February 17, 2025 • 47 mins
This episode uncovers the unexpected journey of Bea De La Torre, Chief Philanthropy Officer at Trinity Church NYC, who shares her experience in philanthropy and the importance of taking risks in one’s career. Listeners gain insights on the power of relationships, the complexities of social issues, and the joy found in helping others through meaningful work.
We follow the adventurous path of a proud Boricua who navigated her way from Puerto Rico to the United States, driven by a passion for urban planning. Through her experiences at the University of Pennsylvania and MIT, she found her calling beyond the corporate world. Her transformative role in public service after 9/11 paved the way for a career in philanthropy, revealing the profound impact of housing stability on community development. Throughout, Bea emphasizes the crucial role of mentorship and the importance of staying open to life's serendipitous career transitions.
•Discussion on Bea’s early career in corporate America and the search for a mission-driven path
•Narrative on how housing stability impacts communities and individual lives
•Insights about transitioning from public sector work to philanthropy
•Importance of networking and building relationships for career growth
•Challenges faced in addressing social issues and the progress made along the way
•Emphasis on the role passion plays in creating change through work
Disclaimer:
The thoughts, views, and opinions expressed on Career Cheat Code are those of the individual guests and do not necessarily reflect those of the host, affiliated organizations & employers. This podcast is intended for informational and inspirational purposes, highlighting the guests and their unique career journeys. We hope these stories inspire you to chase your purpose, define success on your own terms & take the next step in your career.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
What I always tell people is I didn't plan it out
this way.
I never had a.
In fact, I think if you hadasked me in the same way that if
you had asked me when I was ingrad school are you going to be
focused on housing andhomelessness issues for 20 years
?
I would have said no way.
And if you had asked me when Iwas working for the city of New
York you're going to end up inphilanthropy for more than 10
(00:22):
years and I would have said no,that's not.
My career and I want to saythis to you know, the listeners
is that you really sometimesjust have to take these
opportunities without knowingexactly how they're going to fit
into your long term planBecause, again, every single
step leads to the next one andthings get clear as you step.
(00:43):
You know, take those stepsalong the way.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Welcome to Career Cheat Code.
In this podcast, you'll hearhow everyday people impact the
world through their careers.
Learn about their journey,career hacks and obstacles along
the way.
Whether you're already havingthe impact you want or are
searching for it, this is thepodcast for you.
Bea, welcome to the show.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
Thank you, Riley.
Thank you so much for having mehere.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
I really appreciate you taking the time to connect
today.
I'm excited to learn about yourcareer, so let's dive right in.
Let's tell the world what it isyou do for a living.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
So I'm currently the Chief Philanthropy Officer at
Trinity Church NYC and what thatmeans is I lead the
philanthropic portfolio, so allthe grant making that comes out
of the church.
We are a unique church in thatwe have a very significant
endowment, given a very longhistory of Trinity's origins
(01:34):
over 360 years ago andspecifically our assets in the
real estate side in Manhattan.
So that has allowed us to havea significant endowment which we
then turn into giving back toour community.
So my job is to basically leadthe team that does all the grant
making and we gave just to giveyou a sense, we give about 40
(01:54):
million dollars a year in grantsto a lot of not for profits in
New York City Focus on theissues that align with our
strategic areas of focus, andthen we also do a little bit of
grant making internationallytied to the Episcopal Church and
the Anglican Communion.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Wow, that sounds like a lot of work and really
transformative, especially asyou're anchored in a place like
New York City and you can reallysee how the support that you
provide to these organizationsreally transforms people's lives
.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
It really is.
I feel so lucky truly to havethis job.
I have been living in New YorkCity for over 25 years and have
been very committed toaddressing some of the more
systemic issues that I've seen.
I'm happy to go into my careerbackground, but I started really
focused on affordable housingand had to have the ability to
(02:44):
now lead together with otherportfolios, but portfolios that
really address the housingcrisis, the homelessness crisis,
housing insecurity that so manyof our New Yorkers face is
truly incredible for me to beable to be so mission driven.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
That's great.
So how big is your organization?
Speaker 1 (03:00):
So Trinity itself is over 200 employees, maybe 250 or
so, but Trinity again, becausewe're so unique, we have a lot
of different teams that youwouldn't even think about.
So Trinity, of course, is achurch, so there's staff
associated with the clergy.
We run a lot of programming,pastoral care, but in addition
(03:20):
to that we have an incrediblemusic program.
So one of our best offeringsand I highly recommend for
anyone that lives in New YorkCity is we have a beautiful
production of Handel's Messiahin December every year, I
believe.
Unfortunately this year it'salready sold out, but keep your
ears open for next year.
It is absolutely beautiful.
(03:41):
So we have a very big musicdepartment.
And then, in addition to that,given our real estate holdings,
as you can imagine, we haveother teams associated more on
the business side, so sort oflike a real estate team and
investments team, thephilanthropies team, which is
the one I lead, plus all thesupporting functions like IT and
communications and HR.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
That makes a lot of sense, so for this type of
organization.
So what does that mean to leadthis type of team, right?
So what does your Monday looklike when you walk into work?
How do you plan out your week?
What are you actually doing dayto day?
Speaker 1 (04:13):
Yeah, I have a lot of meetings.
I'm trying to get better atmanaging my calendar.
So my role is very much it'sinternally focused but very
externally focused.
So I meet with a lot of people.
Externally, we do a lot of ourwork in partnership with other
funders, with government, withother not for profits.
(04:37):
So I spend a lot of timemeeting with people, hearing
what they're working on, tryingto figure out potential
partnerships or ideas for us towork together.
And then internally, you know Ihave a team of 22 people under
me, so we also spend a lot oftime meeting talking about a
strategic direction and wherewe're headed.
So I would say a Monday for meprobably includes easily six
(05:01):
meetings, sometimes back to back.
I do try to get a little lunchbreak in between.
It's maybe 15 minutes in frontof a computer and then after
that, of course, wrapping up byresponding to a lot of emails.
But it's a good.
It's a good balance of beingable to do the internal work but
also getting out there.
I would say you know the otherthing this just doesn't happen
to fall so much on a Monday, butthe other thing I do a lot is
(05:24):
go to.
I participate in a lot ofpanels as panelists, sometimes I
moderate them or I provideremarks at an event.
So, like, being out there inthe field is really important
and then, in addition to that,visiting some of our grantees is
a very I think it's absolutelykey because you need to see the
work directly, and that issomething that in the role in
(05:46):
the field of philanthropysometimes you don't see as much
is that there's this notion ofyou can be in this ivory tower
making grants without reallyhaving your ear to the ground.
So I feel very strongly that weneed to be out there talking to
people and meeting people and,more importantly, seeing how the
people that we're ultimatelytrying to help, like how they're
(06:07):
doing and what else they need,so that we can calibrate our own
programs and grantmaking aroundthat.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
So what is the?
What is your favorite part ofyour role?
Speaker 1 (06:16):
I think I the favorite part for me is really
when I hear a story of somebodythat our grant was able to help.
That just fills me with so muchjoy.
So I'll give you an example.
We just recently made a grantto a wonderful organization
called Hot Bread Kitchen.
They basically operatecommercial kitchens and they
(06:36):
help immigrants.
They started by helpingimmigrant women.
Now it's more expensive thanthat, but they help them
basically get their training sothat they can then become prep
cooks or join a restaurant andbe part of that staff with
benefits and a good salary.
So we recently gave them agrant to support a cohort that's
specifically for some of thenewest New Yorkers coming into
(06:58):
our city.
So in the last two years, as youknow, there's been an influx of
asylum seekers and migrantscoming in, and they're coming in
because they want to work.
They're coming for a betteropportunity for themselves and
for their families.
They are not coming to be on agovernment paycheck, right, so
what they want is to work.
So Hubbub Kitchen provideswonderful training for them.
(07:21):
It's a seven-week course and wewere able to visit them and
they shared the stories of a fewpeople and this woman in
particular.
She came from I think she camefrom Venezuela with her two
daughters which by itself, justto say it, that journey by
itself is so incrediblytraumatizing right To be able to
make it here, from there andeverything that happens in
(07:42):
between.
And she enrolled in the programand at that point she was
living in a shelter with her twodaughters and she, enrolled in
the program, did a great job.
It was very clear to the peoplemanaging the program how
talented she was and after shegraduated she got a placement at
Casa Cipriani.
So she's now working there withgreat benefits, great salary,
(08:05):
and has been able to move intoher own apartment with her two
daughters.
And for me that is the bestpart of your job.
When I hear a story like that,it just makes it all so worth it
.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
No, absolutely.
Especially, you know,philanthropy itself can be very
removed from the ultimate impactthat it can have.
Right, because a lot of timesyou're working with people like
Hotbrake Kitchen and like othersthat are directly seeing the
beneficiaries of these programs,and in philanthropy that's not
always the case, right, like you, just you trust and believe
(08:35):
that the organizations are doingthe work and that they then are
tied.
But to then have an opportunityto actually have that direct
line of communication and thatdirect, just intel on how these
programs are reallytransformative, you know it's,
it's really, I think, one of thethings that definitely got me
into philanthropy.
Right, like understanding that,like the work matters and
you're actually helping realpeople in real time.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
So I appreciate that, I appreciate you sharing that
yeah, absolutely, and I mean, ofcourse and you know this so
well for me also is seeing howthe support that we're able to
provide is strengthening thenon-for-profits in New York City
is really enriching.
I strongly believe that thenon-for-profits here are doing
such incredible work.
(09:16):
For the most part, reallyreally have been essential in
making the city what it is, soto be able to support that
directly and see their work inaction is extremely fulfilling.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
That's great.
So on the contrast.
So what is the most challengingpart of your role?
Speaker 1 (09:31):
I would say frankly that sometimes it feels like you
take one step forward and twoback in terms of addressing
these deeply embedded,challenging social issues that
we're trying to address throughour grant making.
So I'll give you a specificexample with data that just came
out.
So I, as I mentioned, I havebeen working in the homelessness
(09:51):
field at this point for almost10 years, and when I actually
even three years ago, when youwould look at the data of how
many students in the New Yorkpublic school system have found
themselves to be housing,insecure, homeless, either they
were in shelter or they were indoubled up situations or couch
(10:12):
surfing, the number was one outof 10.
And that number was horrifying,so extremely high, and I would
think about that a lot.
