My Possibilities Names First Chief People Officer

My Possibilities' new Career Services Building, which broke ground in May, will provide support to another 300 HIPsters (aka Hugely Important People—MP's students) on a weekly basis.

Planning for its completion, Tiffanie Douglas will bring the “expertise, passion, and energy to foster an environment where our staff and HIPsters can thrive," says Karen Wald, My Possibilities' chair of the board.

Plano-based My Possibilities has appointed Tiffanie Douglas as its new chief people officer.

The North Texas for-cause nonprofit organization is a leader in vocational education for adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities throughout the region.

As it grows, “it’s essential to implement innovative ways to set the entire MP family up for success,” the nonprofit said. The new leadership position is key.

“Planning for the completion of the Career Services Building, powered by Bread Financial in 2023, we selected a leader with strong workforce planning and talent strategy experience,” said Karen Wald, My Possibilities’ chair of the board.

When the building opens, it will provide job training pathways and certificates in the field of customer service, retail, administrative support, culinary arts, technology basics, and hospitality, among others. The program will include career readiness, job placement, and extensive coaching for HIPsters and the companies that hire them.

Serving MP’s Hugely Important People

Douglas’ “expertise, passion, and energy will foster an environment where our staff and HIPsters (MP’s students, aka Hugely Important People) can thrive,” Wald said.

The center, which broke ground in May, will provide support to another 300 HIPsters on a weekly basis.

Douglas, who has a background in business partnership, organizational design, advocacy for inclusion, and learning and development, will explore cutting-edge approaches to help the MP staff develop in their careers and attract the best people to serve its HIPsters.

Michael Thomas, executive director of MP, says the new Career Services Building is “about providing a pathway to inclusion through the workforce in ways that the disabilities space has never seen before.”

Douglas bolsters the MP team, he said, not only a talented human resources leader, but a “strategist who is passionate about the development of our people as well as the development of our organization’s culture.”

A ‘witty’ LinkedIn post was a catalyst

Douglas stumbled on an open position announcement liked by someone in her network. A “witty post from Michael Thomas, executive director at MP, caught my attention,” she said in a statement.”I researched the company and was immediately drawn to MP’s mission to relentlessly pursue the full, untapped possibilities of adults with disabilities.”

Douglas says MP strikes “an outstanding balance between business and passion while simultaneously being willing to take bold risks to achieve extraordinary goals.” But, “people manage not to take themselves too seriously,” demonstrating humility, collaborating, and having fun along the way, she notes.

For Douglas, “having a loved one with cognitive impairment and being an advocate for inclusion” makes the work even more personal.

“I am fortunate to have landed a role doing work that feeds my soul,” she said.

MP campus north of George Bush in Plano

At completion, the 20-acre My Possibilities Campus for Higher Learning will include the Fischer Family School of Life Skills, the Career Services Building, powered by Bread Financial, plus a therapy and communications center, wellness center, outdoor sports complex, dormitories, and retail center focused on training and employing adults with IDD. The nonprofit is also developing Mission Hills, a 300-home, 180-acre inclusive residential community in Garland.