‘Fortune’: Careers and Charities

Two business executives who made charity work a priority are profiled in Fortune magazine (December 18).

• Lyle Hanna, a human-resources consultant at William M. Mercer’s Louisville offices, “found that his volunteer work for Habitat for Humanity boosted his career ambitions,” says the magazine.

  Mr. Hanna served as chairman of Habitat’s committee overseeing global projects, and he realized that his volunteer life, which allowed him to travel the world, was more exciting than his work life. So he asked senior managers to allow him to start working on overseas projects, a significant gain in responsibility. Mr. Hanna’s boss told the magazine that he leapt at the idea, because he realized that Mr. Hanna’s volunteering at Habitat had made him a much more effective employee.

• Amy Weber left Microsoft to take a job at a Seattle nonprofit group that focuses on helping people through crises. She says that the transition was difficult — the charity’s $190,000 budget was less than Ms. Weber’s annual compensation at Microsoft — but that the tradeoffs have been worthwhile. “The money I make now, I couldn’t live on,” she says, “but I feel a joy I haven’t felt in a long time.”