Actually, at that point I wouldthink about okay, my kids go to
the New York City public school, so that means you know they
have like two or three kids intheir classroom right that have
been going through this, and weknow that in some schools that's
(10:33):
a much higher percentage.
So that number was horrifying.
I dedicated so much of my workAt this point I was at the Robin
Hood Foundation so much of mywork really focused on like, how
can we lower that number?
That is just not okay.
And we're able to launch somereally wonderful programs and
things that were successful andwe're certainly helping many
individual children and theirfamilies and whatnot.
(10:55):
And then the data just came outlast week or the week before
with the new numbers, and thenumber is one out of eight.
So it got worse, it got a lotworse, and that is just
sometimes that's reallychallenging, right?
When you say to yourself, oh myGod, what have I been doing?
And I was talking to my husbandabout that because truly I was
(11:15):
so depressed, I just could notbelieve it Like, wow, this got
it.
Not only got bad, it got likeso much worse really.
And and you know what I have to, what we have to come to, and I
think you know people that areworking on it for profits.
Doing all this work and all thatheavy lifting is, yes, that did
get worse.
That did get worse and it'sreally heartbreaking.
(11:36):
But if we hadn't been doingwhat we were doing, so on my end
, like funding some of theseprograms, maybe that number
would have been like one out ofsix.
You know so there are people'slives that you are touching and
you really are helping, but the,the funnel just keeps getting
bigger and bigger on the top.
You know so it just it makes itvery, very challenging
(11:57):
sometimes and you know you haveto kind of pull yourself
together and say what I'm doingmatters and I'm just going to
keep on going.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
Absolutely.
And you know, I think,especially if you're good at
what you're doing and if youlike you, you're really as
passionate as you, as you are,about this work, right?
You know, I think it'simportant to understand that we
can't do it all along Right.
So, like, all of these issuesare not going to be solved by
one person, one organization oranything like that, and there's
a matter of also just context ofthe world and pandemics coming
and things happening and justother issues that are beyond our
(12:31):
control that, you know, don'talways solve the root of the
issue.
But I can certainly see how, ifyou are spending dedicating your
career to solving some of theseissues and you don't see the
needle really moving, that canbe really frustrating and a
really heavy questioning thing.
So I appreciate you sharingthat.
That's a very, you know,insightful point because,
especially in philanthropy, Ithink, a lot of times it can be
(12:52):
sometimes very instantlyrewarding and you can see the
impact really quickly.
And then if you step back, likeyou did right, and look at,
well, what have we been doingover the last few years,
sometimes that can tell adifferent story.
So you know, as a professionalit is hard to navigate that.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
You know, it would actually be helpful to hear a
little bit about your upbringing.
So tell me, tell me a littlebit about where were you born,
raised.
What did that look like?
Speaker 1 (13:17):
Yeah, sure, so I am a very proud Boricua.
I was born and raised in PuertoRico, right outside of San Juan
, and I come from.
I always say like I hit thelottery when it came to my
family.
I just come from a super tightknit family.
The youngest of three girls andmy mom is my mom just was
(13:40):
always so supportive of beinglike you're going to be strong
women.
You know we're going to, you'regoing to get to do everything
you want, and my dad, moreimportantly, was even more that
like he would like triple downon that.
I I always joke.
He would say, like you canbecome president of the United
States if you want.
And I would say I don'ttechnically think I can that
because I was born in PuertoRico.
(14:00):
So I think technically thatcannot happen, but anyway, so I
grew up in that beautiful islandthat is just full of joy and
beauty and community, and alsoit's really complicated, right
Cause it's under the shadow ofthe United States.
There's so many challenges withthe political situation there
(14:23):
and also the infrastructure, asI'm sure you know, and became
very, very apparent after thehorrible hurricane of 2017,
maria.
So when I was growing up, I was, you know, always had a feeling
of I want to do something elseoutside of Puerto Rico.
As much as I love it and Istill do go back a lot I just
always felt like I maybe neededa little bit of a bigger place.
(14:46):
So then I came to the UnitedStates for college.
I studied at the University ofPennsylvania in Philadelphia and
I was like I kind of like ithere, you know.
So after that, I moved to NewYork, basically started working
frankly, and I worked forAmerican Express.
I was working on helping GoldCard members spend more money,
(15:08):
and I did that for a couple ofyears and I was like, wow, this
is so not who I am.
I am extremely not interestedin this.
It didn't feel meaningfulenough to me and you know, of
course, some people work on thatand that's great for them but I
always felt like I needed to dosomething more connected to
community and I decided to goback to grad school for my
(15:29):
master's.
So I did basically and this issomething that I tell younger
people that you don't have tofigure out grad school
immediately.
In fact, I took about six yearsin between graduating from
undergrad and going to gradschool, undergrad and going to
grad school and I wanted to makesure it was the right thing for
me, because I knew that I wasgoing to have to take out big
loans that I was going to bepaying for a long time and I
(15:51):
didn't want that to be towardssomething that I wasn't excited
about, and I also didn't want toend up in a situation where,
you know I went to grad schooland I had so much debt that then
later I felt like I had to goback and work in corporate
America or because that was theonly way I was going to pay my
loans Right.
(16:11):
So it was kind of like why isthat sweet spot for me?
And what I did and I wentthrough a process that was
really helpful for me is that Ibasically think I met a list of
easily 80 people and I justtalked to everyone and it was
basically similar to actuallykind of your podcast.
I was like tell me about yourjob, what do you like about it?
(16:32):
What are some of the challenges?
Tell me about your day to day.
And in a way, it was just forme to be able to explore my own
journey, like what of thosethings sound good to me that I
would enjoy?
But what of those things soundgood to me that I would enjoy?
And I talked to one of mysister's really good friends who
(16:52):
had gone to Berkeley to get hermaster's in urban planning and
was working on affordablehousing issues in Puerto Rico
actually, and as I was talkingto her it just suddenly went off
in my head.
I was like, oh my God, urbanplanning, that sounds amazing.
I love community.
I think a oh my God urbanplanning that sounds amazing.
I love community.
I think a lot about my physicalenvironment around me.
I live in New York and I'm oneof those people that's always
(17:12):
like looking at, like where'sthe open space?
Oh, look at this sidewalk, oh,this traffic intersection
doesn't seem to be working sonaturally kind of gravitated to
that urban infrastructureenvironment and then just that
(17:46):
sense of community of beingthinking like how can you help a
neighborhood, how can you helpa group of people that just
really, you know, turned off thelight bulb, like this is at
this incredible program at MITI'm just so thankful for and
basically have been working onissues related to urban planning
since then.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
Wow, so okay, so you're working at American
Express.
You're thinking about examiningwhether this is really what you
want to continue to do and youlearn about urban planning
generally.
Two questions when you were anundergrad, what did you think
you wanted to do right aftercollege?
What was your vision at thatpoint?
(18:15):
And then help me understand howyou then made the connection to
go to MIT and move toMassachusetts and do this for a
while.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
Yeah.
So when I was an undergrad Istudied communications with
minor in Latin American studies,and psychology in undergrad at
Penn communications with minorin Latin American studies and
psychology in undergrad at Penn.
I didn't take a single coursein urban studies which it's so
unfortunate because Penn, whereI was for undergrad, has one of
the best urban studiesdepartments and not a single
(18:44):
course.
It had not even crossed my mindand, to be honest, I think I
just had no idea what I wantedto do afterwards.
Basically is what I came downto and this is very particular
to Penn, but it is to otherschools too.
Penn can be a fairlypre-professional school because
the School of Business Wharton,which is, you know, within Penn,
(19:07):
is such an important and suchan incredibly good school.
We will get a lot of recruiterscoming to recruit students
after we graduate, and therecruiters were investment banks
, consulting firms, corporateAmerica, and I graduated in 1997
.
It was a good economicenvironment to graduate in, let
(19:27):
me put it that way.
I know that now people aregraduating are facing a very
different environment from theone that I was fortunate to have
, but I remember going to thecareer office and saying you
know, I'm thinking like I shoulddo maybe something in nonprofit
.
And they were like, oh yeah,sorry, like the nonprofits don't
come here to recruit, these arethe companies.
(19:48):
Do you want to go to aninterview with McKinsey?
And I was like, well, I guess,because I don't, I don't have
any other options, maybe.
So that's basically kind of howI ended up at American Express,
I mean, and again, it was agreat experience.
I learned a lot actually abouttechnology and and marketing,
and so I don't, I don't regrethaving done that.
(20:08):
I just wish I had, from anearlier stage in my life, maybe
known or had an inkling of Iwant to do something a lot more
mission driven, let me explorecareers in that territory as
well.
But at the same time, I'm afirm believer that the journeys,
one step truly leads to thenext, and if I hadn't maybe
(20:30):
worked at a place like AmericanExpress and Corporate America,
maybe I would have ended updoing something totally
different.
I don't know.
I just know that that step ledme to the step that I'm in right
now and I'm very thankful forthat.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
Absolutely Okay.
So you come from Puerto Rico,you go to Pennsylvania, you go
to undergrad, you come out toNew York, you get to work.
Now you get into grad schooland at this point it sounds like
you're using grad school as amoment to pivot and going to
learn about new things to thenjump into a whole different
sector Sounds like potentiallysocial or public sector.
(21:09):
Tell me about your grad schoolkind of the experience, like did
you get what you wanted out ofit?
And then what happens after?
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Yeah, so you are.
You are exactly right.
So for me, grad school was thepivot in my career.
And that's what I wasstruggling with before going to
grad school is I knew I wantedto do something different.
I wasn't sure what that wasfirst.
So then I went on this journeyof talking to a lot of different
people and then even even atthat point, say, before going to
(21:36):
grad school, if I had said, oh,it's urban planning, it would
have been really hard for me,right?
So it truly was veryintentional that way, and in
(21:57):
terms of what I got out of gradschool, again, I went to a
fantastic program.
I am so lucky.
Mit is just phenomenal, notjust the curriculum, but like
the people that you're aroundand the commitment that they
truly have to be superinnovative.
You see it, it's not just withtechnology that they do it, they
do it also with their programslike planning and whatnot.
I got a lot out of MIT, too,because I was more mature.
(22:19):
I was when I went into gradschool, I was 28 years old.
I was more mature.
I had already, you know, beenliving on my own for a long time
, but, more importantly, I had adeeper appreciation for the
situation.
I was in the incredibleprivilege that I had, which I
you know when I was an undergrad.
