Women of Excellence at DDI: Introducing India Baulkman

 

India came to DDI after working many years in Manhattan for both the profit and not-for-profit sector, as she had decided that she wanted to be closer to home. Being very selective about where she wanted to work, India chose DDI because she wanted to work for an organization with a purpose, and the DDI community and its mission seemed like a good fit for her. India was drawn to what she describes as DDI’s heart and soul component that allowed her to connect her knowledge and skills to help make a difference in people’s lives, whether it be staff or the children and adults that DDI supports.

Six months into her new position, India’s experience at DDI took a unique turn due to the COVID-19 pandemic drastically changing the world and workforce with the shutdown and the need to reinvent the way we all worked. India says she is “fortunate to work with a knowledgeable and supportive Human Resources (HR) Team. They helped make the transition manageable.”  India expressed that she was “nervous, yet excited, to be a part of the ‘What does this mean for DDI?’ scenarios that continually popped up during the pandemic. There was so much that happened on the back end to ensure that the DDI community felt as little turmoil as possible.” Being part of management allowed India to include the employee perspective and understand the management rationale.

India feels that “as an HR professional, it is important for staff to feel comfortable and understand what is available to them as DDI employees.”  India will often go above and beyond to help staff understand and utilize the DDI resources available to them. This assistance allows staff members to focus on their jobs and the people we serve. 

India is first an employee advocate. She was instrumental in assisting in the development of DDI’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council in 2020. India shares, “I was excited to be a part of generating solutions and promoting growth.”

India took the lead in chairing the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council for its first year of existence and continues to be a vital part of the Council’s activities.

When asked what qualities/talents she brings as a Woman of Excellence at DDI, India said, “I feel that I connect with nonprofits because of my empathy and compassion for helping people. I know it is one of my strengths at DDI. My approach is to provide compassionate, coherent, innovative solutions to matters by using my knowledge, skills and background in HR and the nonprofit sector. As I stated before, I consider myself an employee advocate. With that comes listening to employee problems, understanding their point of view, and providing solutions in a delicate manner. This requires compassion but also trust. Being able to build trust is essential in life and serves me as I serve the DDI community.”