He obtained his Master’s degree in Recreation Services Management and a Master’s level certificate in Nonprofit Administration while working part-time with the YMCA as a member engagement specialist in Rochester, New York. He truly enjoys the opportunity to engage with the community, work with volunteers, and help people live healthier and happier lives. Previously, he was involved in teaching, bu
t he realized he could use those same skills in a leadership role within a nonprofit organization and still have a positive impact on the community. Initially, he was offered positions in struggling branches of the YMCA that were experiencing severe declines in membership and community engagement. Paul worked his way up to become the director of a location that had a lot of active, older adults, engaged with them, and created new clubs and programs and new volunteering options. After working on improving customer service and partnerships, he was eventually offered a larger leadership role overseeing all of the YMCA branches in the state of Delaware, managing strategic planning, employee training, and membership growth and retention programs. Following that, Paul Birtel began working for the Children’s Museum of Philadelphia, handling a lot of the same strategic planning and operations responsibilities that he had at the YMCA. After some time, he was recruited by the city of Philadelphia to be the General Manager of the outdoor ice rink in front of City Hall. He then got his dream job at Music and Gaming Festival (MAGFest), which was one of his favorite nonprofit organizations, whose main function is to hold events that combine music festivals with video game conventions. These events are almost entirely volunteer-driven. MAGfest has over 2,500 volunteers within its organization, but only six employees. The festivals are a large hub for sharing knowledge and bringing together like-minded individuals to share art and creative projects. Paul Birtel moved to Baltimore to become the Executive Director of MAGFest, but as luck would have it, his first week on the job was the same week that Baltimore went into shut down because of the rising medical threat of COVID-19. His very first project was to shut down the offices and figure out how to cancel the events for the year, how to go a year without revenue, and how to furlough all employees. MAGFest has yet to return to its pre-pandemic status. Since then, Paul has been spending his time taking care of his new baby and looking for the next nonprofit he would like to lead.