You know you're so young andlike you don't really so at MIT,
(22:40):
for example, like Noam Chomskywould speak, you know he was in
faculty at MIT and I would belike I'm going to go and hear
him speak.
Then we were right next toHarvard where the Kennedy School
would bring all theseincredible people coming to talk
about policy and politics.
I would go and hear them speak.
So I really took advantage ofnot just the academics but also
(23:01):
the context I was in and all theincredible offerings around me.
So that is something that Idefinitely tell people that are
either going into school or gradschool to really, really tap
into that.
And I know, I know that schoolgets so busy, there's so much to
do, but that is part of youreducation as well outside of the
(23:21):
classroom is what I would sayso so, yeah, so I had a great
time.
I also another thing that Iloved about the MIT program I'm
mentioning this for potentiallypeople that are thinking about
looking at graduate schoolprograms is that MIT has a very
robust what they call practicumcurriculum, so meaning we were
on the field, doing projects aswell, so it wasn't just all in
(23:44):
the classroom.
We had a lot of practicumcourses.
Some of them were, you know, innearby Springfield,
massachusetts.
I did a whole class there andit was really interesting to me
because there's a really bigPuerto Rican community there, so
it was interesting for me tosee how they're living and some
of the challenges that they werefacing and continue to face,
(24:05):
frankly.
And then I also did a practicumin Lima, peru, over the.
I also did a practicum in Lima,peru, over the break at MIT.
You have all of January off tobe able to do things like this.
And there I worked in asquatter community in Lima that
you know has a lot of challengesand a lot of infrastructure
challenges, but it's alsoabsolutely beautiful to see how
(24:27):
this community has come togetherand how they help each other
out.
See how this community has cometogether and how they help each
other out.
So I really took so much awayfrom those experiences and
really think they helped mereally chart my career as well.
Again, going back to thatnotion of I don't want to be
doing my work in front of acomputer all the time.
I really want to be out in thefield talking to people, hearing
(24:48):
what's happening and justreally getting a pulse on what I
can do to help them.
So, um, so yeah, so mit, sothat was fantastic and all and
then in terms of it sounds likeyou did grad school right.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
by the way I tried, yeah, like you took advantage of
all the opportunities, theevents, the travels, just all
the things that help you openyour eyes and your mind to other
future possibilities and otherthings and other challenges that
the world is struggling withand how you can play your role
within it.
So it just sounds like andthat's something that I
certainly encourage with folks.
(25:20):
You know, especially with gradschool I would say even an
undergrad but especially withgrad school it's not just about
going in the classroom and doingthe work and then going home.
Like the network matters, theexperiences matter.
Go see who are theprofessionals that are coming
through the doors and what arethey talking about and what can
you absorb from all that.
Because it's just, it's a veryfinite time that you're there,
(25:41):
so, like, while you're there,just get everything you want out
of it.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
Yes, yeah.
So I really at least tried mybest.
So and I really do think ithelped me be a little a more
mature young adult.
You know, I think for mepersonally at least, having that
time in between working indifferent sectors and then
getting to grad school reallymade it, made it try to at least
like I try to make it make thebest out of it.
(26:07):
So while I was in grad school,so that summer in between, I
actually came back to New Yorkto work and I worked for the
Lower Manhattan DevelopmentCorporation, which is a
not-for-profit that was startedafter 9-11 to basically rebuild
Lower Manhattan, and at gradschool I had been very focused
on economic development andsmall businesses.
That was basically what I wasgravitating towards.
(26:29):
Basically what I wasgravitating towards.
That was the thing that I wasdoing on some of my course work
and I wrote my thesis on thisspecific kind of like business
improvement district in theBoston area.
So I was gravitating towardsthat, went to the LMDC, had a
really fantastic internship andended up working for somebody,
for this woman who is a dearfriend of mine now and we just
(26:53):
did a lot of really greatprojects together, right.
So had a great internship wentback to MIT.
So this woman her name is HollyLight.
She's absolutely terrific andshe has been an incredible.
She has so many great jobs, butso many of them in the public
sector, really, really, trulyhelping people.
So Holly calls me up and shesays I'm, you know, I'm in my
(27:19):
second year of grad school.
And she calls me up and shesays hey, bea, I, um, I'm going
to take this.
I just got offered this job.
I want to take this job as theassistant commissioner for the
housing agency at New York city,hpd.
Do you want to come and workfor me when you graduate?
And I was like I'm, I'm not ahousing person, that's not me.
No, you know, um, that's justnot my, my thing.
But then I thought about it andI was like you know, she's
(27:41):
amazing, I can learn so muchfrom her.
I love her energy.
She's so creative, really outof the box thinker.
So, yeah, let me, let me giveit a try.
I'll just go and work for Hollyfor a couple years and then
I'll, you know, do somethingelse, get to HPD.
This is, uh, september of 2005and um, and I, I, literally I
(28:03):
remember somebody said youshould really join the pension
because you know it's reallygreat when you join the pension
as a you know, civil servant,and I was like I'm not joining
the pension, I'm gonna be herefor like a year or two and do
something else.
This is not my thing, but I'mjust going to learn a little bit
and move on.
Almost 10 years later, I lookback and I thought to myself I
really should have joined thepension.
(28:23):
When that person told me and Ijust basically have been working
in housing issues since then,so it's going to be almost 20
years and let me tell you firstof all, of course, just working
for Holly was just amazing, as Isuspected.
But I so quickly realized and Ialmost cannot believe how naive
I was before but I so quicklyrealized that pretty much so
(28:48):
many things come down to housingstability, like if you want to
build, you know.
Like if you want to build, youknow, like if you want to have a
solid neighborhood witheconomic opportunity, where
people are thriving, wherechildren have the ability to
feel safe and all the things Icare about, like the piece of
affordable housing, is anenormous part of that puzzle.
(29:09):
So that's what it became for meand yes, as I said, you know, I
worked basically for citygovernment almost for 10 years
doing primarily planning aroundwhere the affordable housing
developments were going to belocated, and then basically I
have been in philanthropy forover 10 years at this point
working on similar issues.
Speaker 2 (29:27):
Wow.
So you know, and I reallyappreciate you sharing the
hesitant moment, right whensomeone calls you and said, hey,
would you like to join me onthis journey?
And you know, I think a lot oftimes we either limit ourselves
or can't even imagine ourselvesin spaces where people can
actually see us in.
Right.
So, like she clearly clearlysaw something that was like you
(29:49):
can bring a lot to this space ifyou're willing and open to it.
And now that has to help shapeyour career Right.
Like many years later nowyou're still working on some of
these issues and addressing themthrough a different lens.
Right, but still working on thesame issues.
Can you?
Can you tell me a little bitabout your transition from the
public sector into philanthropy?
I know a lot of folks that arein the public sector that you
(30:13):
know are either thinking aboutwhat philanthropy could look
like or thinking about justdifferent ways to continue to
have impact.
So just be helpful to hear howthat transition was for you and
what you saw in philanthropythat you can bring.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
So I got very lucky is what I would say, because I
do talk to a lot of people thatwant to move into philanthropy
and breaking into philanthropyis not the easiest and I just
got very lucky that somebodyreached out to me to say, hey,
robinhood is looking for someoneto build this affordable
housing idea that they have.
(30:48):
In terms of how the foundationcan play a bigger role in the
actual supply of affordablehousing, is it something that
you might consider?
And so it happened to coincidewith the turn of administration.
This is when the de Blasioadministration was coming in at
City Hall and it was just like anatural.
It seemed to be a naturaltransition for me to be able to
get into philanthropy.
But what I always tell people isI didn't plan it out this way.
(31:13):
I never had a.
In fact, I think if you hadasked me in the same way that if
you had asked me when I was ingrad school are you going to be
focused on housing andhomelessness issues for 20 years
I would have said no way.
And if you had asked me when Iwas working for the city of New
York you're going to end up inphilanthropy for more than 10
years?
And I would have said no,that's not my career.
(31:34):
And I want to say this to youknow the listeners is that you
really sometimes just have totake these opportunities without
knowing exactly how they'regoing to fit into your long-term
plan Because, again, everysingle step leads to the next
one and things get clear as youstep.
You know, take those stepsalong the way.
So I got lucky, joinedphilanthropy, joined Robin Hood,
(31:57):
which is incredible.
I had such a great experiencethere.
I worked there for five yearsand I have so many things I can
point to of work that I was ableto do at Robin Hood, together
with the incredible people thatwork there that I'm so deeply
proud of.
And one of the things that Ialso wanted to mention Raleigh
is that when I joinedphilanthropy, robin Hood in
(32:19):
particular, I came very muchwith the idea of what affordable
housing was from a real estatestandpoint real estate and
planning, of course, but I hadnot really been exposed to
homelessness in terms of, like,all the different things that
need to happen in the servicesand the programs that need to
happen in order to support thosepopulations.
(32:40):
So it was a really big learningexperience for me.
Because back then and it's kindof crazy that I worked in a
housing agency for so long andwe were not deeply thinking
about homelessness all the timetoo, because the solution to
homelessness is housing.
So how are those things sosiloed?
That became very clear to meand that never has made no sense
(33:02):
to me.
Frankly, I think now there's alot more dialogue between the
agencies, thankfully, and evenmore needs to happen, but that
was a big learning opportunityfor me.
And then same with grantmaking.
I had never done grantmaking,so I came in and learned the way
, and you know, robinhood inparticular has a very concrete
(33:25):
way of thinking aboutgrantmaking.
That was extremely helpful tome and I learned so much, but it
truly was a field that Istumbled upon a little bit and
now I am, you know, 10 yearslater.
I am deeply committed to it.
Speaker 2 (33:40):
That's great and you know, I think one of the things
that I've realized in my careeris, despite the sector that
you're in, you will work acrosssectors anyways.
So when I was in citygovernment, we were still
working with private sector.
We're still working withphilanthropy, because we're all
working towards the same issues,just in different approaches
and or playing different rolesin in the puzzle, right?
(34:03):
So, like I am more, so I liketo think about it as I'm married
more to the work than I am tophilanthropy, right, because I
think ultimately, even if folksthat are in city government now
are like, oh, I want to go tophilanthropy, it's great to like
think about how, what you canbring to that space and what you
can learn from the space, butalso just understand that like,
at least for me, it's be morecommitted to the work than the
(34:24):
sector that you do it in.
So you know, I appreciate yousharing that because you've been
able to navigate differentsectors and just add a lot of
value there.
