Imagine you're being interviewed for a job with an innovative national funder and are asked what you would bring to the role. You'd want to impress, right? Degrees, credentials, networks, tech wizardry, amazing work ethic, problem-solving capabilities, speed reading with a photographic memory, ability to write perfectly without a spell-checker, fluency in multiple languages, talented impromptu speaking, etc.

I just talked with someone who was in that position and added something unexpected to the list: Healer.

Rhiannon Chester works in Detroit with ioby, a crowd-resourcing platform that connects leaders with funding and support to make neighborhoods safer, greener, more livable and more fun. I talked with Rhiannon recently as part of my search for people bringing fresh thinking to the innovative edge of philanthropy and resident-centered investing. What I discovered was a living example of why it's so important for funders to take "rethinking who" seriously.

Rhiannon is one of ioby's Detroit Action Strategists, charged with introducing ioby's crowd-resourcing platform to people, groups and neighborhoods in her hometown. I'm sure she can check all the boxes that would add up to an impressive resume. I love that. I love that she's been active in political action and justice issues since childhood—moving in and out of community work throughout her life's journey.

But here's what I love more: When I asked Rhiannon how she's approaching her role with ioby, she talked about healing. And I really mean healing in its broadest sense, not therapy.

Rhiannon isn't trained as a healer—medical, spiritual or mystical. But throughout her life, she's paid attention to the relationship between trauma, self-care and empowerment. She understands that in Detroit, where there's been a history of disinvestment and outside-in approaches to fixing community problems, it's natural for people bearing the brunt of that disinvestment to lose hope and even blame themselves. She also understands that when you're in survival mode, you don't have the luxury of prioritizing self-care or stepping back to think about the small steps you can take to impact something as big as poverty. She knows that poverty is trauma-filled.

Rhiannon was attracted to ioby because of its fundamental belief that the people closest to issues are the ones who have the solutions, and that small actions toward those solutions can have big impact. She sees these small actions as part of healing from the trauma of living where disinvestment and poverty make survival mode the new normal. She believes that empowered actions tackle problems and suggest new possibilities—but also make people feel better in body and spirit. This is healing.

So how do you bring this belief to your work as a funder? Here's some wisdom I gleaned from my conversation with Rhiannon:

• Think about your work as changing the narrative about what marginalized people can and will do, and remember that the most powerful narrative to change is the one marginalized people tell themselves.

• Don't be afraid to talk about money—and use conversations to help people understand their own fears about asking for and managing it.

• Help people lead from their passion rather than their nervousness. Encourage people to relax, get comfortable, and talk about themselves. Notice when people light up when talking about an idea.

• Acknowledge how hard it is to always have to fight, how easy it is to blame yourself.

• Encourage different forms of self-care, and giving yourself a break when faced with small defeats.

• Continue to remind people that small actions add up, and that empowered action is healing balm for body and spirit.

• Pay attention and be intentional about noticing and affirming the gifts, passion and resourcefulness you see in others.

What I love about this is that it includes what we do when we're with people who matter to us—family, friends, and neighbors. It's about person-to-person things: care, compassion, friendliness, listening rather than telling—instead of the things you do as a professional representing an institution, interacting with a client or customer. It recognizes our shared humanity, closing the gap between Rhiannon as ioby's staffer and Rhiannon as community member and ordinary person.

I don't want to suggest that someone in Rhiannon's position doesn't or shouldn't impart all the institutional wisdom she can. Helping people learn how to apply for funding, use an online platform like ioby's, or put together a more traditional grant application absolutely comes with the territory, as does helping people develop workable plans. I'm writing this today because I think the "rethinking who" question boils down to how personal hard-wiring and life experiences shape someone's personal narrative and worldview. And that personal narrative and worldview enable someone in Rhiannon's position to believe that to be effective, she needs to think as much about healing as she does about funding.

People like Rhiannon are out there, but I imagine they often don't make it through the interview process because they do audacious things like bringing up healing during interviews and seeking opportunities to bring their whole selves to their work. You most often find what you're looking for—and lucky for Detroit that ioby found Rhiannon.