Community of Hope is proud to announce that our Vice President of Finance and Operations, Derek Sykes, has been honored with a 40 Under 40 award from the Washington Business Journal. We celebrate you and your contribution to Community of Hope, Derek!
Read our Q&A with Derek:
What’s your why? Why are you so dedicated to the mission of Community of Hope?
COH has been a perfect blend of both my prior work experience and education, as well as my passion to impact the communities that we serve. As a youth, I have always had a strong interest in housing, especially housing for those with lower-incomes, and had dreams of one day either being the head of a housing authority or working at HUD. I even had the opportunity to intern at DC Housing Authority, which exposed me to different public housing communities in the district as well as challenges that the communities faced. Once I began working at KPMG after college, I had a rotation at a community hospital named Bon Secours in West Baltimore, and from there I fell in love with healthcare, eventually working at Providence Hospital in DC, Bon Secours’ corporate office, and Inova Alexandria Hospital. As a person who was born, raised, and has lived all over the DMV, there is no greater honor in my professional capacity than to contribute to the great work that Community of Hope does on daily basis to make Washington, DC more equitable.
What is the biggest challenge you face?
At Community of Hope, our greatest asset is the people involved in our mission – staff, board, and funders – all driven by our mission. My challenge is navigating the capacity and financial sustainability to commit to great ideas that our team brings forward. As a non-profit that relies heavily on grants, contracts, and the continued support of our donors, this can, at times, be challenging. However, we have done an outstanding job honing in on our key priorities while keeping abreast of future needs and challenges. With that skill, we are able to continue to provide our services that are needed in the communities that we serve.
What has been the most rewarding aspect of your work?
The most rewarding aspect of my work is seeing how the time spent and decisions made truly impact the services that we provide to our clients, patients, and participants. In my role, which is more administrative, it is very easy to get lost in the countless reports, spreadsheets, and deadlines that I manage daily. However, anytime I pass by our Family Health and Birth Center, which we opened March 2022 that my team and I worked tirelessly on, or I can determine the sustainability of new initiatives that will improve our services, the hard work is well worth the reward.
What is something you attribute to your success?
Working with such a cohesive team at Community of Hope has been critical to my success. I am blessed to be able to lead teams that truly want to do their best work each day and understand the importance of their roles. We communicate well, listen to each other, learn from our mistakes, and congratulate one other when we have wins. Without their hard-work and dedication, I would not have accomplished a fraction of our successes since joining Community of Hope.
What does this award mean to you and for Community of Hope?
This award to me is both a reminder to not be afraid to take risks to do the things you love, and the importance of employers to have an inclusive environment. Prior to joining Community of Hope, I had an opportunity for promotion at my prior employer, and I received notice of it on the same day of my last interview for my current role. Even though that would have been a highly visible role at a larger organization, from the first time I stepped foot in Conway Health Resource Center and met with our CEO, Kelly Sweeney McShane, I was sold on the mission and vision of Community of Hope. And beyond that, what has kept me here is that I feel that I can bring my authentic self to work every day, which along with our mission, motivates me to work harder to be the best that I can be. This is a spirit that I see across our organization, and this reward is one reminder of the potential of our staff when given the right opportunity in the right environment.
Lastly, this award would not be possible without the continuous support of my loving wife Racine, and I hope it will be something that will always make my two sons, Derek Jr. and Elijah, proud as they get older.