Speaker 1 (34:31):
And if I can add to that, because I agree and I
think you and I have talkedabout this in other occasions I
actually think havingmulti-sector experience is
really important for me.
Having been in the publicsector, like you were, for
almost 10 years and then goinginto philanthropy really, really
informed a lot of my grantmaking, and I remember sometimes
(34:54):
being in meetings with some ofmy colleagues who maybe haven't
had that experience and meexplaining like no, you don't
understand, the city of New Yorkcannot do this because of X, y
and Z.
They're not being difficult,they do have these limitations.
This is very challenging forthem and this is how we can help
them, just like many of mycolleagues that have previous
(35:14):
experience with nonprofits wereable to teach me like no this is
how it works.
This is how this not-for-profitsare running when they're
relying on these governmentcontracts that have the least in
payments and whatnot.
So I truly believe thatmulti-sector experience is
absolutely key and I reallyencourage people to not just be
like I have only donephilanthropy my whole life or I
(35:35):
have only done nonprofits mywhole life.
I think getting a suite of howthe different sectors work and
how they work together is a keyto success.
Speaker 2 (35:45):
Absolutely agree.
So as someone that is now insenior leadership in
philanthropy, you know one ofthe misconceptions that I knew
growing up was if you're doinggood work, you're probably going
to be broke all your life.
And I happen to know that thatis not the case and I happen to
understand that we can havereally impactful careers and
also do good and do well at thesame time.
(36:08):
So how much money can folkseven make in this type of sector
?
Speaker 1 (36:13):
So the philanthropy field in general I would say,
provides decent to very goodsalaries, you know.
So I would say a range for youknow, starting from like program
officers all the way to moresenior leadership, you know can
definitely start in thedefinitely like the 100,000 and
(36:35):
then can get up to, you know,like 300,000 or more, so I think
there are definitelyopportunities to do good and do
well as well.
Yes, I mean listen, there'salways the I could be making a
lot more in the private sector.
Of course you could, but itreally has to come down to what
drives you and, for example, forme, that's something that I
(36:58):
100% have already made.
That decision is I really needto be working on something
that's mission aligned.
Otherwise I just don't enjoy itas much.
I really don't.
There's no other way to put it.
Speaker 2 (37:10):
Absolutely, and of course, you know this will vary.
We're also talking from theperspective of folks that are in
philanthropy in New York City,right.
If you're doing this inNebraska or in other parts of
the country, that may lookdifferent.
Or if you're doing it at alarger institution, like where
both of us work, versus asmaller family foundation, right
.
But you know, I do thinkphilanthropy has definitely been
(37:33):
a sector where you can land inthat really sweet spot of
knowing you're doing good workand still being compensated well
enough to like feel good aboutthe work that you're doing.
Are there any other careercheat codes that you haven't
mentioned today?
You've mentioned so many, butany that you feel like you know.
If you knew this earlier inyour career, it would have been
helpful.
Speaker 1 (37:53):
I think for me is knowing I'm a little bit of a
like I need to figure things outquickly and need to move
quickly on things, and and forme, just knowing that I don't
need to have everything figuredout, that really like, and that
I can fail and it's going to befine, um, would have been good.
(38:13):
I definitely felt like I put alot of pressure on myself,
especially when I was younger,of how am I going to sustain
myself Like I live in New Yorkcity so expensive, how is this
going to work?
And I wish I had had had alittle bit more patience with
myself is what I would say, andit's something that actually I
see myself doing now.
I'm going to turn 50 next year.
(38:35):
So I think, like you know,these things come with age.
But you suddenly realize likeit's okay, like I don't need to
absolutely know everythingimmediately, and there are
things that I'm not going to doas well as others, and then
there's others that I'm going tobe truly excellent and it's
fine.
So, yeah, I think being kind toyourself and patient is
(38:55):
something that I wish.
If I could go back to myyounger self, I would.
I would tell myself, but I alsofeel like I was really lucky
and I referenced this alreadyLike I, one of the reasons I
feel like I've been supersuccessful is I have invested in
relationships really deeply.
I am a very relationship drivenperson, like I, really truly,
(39:16):
you know, I try to be a reallygood colleague, I try to be a
really good manager.
I really try to just be a goodhuman being whenever I can.
I'm absolutely not perfect,trust me, but I really invest to
just be a good human beingwhenever I can.
I'm absolutely not perfect,trust me, but I really invest
deeply in relationships and thathas really helped me in my
career, because a lot of peoplepick up the phone and call me
years later and they're likewhat are you doing?
Can we do this together?
Hey, would you want to comehere?
(39:37):
So that's something that I tellalso, a lot of people that are
kind of like moving in the fieldor are younger Also, a lot of
people that are kind of likemoving in the field are younger.
And I think now you know onekind of like side note on that
that I think is important isthat relationships are also more
fostered when you're in personwith somebody in community.
And I tell that a lot to mystaff, especially as we were
(39:59):
coming back from the pandemicand people were like I don't
want to be in the office, Idon't want to be.
And I would say I understand,of course, and you know we
benefit from having a hybridwork schedule, which I'm very
thankful for, but sometimes yougot to go out to lunch with
people like you got that chat,chit, chat before of like hey,
how was your weekend, how areyou doing?
(40:20):
What's happening with this?
It's so key to buildingrelationships and when you're
having a virtual meeting youtypically don't have that level
of chit chat.
It's more like let's just getto business, let's just get it
done, we'll move on to the next.
So I really do think peopleneed to think about nurturing
relationships and that's beenone of the things that I'm very
proud and I think has reallyhelped me with my career.
Speaker 2 (40:40):
Absolutely.
And I would say I've absolutelyseen that in action because you
and I connected maybe six yearsago or so through a mutual
contact that said, hey, youshould go talk to Bayi, and you
were extremely gracious and said, sure, I'll connect with you.
I don't know you from a hole inthe wall but you have been
super helpful.
(41:01):
I was at the time I was workingfor the city of New York and
just thinking about my nextsteps and like I knew I wanted
to get into philanthropy forsure, but I knew philanthropy
from a very like singular lensof like family foundation that
supported youth work.
I didn't really have experiencewith other folks in philanthropy
and just hearing about yourwork and how you've been able to
(41:22):
navigate the field and all ofthe like just gems that you have
poured into me over the lastfew years, like it definitely
shows that you, that youactually take that seriously
right, like you takerelationships seriously and you
know we've just stayed connectedsince you know I appreciate
that it's not just your work andyour colleagues, it's all the
folks kind of around in theecosystem that you're also
developing as as your communityand your network.
(41:44):
So just also appreciate you fordoing that because you didn't
have to do that, you didn't haveto like say, sure, come, let's
go have some coffee, and thenactually still talk to me years
later.
So I appreciate it and I thinkyou know you're absolutely an
inspiration to someone in thefield that I look to and say
that's someone that's doing itright.
Speaker 1 (42:00):
Thank you.
Thank you so much for sayingthat.
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (42:03):
Thank you so much for saying that.
Of course, are there any formsof media that could be books,
podcasts, things that have justhelped you personally or
professionally that you justthink people should check out?
Speaker 1 (42:20):
So I would say, on the podcast side, I love
listening to how I Built this byGuy Ross.
So I feel like I have a littlebit of entrepreneurship inside
of me, even though I probablywill never launch my own company
although I should never saynever, right, but I, I, I do
have a I, I have a problemsolving mind and I am a creative
thinker and all that.
And so for me, hearing thestories of these entrepreneurs
(42:41):
and how they, how their ideacame about, how they built their
company, how they have many ofthem failed at various points
where it seemed like this wasnot going to take off, and then
how it turned around, I justabsolutely love that podcast.
So I highly recommend it toanyone that wants to engage with
(43:04):
that side of like risk takingand the tolerance for what you
know what to do next and how tothink about it.
I specifically actually go intorelationships.
One of the episodes is for withBobby Brown, the makeup creator
, and one of the things and Iwill never forget this and I
think about this often is thatshe was in the elevator with the
(43:28):
grandmother of the producer ofthe Today Show and she took the
risk of saying, hey, I have thismakeup that I developed, Do you
think you can help me?
And this woman was like, ofcourse, I'll talk to my grandson
, Maybe he'll put you on theToday Show.
And she got on the Today Showand now I think we all probably
(43:50):
know that name, Bobby Brown andthat was a risk she took, and so
I love that podcast for that,because I think about that a lot
.
Often I'm like I need to take arisk of going and talk to this
politician or to thispolicymaker, because you never
know where it could lead.
So that's definitely one that Ireally listen to.
(44:11):
And then, of course, just allthe news keeping up with the
news.
So I listen to all thosepodcasts.
But, I was going to also mentionRiley that I get a lot of
inspiration from music.
Actually, this has beenthroughout my entire life.
Music, actually, this has beenthroughout my entire life.
So I used to listen to.
I didn't used to be like thetypical teenager listening to.
(44:33):
You know, whatever otherteenagers were listening to, I
mean, I guess I did that too,but I would listen to like
pretty deep music that washighly political.
There's so many great examplesof like Cubans and Puerto Rican
singer composers that I canmention Argentinian as well, and
one musician that I absolutelylove, and all of his songs
deeply resonate with me, isRuben Blades.
(44:54):
He's Panamanian.
He also, you know, ran forpresident of this country, and
his songs, every single one ofthem, has so much meaning to me,
and there's one in particularcalled Caminando, which means
walking, and it's very much whatI have been referencing
throughout our last timetogether today.
It's very much about how everystep you just have to.
(45:17):
The only way to figure out yourlife journey is just to take
every step, and the one stepwill lead to the next and you
don't really know what's at theend, but you just got to keep on
walking, and I just really,really love that.
I.
Speaker 2 (45:28):
I listen to it pretty much like once a day for
inspiration, wow I love that andI and I really appreciate the
metaphor and the meaning behindthat um, and this is something
that you know folks can godefinitely go check out and and
and see if it resonates withthem the same way.
So I appreciate that, right,and also guy ross, by the way,
and how I built this isdefinitely something that I'd
(45:48):
listen to a lot and a lot oftimes thought of this show as
the how I built this for careers, basically, um, so, so I
definitely appreciate him andhis style as well.
So shout out anything that wehave not discussed today that
the world should know about um I, I think we covered a good
amount.
