Member Spotlight - Allen Starr

Allen Starr fuses tech with philanthropy

?Like any technology, information technology can be used for good or evil. In the most capable hands, IT becomes an even more potent tool. Just ask Allen Starr, the vice president for information technology and chief information officer at Goodwill Suncoast.

?Under the umbrella of Goodwill Industries International, Goodwill Suncoast is “a non-profit organization that serves its local community” in countless ways, Starr explained.

?The non-profit uses the proceeds from the sales of new and donated goods at its stores to provide a host of training and employment services, sustainability initiatives and more. 89% of its operating budget is dedicated to funding its programs and services.

?Despite its nonprofit status, the $100 million-organization “has IT needs just like any other company.

?“We have operations and support that we need to manage,” Starr said. “We have roughly about a thousand employees[,] … half of [whom] are avid users of the systems. And so we have to support their desktops, support their mobile phones, [and] support the implementation and ongoing workings of the third-party or internally developed applications that support … HR, finance [and] other mission services like case management.”

?Unlike some other executives, Starr is pushing his organization ahead of the curve. He and his team are hard at work on LoRa, short for long range. LoRa is a sort of long-range trip sensor that will allow Goodwill employees to track inventory from the vendor to the warehouse to the store location and in between. That way, they will be able to more easily manage distribution channels to store locations.

LoRa is far from the first innovative technology Starr has been a part of. Before other organizations implemented it, Goodwill Suncoast already had roundup technology in place. With it, customers can round up to the next dollar at checkout to donate to the non-profit’s mission. Such donations are now more convenient thanks to the credit card PIN pad devices stores recently rolled out as part of their new point-of-sale system.

Beyond IT, Starr spearheads his employer’s sustainability initiatives, searching for new market opportunities to reuse, recycle or otherwise sustain products. More specifically, he is strategizing on how to recycle plastics and unsold clothing, as well as finding more direct ways to reuse textile clothing.

Through these practices and others, Starr has led the way on leveraging IT in the non-profit sector. Perhaps he would not have been able to do so without SIM Tampa Bay, the bay area’s foremost society for IT professionals.

“What SIM has done for me personally has introduced me to more individuals and companies and what they do. But then in turn that’s also given them the opportunity to better understand Goodwill and what [it] does beyond just what people see on the surface.

“I like SIM for the fact that … it’s not just about networking, but it’s also about leadership development. And so SIM has a very extensive program around leadership development for emerging leaders, senior leaders and experienced leaders.”