Meet Emily | Staff Spotlight
Emily’s journey with Youth Emergency Services (YES) officially began two and a half years ago—but in some ways, the path leading here started long before she ever walked through YES’ doors.
“When I saw the job posting—on whatever job board it was—I was excited,” she says with a smile. “I’ve been wanting to work with nonprofits for so long that it feels like I’ve always known about YES.”
That desire to help people traces back to her childhood. Watching her mother work in mental health support left a lasting impression, planting the seed for a career built on service.
“[Seeing what my mom does for work] made me want to go out and help people,” Emily recalls. “The summer before my senior year of high school, I volunteered with a campaign getting signatures… That made me realize I wanted to work in nonprofits.”
Today, that early calling drives Emily’s work at YES. As the organization’s Development Specialist, she helps people in a different—but no less meaningful—way: by cultivating and maintaining the relationships that keep YES strong. Her days are rarely the same—one might find her planning events, running community booths, onboarding volunteers, securing in-kind donations, thanking and helping maintain connections with donors, or juggling several of those tasks at once.
This year, she even added managing YES’ annual Golf Outing to her repertoire, overseeing sponsorships and team registrations. It’s another example of the many hats she wears—and she wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I wear a lot of hats—I like wearing a lot of hats and having a lot to do,” she says.
While Emily’s work often happens behind the scenes, its impact is anything but invisible. The events she organizes, the connections she builds, and the resources she secures are all threads in the safety net YES provides for Omaha’s youth.
“Helping people—the specialization is important,” she explains. “We have the ability to focus on what youth really need. No one else in the area does that, so we need to be here.”