Speaker 1 (46:07):
I think one of the things that I feel like I bring
to my work is a lot of passiontoo, and I am mentioning that
because maybe some of thelisteners feel like, oh,
sometimes I need to not show mypassion as much at work and of
course there are better placesto show it than others but I
(46:28):
think, like, finding that likethe thing that like really you
feel very connected to, eitherbecause your own personal
experience makes you connectwith it, or because you feel
that you understand and trulyfeel deeply the challenges that
people are facing and youconnect with that.
(46:48):
I think that's a, that's abeauty and I really think about
that, um, as one of mysuperpowers.
I really do, you know, and I, Ithis whole notion of like, oh,
sometimes, like women gettypecasted to be like emotional,
and and I, I actually think forwomen, um, that is one of our
superpowers and we need tounleash it.
So, yeah, so like, if you feela passion for something like,
(47:11):
don't be afraid to like expressit and show it.
Um, it has served me reallywell in my career, that's
awesome.
Speaker 2 (47:17):
Thank you for joining us today.
I appreciate your time.
Speaker 1 (47:19):
Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2 (47:22):
I hope you enjoyed this episode.
If you did and believe on themission we're on, please like,
rate and subscribe to thispodcast on whatever platform
you're using, and share thispodcast with your friends and
your networks.
Make sure you follow us onInstagram and LinkedIn at Career
Cheat Code and tell us peopleor careers you would like to see
highlighted.
See you next week with somemore cheat codes.
Peace.
What I always tell people is I didn't plan it out
this way.
I never had a.
In fact, I think if you hadasked me in the same way that if
you had asked me when I was ingrad school are you going to be
focused on housing andhomelessness issues for 20 years
?
I would have said no way.
And if you had asked me when Iwas working for the city of New
York you're going to end up inphilanthropy for more than 10
(00:22):
years and I would have said no,that's not.
My career and I want to saythis to you know, the listeners
is that you really sometimesjust have to take these
opportunities without knowingexactly how they're going to fit
into your long term planBecause, again, every single
step leads to the next one andthings get clear as you step.
(00:43):
You know, take those stepsalong the way.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Welcome to Career Cheat Code.
In this podcast, you'll hearhow everyday people impact the
world through their careers.
Learn about their journey,career hacks and obstacles along
the way.
Whether you're already havingthe impact you want or are
searching for it, this is thepodcast for you.
Bea, welcome to the show.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
Thank you, Riley.
Thank you so much for having mehere.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
I really appreciate you taking the time to connect
today.
I'm excited to learn about yourcareer, so let's dive right in.
Let's tell the world what it isyou do for a living.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
So I'm currently the Chief Philanthropy Officer at
Trinity Church NYC and what thatmeans is I lead the
philanthropic portfolio, so allthe grant making that comes out
of the church.
We are a unique church in thatwe have a very significant
endowment, given a very longhistory of Trinity's origins
(01:34):
over 360 years ago andspecifically our assets in the
real estate side in Manhattan.
So that has allowed us to havea significant endowment which we
then turn into giving back toour community.
So my job is to basically leadthe team that does all the grant
making and we gave just to giveyou a sense, we give about 40
(01:54):
million dollars a year in grantsto a lot of not for profits in
New York City Focus on theissues that align with our
strategic areas of focus, andthen we also do a little bit of
grant making internationallytied to the Episcopal Church and
the Anglican Communion.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Wow, that sounds like a lot of work and really
transformative, especially asyou're anchored in a place like
New York City and you can reallysee how the support that you
provide to these organizationsreally transforms people's lives
.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
It really is.
I feel so lucky truly to havethis job.
I have been living in New YorkCity for over 25 years and have
been very committed toaddressing some of the more
systemic issues that I've seen.
I'm happy to go into my careerbackground, but I started really
focused on affordable housingand had to have the ability to
(02:44):
now lead together with otherportfolios, but portfolios that
really address the housingcrisis, the homelessness crisis,
housing insecurity that so manyof our New Yorkers face is
truly incredible for me to beable to be so mission driven.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
That's great.
So how big is your organization?
Speaker 1 (03:00):
So Trinity itself is over 200 employees, maybe 250 or
so, but Trinity again, becausewe're so unique, we have a lot
of different teams that youwouldn't even think about.
So Trinity, of course, is achurch, so there's staff
associated with the clergy.
We run a lot of programming,pastoral care, but in addition
(03:20):
to that we have an incrediblemusic program.
So one of our best offeringsand I highly recommend for
anyone that lives in New YorkCity is we have a beautiful
production of Handel's Messiahin December every year, I
believe.
Unfortunately this year it'salready sold out, but keep your
ears open for next year.
It is absolutely beautiful.
(03:41):
So we have a very big musicdepartment.
And then, in addition to that,given our real estate holdings,
as you can imagine, we haveother teams associated more on
the business side, so sort oflike a real estate team and
investments team, thephilanthropies team, which is
the one I lead, plus all thesupporting functions like IT and
communications and HR.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
That makes a lot of sense, so for this type of
organization.
So what does that mean to leadthis type of team, right?
So what does your Monday looklike when you walk into work?
How do you plan out your week?
What are you actually doing dayto day?
Speaker 1 (04:13):
Yeah, I have a lot of meetings.
I'm trying to get better atmanaging my calendar.
So my role is very much it'sinternally focused but very
externally focused.
So I meet with a lot of people.
Externally, we do a lot of ourwork in partnership with other
funders, with government, withother not for profits.
(04:37):
So I spend a lot of timemeeting with people, hearing
what they're working on, tryingto figure out potential
partnerships or ideas for us towork together.
And then internally, you know Ihave a team of 22 people under
me, so we also spend a lot oftime meeting talking about a
strategic direction and wherewe're headed.
So I would say a Monday for meprobably includes easily six
(05:01):
meetings, sometimes back to back.
I do try to get a little lunchbreak in between.
It's maybe 15 minutes in frontof a computer and then after
that, of course, wrapping up byresponding to a lot of emails.
But it's a good.
It's a good balance of beingable to do the internal work but
also getting out there.
I would say you know the otherthing this just doesn't happen
to fall so much on a Monday, butthe other thing I do a lot is
(05:24):
go to.
I participate in a lot ofpanels as panelists, sometimes I
moderate them or I provideremarks at an event.
So, like, being out there inthe field is really important
and then, in addition to that,visiting some of our grantees is
a very I think it's absolutelykey because you need to see the
work directly, and that issomething that in the role in
(05:46):
the field of philanthropysometimes you don't see as much
is that there's this notion ofyou can be in this ivory tower
making grants without reallyhaving your ear to the ground.
So I feel very strongly that weneed to be out there talking to
people and meeting people and,more importantly, seeing how the
people that we're ultimatelytrying to help, like how they're
(06:07):
doing and what else they need,so that we can calibrate our own
programs and grantmaking aroundthat.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
So what is the?
What is your favorite part ofyour role?
Speaker 1 (06:16):
I think I the favorite part for me is really
when I hear a story of somebodythat our grant was able to help.
That just fills me with so muchjoy.
So I'll give you an example.
We just recently made a grantto a wonderful organization
called Hot Bread Kitchen.
They basically operatecommercial kitchens and they
(06:36):
help immigrants.
They started by helpingimmigrant women.
Now it's more expensive thanthat, but they help them
basically get their training sothat they can then become prep
cooks or join a restaurant andbe part of that staff with
benefits and a good salary.
So we recently gave them agrant to support a cohort that's
specifically for some of thenewest New Yorkers coming into
(06:58):
our city.
So in the last two years, as youknow, there's been an influx of
asylum seekers and migrantscoming in, and they're coming in
because they want to work.
They're coming for a betteropportunity for themselves and
for their families.
They are not coming to be on agovernment paycheck, right, so
what they want is to work.
So Hubbub Kitchen provideswonderful training for them.
(07:21):
It's a seven-week course and wewere able to visit them and
they shared the stories of a fewpeople and this woman in
particular.
She came from I think she camefrom Venezuela with her two
daughters which by itself, justto say it, that journey by
itself is so incrediblytraumatizing right To be able to
make it here, from there andeverything that happens in
(07:42):
between.
And she enrolled in the programand at that point she was
living in a shelter with her twodaughters and she, enrolled in
the program, did a great job.
It was very clear to the peoplemanaging the program how
talented she was and after shegraduated she got a placement at
Casa Cipriani.
So she's now working there withgreat benefits, great salary,
(08:05):
and has been able to move intoher own apartment with her two
daughters.
And for me that is the bestpart of your job.
When I hear a story like that,it just makes it all so worth it
.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
No, absolutely.
Especially, you know,philanthropy itself can be very
removed from the ultimate impactthat it can have.
Right, because a lot of timesyou're working with people like
Hotbrake Kitchen and like othersthat are directly seeing the
beneficiaries of these programs,and in philanthropy that's not
always the case, right, like you, just you trust and believe
(08:35):
that the organizations are doingthe work and that they then are
tied.
But to then have an opportunityto actually have that direct
line of communication and thatdirect, just intel on how these
programs are reallytransformative, you know it's,
it's really, I think, one of thethings that definitely got me
into philanthropy.
Right, like understanding that,like the work matters and
you're actually helping realpeople in real time.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
So I appreciate that, I appreciate you sharing that
yeah, absolutely, and I mean, ofcourse and you know this so
well for me also is seeing howthe support that we're able to
provide is strengthening thenon-for-profits in New York City
is really enriching.
I strongly believe that thenon-for-profits here are doing
such incredible work.
(09:16):
For the most part, reallyreally have been essential in
making the city what it is, soto be able to support that
directly and see their work inaction is extremely fulfilling.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
That's great.
So on the contrast.
So what is the most challengingpart of your role?
Speaker 1 (09:31):
I would say frankly that sometimes it feels like you
take one step forward and twoback in terms of addressing
these deeply embedded,challenging social issues that
we're trying to address throughour grant making.
So I'll give you a specificexample with data that just came
out.
So I, as I mentioned, I havebeen working in the homelessness
(09:51):
field at this point for almost10 years, and when I actually
even three years ago, when youwould look at the data of how
many students in the New Yorkpublic school system have found
themselves to be housing,insecure, homeless, either they
were in shelter or they were indoubled up situations or couch
(10:12):
surfing, the number was one outof 10.
And that number was horrifying,so extremely high, and I would
think about that a lot.
Actually, at that point I wouldthink about okay, my kids go to
the New York City public school, so that means you know they
have like two or three kids intheir classroom right that have
been going through this, and weknow that in some schools that's
(10:33):
a much higher percentage.
So that number was horrifying.
