of the house.
The first job I ever had was ... working the snack bar at Indian Acres Swimming Club.
The worst job I ever had was ... delivering pizzas when I was in the Wisconsin Dells one summer. I only did that when the owner, and a friend, was desperate for help. It didn't always feel safe.