Pros
- Mission-driven work that's very rewarding, joyful, and centered on campers and families who are wonderful to work with - Good health benefits, 401(k) matching, free parking - Friendly, caring, and hard-working coworkers, relaxed office environment; self-care and humor were valued - Strong community, though can be alienating if not an "insider" - Dedicated coworkers, volunteers, donors, community members from all over; people are very invested in The Painted Turtle's success and do everything they can to create really exceptional experiences for campers and families - Profoundly impactful, organized, fun, safe, accessible camp sessions in all programs; provides campers and families with life-changing experiences - Part of a global network of camps which expanded opportunities for professional development and connecting with other folks in the field - Incredibly beautiful, well-maintained site in Lake Hughes; Santa Monica office is in a convenient location by the Promenade
Cons
- Lack of accountability, transparency, integrity, communication, and trust from senior leadership and in the internal culture of the organization - Favoritism/ inconsistent treatment from management/Directors - Departments and campuses not very unified, worked in silos - Relied on Spanish-speaking, Latinx staff to do translation work that was not within their job responsibilities, with no additional compensation - Low pay, zero salary transparency - Microaggressions were common and went unchecked - Working on-site didn't have equivalent compensation for the long hours and major work/life imbalance - Hiring process inconsistent, allowed for significant bias and insular hiring choices; lots of turnover - Senior leadership's initial response to Covid-19 was slow, cavalier, secretive, and largely dismissive of staff concerns; ultimately safe choices were made but it was very damaging in the process - Staff were under-appreciated and treated as disposable - Tension existed between staff who were uncritical of and hyper loyal to TPT, and those who sought to make changes; cliques within staff - Power was hoarded by senior leadership; staff had little to no power in decisions that impacted them greatly and their feedback was rarely solicited