I would like advice for submitting references from nonprofits to scientific institutions. No need for individualized advice. My background is here but I'm curious about the general question. I work with a few nonprofits that comprise healthcare education, scholarships, safety, gun regulation, and successful grassroots legislation.
How do employers interpret these sorts of references? I'm worried they will see me as dogmatic, radical but the reality is the opposite. I'm supporting community, state and national organizations which have huge support and are very productive.
My mission statement is to learn and facilitate the process of change. Being in the thick of this has produced valuable insight into what it takes to identify priorities and follow through with a goal on a big stage. I would like my job/graduate application to see the parallel between political productivity and solving problems in science that will advance primary research as a US priority.
I do have research under my belt it's either independent or from undergrad and almost all of my professional experience has been in nonprofit work after finishing undergrad 4 years ago. It's in the past 2 years that I've chosen and worked for a career in science with graduate studies and a couple independent research projects. This is why I would like to highlight my productivity using references from my nonprofit work.