Thank You For Being Such A Vital Part Of Our Team, Peter Sorkin! We Look Forward To Sharing More About You So Others Can Get To Know You Better!
Tell us a bit about your backstory and what led you down your current life path.
I tend to be a very quantitative person with a strong curiosity; I’m naturally drawn to events with a numerical aspect involved. I was fortunate to go to college, where I studied economics. After graduating, I decided economics was too theoretical and not quantitative enough, so I took coursework in accounting to sit for the CPA exam. I later learned my true passion is understanding investment structures, and a highlight of my career is a period of about ten years when I worked on Wall Street helping trade securities. To help explain who I am: I don’t think taking online spreadsheeting coursework as a hobby is unusual, is it?
What or who inspired you to pursue your career?
I’m going to spin this question a bit to provide some insight into my childhood. Interestingly, it was my parents who did not directly inspire my career path. They were always supportive but never pushed me in any direction—whether it was baseball, becoming an astronaut, or eventually financial services. Their quiet encouragement gave me the freedom to explore my own interests, and that’s the same approach I now take with my children.
What is one thing you are proud of achieving in your life and career?
There was a period of approximately ten years during which I was highly focused on academics. I completed my Bachelor of Arts degree in economics, took all of the required coursework and passed the CPA exam, and completed a Masters in Business Administration. I’m proud of these accomplishments, particularly finishing them in a relatively short period of time. All of these credentials have been very useful in pursuing my career and I am thankful to have had the energy and focus.
What keeps you motivated? What maintains your passion for and commitment to the work you are doing?
Getting older keeps me motivated. I know that may sound strange, but the way I think about it is, I have less time now to finish all of my goals. It’s actually a way to stay focused on what is important and should not be left until later. When I was younger, it was easy to delay doing something because there was always more time. In my case, as I get older, I am able to prioritize what I think has value. One of these things, access to education, is what helped lead me to E.R.E., where my goal is to help others in this area.
Tell about an amazing trip you took. Where did you go and what did you enjoy most?
I’m fortunate to have family who reside in Australia. I’ve been to visit twice. It’s a long way from Chicago, but the good thing about that is you really need to stay longer because of the distance and jet lag. Highlights were visiting the Great Barrier Reef (scuba diving was awesome!), traveling to the Outback, going to the Sydney Opera House, and touring wineries in the Yarra Valley. It made such an impression that my son decided to return to Australia where he completed a semester abroad during college. I’m looking forward to a third trip at some point (I hope!).
The road to success is difficult and requires tremendous dedication. What advice would you give to a young person who aspires to follow in your footsteps and emulate your success?
I think success is largely built on effort and opportunity. These are interrelated – the more effort you make, the more opportunities you are likely to have. This is a reason I joined E.R.E. I think individuals (or families) who value education, and make an effort to demonstrate this interest, should be provided opportunities regardless of economics. It’s the starting point on a long road of success and education is the key. At the end of the day, you are responsible to create your own opportunities, but organizations like E.R.E. are here to help.
Describe a time that you failed and how you responded to that situation.
Early in my career at a financial services firm, I applied for an internal role that interested me. The manager quickly turned me down, saying they needed different experience. While disappointing, he gave me valuable advice: pursue business school while young, before life becomes more complicated. I realized he was speaking from his own regret of not doing so. Though I didn’t get the job, I’m grateful I followed his advice and went to business school.
Why did you choose to be a Board Member of Educate. Radiate. Elevate.?
There are two primary reasons I want to be a Board Member of E.R.E.
1. ERE’s mission is incredibly well aligned with my values related to education and, importantly, how necessary it is to improve access to education. I want to be involved with an organization who shares these values. When I learned of E.R.E. it was an easy decision to reach out and I was thrilled to be selected to join the board.
2. Working with E.R.E. provides an opportunity to greatly increase the influence I have as an individual to improve access to education. As a member E.R.E., pursuing the same objectives, we have substantially greater resources and can collectively achieve results that could not be done individually. I’m looking forward to working with all of the team members at E.R.E. to fulfill our mission.
What about the Educate. Radiate. Elevate.’s Purpose, Mission, and Core Values speaks most to you and why?
The most exciting part of E.R.E.’s purpose is our collaboration as an organization to fulfill a common goal. We all have a similar objective in mind, but we bring different perspectives and skills to the organization. The exciting part is organizing our collective experiences to accomplish more than any of us would be able to do individually. It’s a question of optimization – how do we accomplish the most for the benefit of the students we serve? I think the answer is E.R.E. works to develop resources that are effectively deployed to deliver the most benefit. My goal as a board member is to help create and sustain a platform capable of solving this question.
What are the essential skills one must have to grow and scale a nonprofit like Educate. Radiate. Elevate.? What qualities do you value the most when building out teams and resources?
This is a great question. I interpret it to ask, “How do we accomplish E.R.E.’s mission in a meaningful way?” My response is:
Passion – We need people who care and are driven by E.R.E’s mission. The famous architect Daniel Burnham said, “Make no little plans, they have no magic in them to stir men’s blood.” This is all about having passion to create something in a meaningful manner. If you are going to work on it, make sure it’s a worthwhile endeavor and that you put in 110%.
Process – Be thoughtful and deliberate about your ambitions. Drive process but be organized in doing so to allow other people to understand your motivations.
Team Building – Those same people who share your passion and understand your process will be the resources to help fulfill your objectives. Be inclusive and communicative to show the way.
I hope to positively influence E.R.E. by contributing in all of these areas.
Share any other relevant details you feel might be helpful in us getting to know you.
I previously served as a board member for a non-profit organization whose mission was to assist individuals in Chicago who were homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. As a board member, I helped fundraising efforts to support the organization. Due to other commitments, I had to step down from the board after my term expired. During the years after leaving the organization, I have continued to think about the impact I was able to help provide and, now that I have more time available, I am looking forward to helping E.R.E. in a similar capacity.
