TRACK RECORD

Expert project assistance for organizations with a mission

Molly Yuska has performed a wide array of tasks and projects in recent years for a variety of people and organizations. Below are just a few examples that illustrate the breadth of experience and project types performed and what others have to say about working with Molly.

• In 2012, Yuska established Project Giving Kids, a nonprofit organization created to educate children (and their families) on the importance of charitable service and giving, with the ultimate goal of creating the next generation of giving kids who make service part of their daily lives from a young age by engaging them in an online educational experience that quickly connects them to charitable organizations, opportunities and activities.
• Yuska served as the principal writer and co-author of a white paper, Navigating Net Price Calculators, released in the summer of 2012 on the inadequacy of the federal Net Price Calculator mandate in achieving transparency and providing education to prospective college students and their parents regarding the costs of college.

  "Given her academic background, it should come as no surprise Molly Yuska possesses exceptional analytical skills, but she a lso has a total skill set that would be valuable for any organization in need of her services. If you speak with her or meet her, you will see why. She has been a driving force behind the growth and success of the National Center for College Costs at many levels. It also is obvious she has a passion about health care and other critical issues facing our country." – Dave Murray, President, The National Center for College Costs

• During much of 2009 and 2010, Yuska helped The National Center for College Costs (NCCC) develop a business plan, funding strategy and functional specifications for two web-based software solutions in response to unique opportunities in the higher education market, capitalizing on NCCC’s custom in-house data system as a means to reposition the company’s core offerings in an increasingly technology-focused, grant-constrained era.
• Yuska served as the Project Director for the Nonprofit Health Insurance Project at the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network, a statewide association of nonprofit organizations that supports the nonprofit sector through public awareness, capacity building and advocacy. In this position, Yuska led the task force charged with developing recommendations for increasing access to (and retention of) affordable, high-quality health insurance for nonprofits and their employees. Given Massachusetts's unique position as the first state to pass universal health insurance legislation with mandates on both employers and individuals, the project was particularly timely and also challenging, as the Commonwealth worked to implement the sweeping legislation during a time of economic recession and increasing health care costs. Yuska also was responsible for various budget and grant writing/reporting tasks associated with the project's funding. Yuska continues to provide policy advice to MNN on health care related issues.

  "In her role as NHIP Director, Molly has shown us all the skills and assets we thought we needed, and a few we didn’t realize we needed. She assisted in the conception and background research for the project, the marketing of the project to funding sources, recruitment and retention of high level task force members – and the tracking and promotion of the results, while helping to plan the next phase. In each phase she has shown a quick apprehension of the dimensions and details of the project at hand, an understanding of the resources needed and how to access them, wonderful interpersonal skills, one-on-one and in group facilitation roles. Her very quick apprehension of the subject issues we deal with and her ability to place them into the larger context and make them actionable is amazing. She is very thoughtful, articulate, funny and energetic, precise. She follows through and pays attention to the big picture and the most minute detail. She is a total professional. I only hope we can find the resources to contract with her for another project cycle." - David P. Magnani, Ed.D. former Executive Director, Massachusetts Nonprofit Network

• At the close of 2008, Yuska crafted a white paper for a major health system in Indiana to help management better understand the implications of a policy shift being considered within the state's Medicaid program. The paper highlighted key considerations for the state in changing a long-standing Medicaid eligibility determination process for a specific category of Medicaid enrollees.
• In 2007, Yuska was asked (during her time at The National Center for College Costs) to develop policy considerations for the State of Indiana concerning current key issues in college affordability. In addition to the initial policy considerations, the project led to an analysis of The National Center for College Costs’ database of thousands of student records to identify the estimated grant eligibility of students at varying levels of household income, as well as further recommendations in light of the agency’s ongoing policy formulation.
• Beginning in 2003, Yuska worked for several years with a youth-serving umbrella organization based in Indiana on the development of a website aimed at students and parents to help them better understand 1) the importance of a postsecondary degree; 2) how to prepare for such pursuits; and 3) perhaps most importantly, how to finance it. Yuska wrote a significant amount of the site’s content; helped develop additional “value added” elements such as early calculators on college savings and costs; and served as a liaison to the partner agency, colleges and other stakeholders.

  "For the past five years I have worked closely with Molly Yuska on multiple projects in the not-for-profit arena. I have found her to have a solid strategic orientation, a wealth of relevant knowledge, excellent communication skills, and the passion to share her ideas for positive change and growth. Her contributions to our success have been invaluable." – Kevin Bain, Former Project Director, Indiana Youth Institute

• One of the key elements of The National Center for College Costs infrastructure (where Yuska worked from 1999-2008) is the data system in which all client information is housed and from which core organizational operations are performed. Yuska was the primary contact for all software and program developers and helped design the functionality, required user interfaces and website related to the system's functionality. Both initial design considerations as well as high-level system development objectives, including a 2009 migration to an entirely web-based application, were spearheaded by Yuska.