Seattle Student Organization Agents of Social Impact Expands Nonprofit Career Pathways

Agents of Social Impact (ASI), a student-led organization at Northeastern University’s Seattle campus, is working to bridge the gap between higher education and the nonprofit sector through professional development and community service. Founded in 2024, the group provides workshops and volunteer opportunities designed to highlight career possibilities in the public and social impact sectors. This initiative is particularly significant for the nonprofit industry as it cultivates a pipeline of skilled talent, including project managers and software engineers, who may otherwise overlook social impact roles in favor of major corporate tech firms.

Agents of Social Impact (ASI) was established in 2024 by Steffi Benjamin and Denise Ramirez to address a lack of student organizations focused on the nonprofit and public sectors at Northeastern Seattle. Since its inception, the group has grown from a small core of 10 to 12 members to a rotating roster of approximately 50 students, primarily from the master’s in project management program. Current president Jyoti Karna, a 34-year-old graduate student, notes that the organization has become a recognized fixture on campus, responding to a high demand for activities that connect academic learning with community-based social issues and career paths.

The organization’s programming focuses on two main pillars: professional development and direct community engagement. ASI hosts workshops that feature conversations with local nonprofit leaders and sessions on transferable skills, helping students realize that specialized roles like software engineering and project management are vital within the nonprofit ecosystem. Additionally, the group facilitates inclusion-focused workshops covering topics such as neurodiversity and invisible disabilities, an initiative led by PR and marketing lead Ana Gomez to honor the legacy of the founders. These sessions aim to prepare students for the diverse realities of the modern workforce while fostering a deeper understanding of how conditions that are not visible to others can impact professional life.

Beyond the classroom, ASI organizes monthly volunteer events that allow students to engage directly with Seattle’s socioeconomic challenges and local community organizations. Recent activities include building tiny home shelters for unhoused individuals at the Low Income Housing Institute’s warehouse and planting pollinator gardens in public spaces with the US Army Corps. For the many international students in the program, these experiences offer a critical perspective on the American socioeconomic landscape that differs from standard corporate narratives. By fostering these connections, ASI leaders hope to expand the organization's presence to other campuses, emphasizing the importance of giving back and understanding the specific culture of the cities where students live and work.