Heike Langdon

Nebraska CPM Class of 2011
Administration, Manager of Possibilities, Barbara Weitz Community Engagement Center, University of Nebraska

email:

halangdon@unomaha.edu

office phone:

phone

fax:

fax

Additional Information

Alumni Update

Since finishing the CPM program at UNO, I left the non-profit cultural organization I had been with for almost 11 years, and started my dream job. The Community Engagement Center is a home for twenty community and university-based groups, as well as space for any community organization to use for events from 4 people to over 200. My role is to create opportunities for partnering and interaction, and programming that improves the ability of non-profits to achieve their goals to improve our community. What this means in reality is that I have the fun of working with creative, exciting people who are passionate about positive change, and my job is to help find them the tools and ways to do this. Every day seems more open and exciting than the last.

I am certain that the CPM program was vital in the very competitive search for the position; I felt confident in presenting myself, and those hiring knew that I brought deep experience with non-profits, backed by the spectrum of subjects covered during the program.

"What I Remember from the Program"

I remember the first day, looking around at the group and wondering where we would be at the end of the year as we practiced an icebreaker intended to help us learn each other’s names. I remember creating an “amusement park” based on the thrills and challenges of our jobs, and learning so much about the reality of working within the correction system. I remember calling Ellen because I was feeling like I was at the end of my rope, and she helped me tie a knot in it and hang on. I remember the sheer agony of the Public Speaking session. And I still remember and use Rita Paskowitz’s method of framing an issue as a story in order for the listener to connect with the message.