Take 5 Spotlight is a series of brief articles that introduce you to members of our National Office team, and many other SMART-types, in a short & sweet way.

If you happen to partake in any of the following SMART activities, you’ve been touched by the work of SMART’s Marketing and Fundraising Manager Ali Adinaro: read blog, listened to podcasts, perused newsletters, opened emails, enjoyed social media posts, responded to fundraisers, and noticed website updates. Ali is involved in pretty much all things marketing and fundraising across the agency. 

It started with a text. “I got a message from Mark [Ruth] saying, ‘let’s find a time to talk.’ A few days later we met for coffee and he told me about the position they were creating, and it sounded interesting.  I went through the interview process and started on March 2, 2020.”  

With her background in marketing, customer service, and administration, Ali was primed to hit the ground running. She just didn’t know she was going to be in multiple races at the same time. Oh well, you know what they say about giving more work to the busy person—it will surely get done. 

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Here are Ali’s responses to the Take 5 Spotlight questions:

1. Are there tasks you perform regularly during your workday? I check blog comments, work on emails/newsletters, compile monthly analytics for the website, write copy for podcasts and videos, work on any upcoming events, and take minutes for the MARCOM and Financial Development committees. (Is that all? Ed.)  

2. What are a couple of the ways you interact and coordinate your job with other national office staff? The marketing team helps every department in some way, e.g., we create PowerPoint presentations for the Outreach and Training teams and draft emails/newsletters for the Volunteer team. We all work together.  

3. What is one of the ways that you think you personally make a difference at SMART? I share specific information that can help people.  What they learn from listening to a podcast, reading a blog, or watching a video can change their lives.  

4. What is your message to all those dedicated SMART volunteers across the country? Your time and dedication to helping others on their path to recovery is worth thunderous applause!   

5. What kinds of things are you interested in outside of work? I recently graduated with my Master’s in Business, so a few weeks ago I would have said homework because that’s all I was doing.  My hobbies include traveling, running, puzzles, kayaking, jet skiing, and volunteering on non-profit boards. I also work nights at a local coffee shop, but I don’t drink coffee and had never made a pot before I started working there four years ago.

That’s it in a nutshell: from not knowing how to make a pot of coffee to running the java express. Ali Adinaro is asked and then delivers. Now equipped with an MBA, venture capitalists of all kinds need be worried for their jobs.  

Learn more about the Take 5 Spotlight series and see others who have been profiled.

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