I dedicated so much of my workAt this point I was at the Robin
Hood Foundation so much of mywork really focused on like, how
can we lower that number?
That is just not okay.
And we're able to launch somereally wonderful programs and
things that were successful andwe're certainly helping many
individual children and theirfamilies and whatnot.
(10:55):
And then the data just came outlast week or the week before
with the new numbers, and thenumber is one out of eight.
So it got worse, it got a lotworse, and that is just
sometimes that's reallychallenging, right?
When you say to yourself, oh myGod, what have I been doing?
And I was talking to my husbandabout that because truly I was
(11:15):
so depressed, I just could notbelieve it Like, wow, this got
it.
Not only got bad, it got likeso much worse really.
And and you know what I have to, what we have to come to, and I
think you know people that areworking on it for profits.
Doing all this work and all thatheavy lifting is, yes, that did
get worse.
That did get worse and it'sreally heartbreaking.
(11:36):
But if we hadn't been doingwhat we were doing, so on my end
, like funding some of theseprograms, maybe that number
would have been like one out ofsix.
You know so there are people'slives that you are touching and
you really are helping, but the,the funnel just keeps getting
bigger and bigger on the top.
You know so it just it makes itvery, very challenging
(11:57):
sometimes and you know you haveto kind of pull yourself
together and say what I'm doingmatters and I'm just going to
keep on going.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
Absolutely.
And you know, I think,especially if you're good at
what you're doing and if youlike you, you're really as
passionate as you, as you are,about this work, right?
You know, I think it'simportant to understand that we
can't do it all along Right.
So, like, all of these issuesare not going to be solved by
one person, one organization oranything like that, and there's
a matter of also just context ofthe world and pandemics coming
and things happening and justother issues that are beyond our
(12:31):
control that, you know, don'talways solve the root of the
issue.
But I can certainly see how, ifyou are spending dedicating your
career to solving some of theseissues and you don't see the
needle really moving, that canbe really frustrating and a
really heavy questioning thing.
So I appreciate you sharingthat.
That's a very, you know,insightful point because,
especially in philanthropy, Ithink, a lot of times it can be
(12:52):
sometimes very instantlyrewarding and you can see the
impact really quickly.
And then if you step back, likeyou did right, and look at,
well, what have we been doingover the last few years,
sometimes that can tell adifferent story.
So you know, as a professionalit is hard to navigate that.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
You know, it would actually be helpful to hear a
little bit about your upbringing.
So tell me, tell me a littlebit about where were you born,
raised.
What did that look like?
Speaker 1 (13:17):
Yeah, sure, so I am a very proud Boricua.
I was born and raised in PuertoRico, right outside of San Juan
, and I come from.
I always say like I hit thelottery when it came to my
family.
I just come from a super tightknit family.
The youngest of three girls andmy mom is my mom just was
(13:40):
always so supportive of beinglike you're going to be strong
women.
You know we're going to, you'regoing to get to do everything
you want, and my dad, moreimportantly, was even more that
like he would like triple downon that.
I I always joke.
He would say, like you canbecome president of the United
States if you want.
And I would say I don'ttechnically think I can that
because I was born in PuertoRico.
(14:00):
So I think technically thatcannot happen, but anyway, so I
grew up in that beautiful islandthat is just full of joy and
beauty and community, and alsoit's really complicated, right
Cause it's under the shadow ofthe United States.
There's so many challenges withthe political situation there
(14:23):
and also the infrastructure, asI'm sure you know, and became
very, very apparent after thehorrible hurricane of 2017,
maria.
So when I was growing up, I was, you know, always had a feeling
of I want to do something elseoutside of Puerto Rico.
As much as I love it and Istill do go back a lot I just
always felt like I maybe neededa little bit of a bigger place.
(14:46):
So then I came to the UnitedStates for college.
I studied at the University ofPennsylvania in Philadelphia and
I was like I kind of like ithere, you know.
So after that, I moved to NewYork, basically started working
frankly, and I worked forAmerican Express.
I was working on helping GoldCard members spend more money,
(15:08):
and I did that for a couple ofyears and I was like, wow, this
is so not who I am.
I am extremely not interestedin this.
It didn't feel meaningfulenough to me and you know, of
course, some people work on thatand that's great for them but I
always felt like I needed to dosomething more connected to
community and I decided to goback to grad school for my
(15:29):
master's.
So I did basically and this issomething that I tell younger
people that you don't have tofigure out grad school
immediately.
In fact, I took about six yearsin between graduating from
undergrad and going to gradschool, undergrad and going to
grad school and I wanted to makesure it was the right thing for
me, because I knew that I wasgoing to have to take out big
loans that I was going to bepaying for a long time and I
(15:51):
didn't want that to be towardssomething that I wasn't excited
about, and I also didn't want toend up in a situation where,
you know I went to grad schooland I had so much debt that then
later I felt like I had to goback and work in corporate
America or because that was theonly way I was going to pay my
loans Right.
(16:11):
So it was kind of like why isthat sweet spot for me?
And what I did and I wentthrough a process that was
really helpful for me is that Ibasically think I met a list of
easily 80 people and I justtalked to everyone and it was
basically similar to actuallykind of your podcast.
I was like tell me about yourjob, what do you like about it?
(16:32):
What are some of the challenges?
Tell me about your day to day.
And in a way, it was just forme to be able to explore my own
journey, like what of thosethings sound good to me that I
would enjoy?
But what of those things soundgood to me that I would enjoy?
And I talked to one of mysister's really good friends who
(16:52):
had gone to Berkeley to get hermaster's in urban planning and
was working on affordablehousing issues in Puerto Rico
actually, and as I was talkingto her it just suddenly went off
in my head.
I was like, oh my God, urbanplanning, that sounds amazing.
I love community.
I think a oh my God urbanplanning that sounds amazing.
I love community.
I think a lot about my physicalenvironment around me.
I live in New York and I'm oneof those people that's always
(17:12):
like looking at, like where'sthe open space?
Oh, look at this sidewalk, oh,this traffic intersection
doesn't seem to be working sonaturally kind of gravitated to
that urban infrastructureenvironment and then just that
(17:46):
sense of community of beingthinking like how can you help a
neighborhood, how can you helpa group of people that just
really, you know, turned off thelight bulb, like this is at
this incredible program at MITI'm just so thankful for and
basically have been working onissues related to urban planning
since then.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
Wow, so okay, so you're working at American
Express.
You're thinking about examiningwhether this is really what you
want to continue to do and youlearn about urban planning
generally.
Two questions when you were anundergrad, what did you think
you wanted to do right aftercollege?
What was your vision at thatpoint?
(18:15):
And then help me understand howyou then made the connection to
go to MIT and move toMassachusetts and do this for a
while.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
Yeah.
So when I was an undergrad Istudied communications with
minor in Latin American studies,and psychology in undergrad at
Penn communications with minorin Latin American studies and
psychology in undergrad at Penn.
I didn't take a single coursein urban studies which it's so
unfortunate because Penn, whereI was for undergrad, has one of
the best urban studiesdepartments and not a single
(18:44):
course.
It had not even crossed my mindand, to be honest, I think I
just had no idea what I wantedto do afterwards.
Basically is what I came downto and this is very particular
to Penn, but it is to otherschools too.
Penn can be a fairlypre-professional school because
the School of Business Wharton,which is, you know, within Penn,
(19:07):
is such an important and suchan incredibly good school.
We will get a lot of recruiterscoming to recruit students
after we graduate, and therecruiters were investment banks
, consulting firms, corporateAmerica, and I graduated in 1997
.
It was a good economicenvironment to graduate in, let
(19:27):
me put it that way.
I know that now people aregraduating are facing a very
different environment from theone that I was fortunate to have
, but I remember going to thecareer office and saying you
know, I'm thinking like I shoulddo maybe something in nonprofit
.
And they were like, oh yeah,sorry, like the nonprofits don't
come here to recruit, these arethe companies.
(19:48):
Do you want to go to aninterview with McKinsey?
And I was like, well, I guess,because I don't, I don't have
any other options, maybe.
So that's basically kind of howI ended up at American Express,
I mean, and again, it was agreat experience.
I learned a lot actually abouttechnology and and marketing,
and so I don't, I don't regrethaving done that.
(20:08):
I just wish I had, from anearlier stage in my life, maybe
known or had an inkling of Iwant to do something a lot more
mission driven, let me explorecareers in that territory as
well.
But at the same time, I'm afirm believer that the journeys,
one step truly leads to thenext, and if I hadn't maybe
(20:30):
worked at a place like AmericanExpress and Corporate America,
maybe I would have ended updoing something totally
different.
I don't know.
I just know that that step ledme to the step that I'm in right
now and I'm very thankful forthat.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
Absolutely Okay.
So you come from Puerto Rico,you go to Pennsylvania, you go
to undergrad, you come out toNew York, you get to work.
Now you get into grad schooland at this point it sounds like
you're using grad school as amoment to pivot and going to
learn about new things to thenjump into a whole different
sector Sounds like potentiallysocial or public sector.
(21:09):
Tell me about your grad schoolkind of the experience, like did
you get what you wanted out ofit?
And then what happens after?
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Yeah, so you are.
You are exactly right.
So for me, grad school was thepivot in my career.
And that's what I wasstruggling with before going to
grad school is I knew I wantedto do something different.
I wasn't sure what that wasfirst.
So then I went on this journeyof talking to a lot of different
people and then even even atthat point, say, before going to
(21:36):
grad school, if I had said, oh,it's urban planning, it would
have been really hard for me,right?
So it truly was veryintentional that way, and in
(21:57):
terms of what I got out of gradschool, again, I went to a
fantastic program.
I am so lucky.
Mit is just phenomenal, notjust the curriculum, but like
the people that you're aroundand the commitment that they
truly have to be superinnovative.
You see it, it's not just withtechnology that they do it, they
do it also with their programslike planning and whatnot.
I got a lot out of MIT, too,because I was more mature.
(22:19):
I was when I went into gradschool, I was 28 years old.
I was more mature.
I had already, you know, beenliving on my own for a long time
, but, more importantly, I had adeeper appreciation for the
situation.
I was in the incredibleprivilege that I had, which I
you know when I was an undergrad.
You know you're so young andlike you don't really so at MIT,
(22:40):
for example, like Noam Chomskywould speak, you know he was in
faculty at MIT and I would belike I'm going to go and hear
him speak.
Then we were right next toHarvard where the Kennedy School
would bring all theseincredible people coming to talk
about policy and politics.
