Meet Isis Fleming: MAF’s problem-solving master

As MAF’s “People, Fun and Culture” Manager, Isis helps MAF run like a well-oiled machine.

Isis has a calm and steadied presence about her that can be felt all the way across the office. From what few office environments I have been in, I’ve come to see that the office manager rules all, and Isis is no exception. She interacts with everyone on the team everyday. So when she is out of the office – whether its for vacation or just going out to lunch – she’s greatly missed.

After a quick look at the job description for the People, Fun and Culture Manager, Isis’ interest was peaked. She’s worked in admin before and was therefore well acquainted with the multidimensional nature of admin work. So from a pure job description view, MAF’s “People, Fun and Culture manager” position seemed like a clear fit.

She loves “being able to pinpoint whatever this issue is and fix it”

And at MAF she wastes no time getting to it. She reflected on her first couple of weeks expressing her gratitude for the fact that she did not go through weeks of training. Instead she was able to apply the “I do it, I learn it” approach because thats the type of culture MAF embodies.

The nature of her job doesn’t allow time for training since she’s responsible for making so many of MAF’s wheels turn. Her tasks include everything from watering the plants to managing MAF’s move to helping with all of MAF’s event logistics. The upside to jumping into these wide-ranging projects from the start is that Isis came to see how much she connected with our mission.

“Having been raised in Watsonville where the majority of the community is immigrants…driving off the freeway [I saw] all the workers in the field unable to build credit because they are being paid under the table and below minimum wage.”

She has a deep appreciation for MAF’s role in credit-building especially in regards to immigrant populations. Her aunt participated in a Paluwagan, an informal lending circle in the Philippines. Her mother was an immigrant herself, so Isis knows first hand the challenges that arise when trying to become a citizen and acclimate to the United States.

“That aspect is what touched me initially,” Isis said.

Isis’ personal and professional life have blurred at a more basic level than this familial connection to MAF’s mission.

She laughs about restocking items in her own home well before they run out; the best occupational hazard I know of. But her life is much more than checking the pantry, of course. Isis loves hiking and has become a bit of a foodie since coming to SF for college.

Looking forward, she can’t wait to watch MAF continue to progress because it ensures that she never “knows what [her] day is like until [she] gets here.” Without a set routine, she sees the opportunity to grow along side such an innovative organization building its vision for change from the ground up.