I would go and hear them speak.
So I really took advantage ofnot just the academics but also
(23:01):
the context I was in and all theincredible offerings around me.
So that is something that Idefinitely tell people that are
either going into school or gradschool to really, really tap
into that.
And I know, I know that schoolgets so busy, there's so much to
do, but that is part of youreducation as well outside of the
(23:21):
classroom is what I would sayso so, yeah, so I had a great
time.
I also another thing that Iloved about the MIT program I'm
mentioning this for potentiallypeople that are thinking about
looking at graduate schoolprograms is that MIT has a very
robust what they call practicumcurriculum, so meaning we were
on the field, doing projects aswell, so it wasn't just all in
(23:44):
the classroom.
We had a lot of practicumcourses.
Some of them were, you know, innearby Springfield,
massachusetts.
I did a whole class there andit was really interesting to me
because there's a really bigPuerto Rican community there, so
it was interesting for me tosee how they're living and some
of the challenges that they werefacing and continue to face,
(24:05):
frankly.
And then I also did a practicumin Lima, peru, over the.
I also did a practicum in Lima,peru, over the break at MIT.
You have all of January off tobe able to do things like this.
And there I worked in asquatter community in Lima that
you know has a lot of challengesand a lot of infrastructure
challenges, but it's alsoabsolutely beautiful to see how
(24:27):
this community has come togetherand how they help each other
out.
See how this community has cometogether and how they help each
other out.
So I really took so much awayfrom those experiences and
really think they helped mereally chart my career as well.
Again, going back to thatnotion of I don't want to be
doing my work in front of acomputer all the time.
I really want to be out in thefield talking to people, hearing
(24:48):
what's happening and justreally getting a pulse on what I
can do to help them.
So, um, so yeah, so mit, sothat was fantastic and all and
then in terms of it sounds likeyou did grad school right.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
by the way I tried, yeah, like you took advantage of
all the opportunities, theevents, the travels, just all
the things that help you openyour eyes and your mind to other
future possibilities and otherthings and other challenges that
the world is struggling withand how you can play your role
within it.
So it just sounds like andthat's something that I
certainly encourage with folks.
(25:20):
You know, especially with gradschool I would say even an
undergrad but especially withgrad school it's not just about
going in the classroom and doingthe work and then going home.
Like the network matters, theexperiences matter.
Go see who are theprofessionals that are coming
through the doors and what arethey talking about and what can
you absorb from all that.
Because it's just, it's a veryfinite time that you're there,
(25:41):
so, like, while you're there,just get everything you want out
of it.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
Yes, yeah.
So I really at least tried mybest.
So and I really do think ithelped me be a little a more
mature young adult.
You know, I think for mepersonally at least, having that
time in between working indifferent sectors and then
getting to grad school reallymade it, made it try to at least
like I try to make it make thebest out of it.
(26:07):
So while I was in grad school,so that summer in between, I
actually came back to New Yorkto work and I worked for the
Lower Manhattan DevelopmentCorporation, which is a
not-for-profit that was startedafter 9-11 to basically rebuild
Lower Manhattan, and at gradschool I had been very focused
on economic development andsmall businesses.
That was basically what I wasgravitating towards.
(26:29):
Basically what I wasgravitating towards.
That was the thing that I wasdoing on some of my course work
and I wrote my thesis on thisspecific kind of like business
improvement district in theBoston area.
So I was gravitating towardsthat, went to the LMDC, had a
really fantastic internship andended up working for somebody,
for this woman who is a dearfriend of mine now and we just
(26:53):
did a lot of really greatprojects together, right.
So had a great internship wentback to MIT.
So this woman her name is HollyLight.
She's absolutely terrific andshe has been an incredible.
She has so many great jobs, butso many of them in the public
sector, really, really, trulyhelping people.
So Holly calls me up and shesays I'm, you know, I'm in my
(27:19):
second year of grad school.
And she calls me up and shesays hey, bea, I, um, I'm going
to take this.
I just got offered this job.
I want to take this job as theassistant commissioner for the
housing agency at New York city,hpd.
Do you want to come and workfor me when you graduate?
And I was like I'm, I'm not ahousing person, that's not me.
No, you know, um, that's justnot my, my thing.
But then I thought about it andI was like you know, she's
(27:41):
amazing, I can learn so muchfrom her.
I love her energy.
She's so creative, really outof the box thinker.
So, yeah, let me, let me giveit a try.
I'll just go and work for Hollyfor a couple years and then
I'll, you know, do somethingelse, get to HPD.
This is, uh, september of 2005and um, and I, I, literally I
(28:03):
remember somebody said youshould really join the pension
because you know it's reallygreat when you join the pension
as a you know, civil servant,and I was like I'm not joining
the pension, I'm gonna be herefor like a year or two and do
something else.
This is not my thing, but I'mjust going to learn a little bit
and move on.
Almost 10 years later, I lookback and I thought to myself I
really should have joined thepension.
(28:23):
When that person told me and Ijust basically have been working
in housing issues since then,so it's going to be almost 20
years and let me tell you firstof all, of course, just working
for Holly was just amazing, as Isuspected.
But I so quickly realized and Ialmost cannot believe how naive
I was before but I so quicklyrealized that pretty much so
(28:48):
many things come down to housingstability, like if you want to
build, you know.
Like if you want to build, youknow, like if you want to have a
solid neighborhood witheconomic opportunity, where
people are thriving, wherechildren have the ability to
feel safe and all the things Icare about, like the piece of
affordable housing, is anenormous part of that puzzle.
(29:09):
So that's what it became for meand yes, as I said, you know, I
worked basically for citygovernment almost for 10 years
doing primarily planning aroundwhere the affordable housing
developments were going to belocated, and then basically I
have been in philanthropy forover 10 years at this point
working on similar issues.
Speaker 2 (29:27):
Wow.
So you know, and I reallyappreciate you sharing the
hesitant moment, right whensomeone calls you and said, hey,
would you like to join me onthis journey?
And you know, I think a lot oftimes we either limit ourselves
or can't even imagine ourselvesin spaces where people can
actually see us in.
Right.
So, like she clearly clearlysaw something that was like you
(29:49):
can bring a lot to this space ifyou're willing and open to it.
And now that has to help shapeyour career Right.
Like many years later nowyou're still working on some of
these issues and addressing themthrough a different lens.
Right, but still working on thesame issues.
Can you?
Can you tell me a little bitabout your transition from the
public sector into philanthropy?
I know a lot of folks that arein the public sector that you
(30:13):
know are either thinking aboutwhat philanthropy could look
like or thinking about justdifferent ways to continue to
have impact.
So just be helpful to hear howthat transition was for you and
what you saw in philanthropythat you can bring.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
So I got very lucky is what I would say, because I
do talk to a lot of people thatwant to move into philanthropy
and breaking into philanthropyis not the easiest and I just
got very lucky that somebodyreached out to me to say, hey,
robinhood is looking for someoneto build this affordable
housing idea that they have.
(30:48):
In terms of how the foundationcan play a bigger role in the
actual supply of affordablehousing, is it something that
you might consider?
And so it happened to coincidewith the turn of administration.
This is when the de Blasioadministration was coming in at
City Hall and it was just like anatural.
It seemed to be a naturaltransition for me to be able to
get into philanthropy.
But what I always tell people isI didn't plan it out this way.
(31:13):
I never had a.
In fact, I think if you hadasked me in the same way that if
you had asked me when I was ingrad school are you going to be
focused on housing andhomelessness issues for 20 years
I would have said no way.
And if you had asked me when Iwas working for the city of New
York you're going to end up inphilanthropy for more than 10
years?
And I would have said no,that's not my career.
(31:34):
And I want to say this to youknow the listeners is that you
really sometimes just have totake these opportunities without
knowing exactly how they'regoing to fit into your long-term
plan Because, again, everysingle step leads to the next
one and things get clear as youstep.
You know, take those stepsalong the way.
So I got lucky, joinedphilanthropy, joined Robin Hood,
(31:57):
which is incredible.
I had such a great experiencethere.
I worked there for five yearsand I have so many things I can
point to of work that I was ableto do at Robin Hood, together
with the incredible people thatwork there that I'm so deeply
proud of.
And one of the things that Ialso wanted to mention Raleigh
is that when I joinedphilanthropy, robin Hood in
(32:19):
particular, I came very muchwith the idea of what affordable
housing was from a real estatestandpoint real estate and
planning, of course, but I hadnot really been exposed to
homelessness in terms of, like,all the different things that
need to happen in the servicesand the programs that need to
happen in order to support thosepopulations.
(32:40):
So it was a really big learningexperience for me.
Because back then and it's kindof crazy that I worked in a
housing agency for so long andwe were not deeply thinking
about homelessness all the timetoo, because the solution to
homelessness is housing.
So how are those things sosiloed?
That became very clear to meand that never has made no sense
(33:02):
to me.
Frankly, I think now there's alot more dialogue between the
agencies, thankfully, and evenmore needs to happen, but that
was a big learning opportunityfor me.
And then same with grantmaking.
I had never done grantmaking,so I came in and learned the way
, and you know, robinhood inparticular has a very concrete
(33:25):
way of thinking aboutgrantmaking.
That was extremely helpful tome and I learned so much, but it
truly was a field that Istumbled upon a little bit and
now I am, you know, 10 yearslater.
I am deeply committed to it.
Speaker 2 (33:40):
That's great and you know, I think one of the things
that I've realized in my careeris, despite the sector that
you're in, you will work acrosssectors anyways.
So when I was in citygovernment, we were still
working with private sector.
We're still working withphilanthropy, because we're all
working towards the same issues,just in different approaches
and or playing different rolesin in the puzzle, right?
(34:03):
So, like I am more, so I liketo think about it as I'm married
more to the work than I am tophilanthropy, right, because I
think ultimately, even if folksthat are in city government now
are like, oh, I want to go tophilanthropy, it's great to like
think about how, what you canbring to that space and what you
can learn from the space, butalso just understand that like,
at least for me, it's be morecommitted to the work than the
(34:24):
sector that you do it in.
So you know, I appreciate yousharing that because you've been
able to navigate differentsectors and just add a lot of
value there.
Speaker 1 (34:31):
And if I can add to that, because I agree and I
think you and I have talkedabout this in other occasions I
actually think havingmulti-sector experience is
really important for me.
Having been in the publicsector, like you were, for
almost 10 years and then goinginto philanthropy really, really
informed a lot of my grantmaking, and I remember sometimes
(34:54):
being in meetings with some ofmy colleagues who maybe haven't
had that experience and meexplaining like no, you don't
understand, the city of New Yorkcannot do this because of X, y
and Z.
They're not being difficult,they do have these limitations.
This is very challenging forthem and this is how we can help
them, just like many of mycolleagues that have previous
(35:14):
experience with nonprofits wereable to teach me like no this is
how it works.
This is how this not-for-profitsare running when they're
relying on these governmentcontracts that have the least in
payments and whatnot.
So I truly believe thatmulti-sector experience is
absolutely key and I reallyencourage people to not just be
like I have only donephilanthropy my whole life or I
(35:35):
have only done nonprofits mywhole life.
I think getting a suite of howthe different sectors work and
how they work together is a keyto success.
Speaker 2 (35:45):
Absolutely agree.
So as someone that is now insenior leadership in
philanthropy, you know one ofthe misconceptions that I knew
growing up was if you're doinggood work, you're probably going
to be broke all your life.
And I happen to know that thatis not the case and I happen to
understand that we can havereally impactful careers and
also do good and do well at thesame time.
(36:08):
So how much money can folkseven make in this type of sector
?
Speaker 1 (36:13):
So the philanthropy field in general I would say,
provides decent to very goodsalaries, you know.
So I would say a range for youknow, starting from like program
officers all the way to moresenior leadership, you know can
definitely start in thedefinitely like the 100,000 and
(36:35):
then can get up to, you know,like 300,000 or more, so I think
there are definitelyopportunities to do good and do
well as well.
Yes, I mean listen, there'salways the I could be making a
lot more in the private sector.
Of course you could, but itreally has to come down to what
drives you and, for example, forme, that's something that I
(36:58):
100% have already made.
That decision is I really needto be working on something
that's mission aligned.
Otherwise I just don't enjoy itas much.
I really don't.
There's no other way to put it.
Speaker 2 (37:10):
Absolutely, and of course, you know this will vary.
We're also talking from theperspective of folks that are in
philanthropy in New York City,right.
If you're doing this inNebraska or in other parts of
the country, that may lookdifferent.
Or if you're doing it at alarger institution, like where
both of us work, versus asmaller family foundation, right
.
But you know, I do thinkphilanthropy has definitely been
(37:33):
a sector where you can land inthat really sweet spot of
knowing you're doing good workand still being compensated well
enough to like feel good aboutthe work that you're doing.
Are there any other careercheat codes that you haven't
mentioned today?
You've mentioned so many, butany that you feel like you know.
If you knew this earlier inyour career, it would have been
helpful.
Speaker 1 (37:53):
I think for me is knowing I'm a little bit of a
like I need to figure things outquickly and need to move
quickly on things, and and forme, just knowing that I don't
need to have everything figuredout, that really like, and that
I can fail and it's going to befine, um, would have been good.
(38:13):
I definitely felt like I put alot of pressure on myself,
especially when I was younger,of how am I going to sustain
myself Like I live in New Yorkcity so expensive, how is this
going to work?
And I wish I had had had alittle bit more patience with
myself is what I would say, andit's something that actually I
see myself doing now.
I'm going to turn 50 next year.
(38:35):
So I think, like you know,these things come with age.
But you suddenly realize likeit's okay, like I don't need to
absolutely know everythingimmediately, and there are
things that I'm not going to doas well as others, and then
there's others that I'm going tobe truly excellent and it's
fine.
So, yeah, I think being kind toyourself and patient is
(38:55):
something that I wish.
If I could go back to myyounger self, I would.
I would tell myself, but I alsofeel like I was really lucky
and I referenced this alreadyLike I, one of the reasons I
feel like I've been supersuccessful is I have invested in
relationships really deeply.
I am a very relationship drivenperson, like I, really truly,
(39:16):
you know, I try to be a reallygood colleague, I try to be a
really good manager.
I really try to just be a goodhuman being whenever I can.
I'm absolutely not perfect,trust me, but I really invest to
just be a good human beingwhenever I can.
I'm absolutely not perfect,trust me, but I really invest
deeply in relationships and thathas really helped me in my
career, because a lot of peoplepick up the phone and call me
years later and they're likewhat are you doing?
Can we do this together?
Hey, would you want to comehere?
(39:37):
So that's something that I tellalso, a lot of people that are
kind of like moving in the fieldor are younger Also, a lot of
people that are kind of likemoving in the field are younger.
And I think now you know onekind of like side note on that
that I think is important isthat relationships are also more
fostered when you're in personwith somebody in community.
And I tell that a lot to mystaff, especially as we were
(39:59):
coming back from the pandemicand people were like I don't
want to be in the office, Idon't want to be.
And I would say I understand,of course, and you know we
benefit from having a hybridwork schedule, which I'm very
thankful for, but sometimes yougot to go out to lunch with
people like you got that chat,chit, chat before of like hey,
how was your weekend, how areyou doing?
(40:20):
What's happening with this?
It's so key to buildingrelationships and when you're
having a virtual meeting youtypically don't have that level
of chit chat.
It's more like let's just getto business, let's just get it
done, we'll move on to the next.
So I really do think peopleneed to think about nurturing
relationships and that's beenone of the things that I'm very
proud and I think has reallyhelped me with my career.
Speaker 2 (40:40):
Absolutely.
And I would say I've absolutelyseen that in action because you
and I connected maybe six yearsago or so through a mutual
contact that said, hey, youshould go talk to Bayi, and you
were extremely gracious and said, sure, I'll connect with you.
I don't know you from a hole inthe wall but you have been
super helpful.
(41:01):
I was at the time I was workingfor the city of New York and
just thinking about my nextsteps and like I knew I wanted
to get into philanthropy forsure, but I knew philanthropy
from a very like singular lensof like family foundation that
supported youth work.
I didn't really have experiencewith other folks in philanthropy
and just hearing about yourwork and how you've been able to
(41:22):
navigate the field and all ofthe like just gems that you have
poured into me over the lastfew years, like it definitely
shows that you, that youactually take that seriously
right, like you takerelationships seriously and you
know we've just stayed connectedsince you know I appreciate
that it's not just your work andyour colleagues, it's all the
folks kind of around in theecosystem that you're also
developing as as your communityand your network.
(41:44):
So just also appreciate you fordoing that because you didn't
have to do that, you didn't haveto like say, sure, come, let's
go have some coffee, and thenactually still talk to me years
later.
So I appreciate it and I thinkyou know you're absolutely an
inspiration to someone in thefield that I look to and say
that's someone that's doing itright.
Speaker 1 (42:00):
Thank you.
Thank you so much for sayingthat.
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (42:03):
Thank you so much for saying that.
Of course, are there any formsof media that could be books,
podcasts, things that have justhelped you personally or
professionally that you justthink people should check out?
Speaker 1 (42:20):
So I would say, on the podcast side, I love
listening to how I Built this byGuy Ross.
So I feel like I have a littlebit of entrepreneurship inside
of me, even though I probablywill never launch my own company
although I should never saynever, right, but I, I, I do
have a I, I have a problemsolving mind and I am a creative
thinker and all that.
And so for me, hearing thestories of these entrepreneurs
(42:41):
and how they, how their ideacame about, how they built their
company, how they have many ofthem failed at various points
where it seemed like this wasnot going to take off, and then
how it turned around, I justabsolutely love that podcast.
So I highly recommend it toanyone that wants to engage with
(43:04):
that side of like risk takingand the tolerance for what you
know what to do next and how tothink about it.
I specifically actually go intorelationships.
One of the episodes is for withBobby Brown, the makeup creator
, and one of the things and Iwill never forget this and I
think about this often is thatshe was in the elevator with the
(43:28):
grandmother of the producer ofthe Today Show and she took the
risk of saying, hey, I have thismakeup that I developed, Do you
think you can help me?
And this woman was like, ofcourse, I'll talk to my grandson
, Maybe he'll put you on theToday Show.
And she got on the Today Showand now I think we all probably
(43:50):
know that name, Bobby Brown andthat was a risk she took, and so
I love that podcast for that,because I think about that a lot
.
Often I'm like I need to take arisk of going and talk to this
politician or to thispolicymaker, because you never
know where it could lead.
So that's definitely one that Ireally listen to.
(44:11):
And then, of course, just allthe news keeping up with the
news.
So I listen to all thosepodcasts.
But, I was going to also mentionRiley that I get a lot of
inspiration from music.
Actually, this has beenthroughout my entire life.
Music, actually, this has beenthroughout my entire life.
So I used to listen to.
I didn't used to be like thetypical teenager listening to.
(44:33):
You know, whatever otherteenagers were listening to, I
mean, I guess I did that too,but I would listen to like
pretty deep music that washighly political.
There's so many great examplesof like Cubans and Puerto Rican
singer composers that I canmention Argentinian as well, and
one musician that I absolutelylove, and all of his songs
deeply resonate with me, isRuben Blades.
(44:54):
He's Panamanian.
He also, you know, ran forpresident of this country, and
his songs, every single one ofthem, has so much meaning to me,
and there's one in particularcalled Caminando, which means
walking, and it's very much whatI have been referencing
throughout our last timetogether today.
It's very much about how everystep you just have to.
(45:17):
The only way to figure out yourlife journey is just to take
every step, and the one stepwill lead to the next and you
don't really know what's at theend, but you just got to keep on
walking, and I just really,really love that.
I.
Speaker 2 (45:28):
I listen to it pretty much like once a day for
inspiration, wow I love that andI and I really appreciate the
metaphor and the meaning behindthat um, and this is something
that you know folks can godefinitely go check out and and
and see if it resonates withthem the same way.
So I appreciate that, right,and also guy ross, by the way,
and how I built this isdefinitely something that I'd
(45:48):
listen to a lot and a lot oftimes thought of this show as
the how I built this for careers, basically, um, so, so I
definitely appreciate him andhis style as well.
So shout out anything that wehave not discussed today that
the world should know about um I, I think we covered a good
amount.
Speaker 1 (46:07):
I think one of the things that I feel like I bring
to my work is a lot of passiontoo, and I am mentioning that
because maybe some of thelisteners feel like, oh,
sometimes I need to not show mypassion as much at work and of
course there are better placesto show it than others but I
(46:28):
think, like, finding that likethe thing that like really you
feel very connected to, eitherbecause your own personal
experience makes you connectwith it, or because you feel
that you understand and trulyfeel deeply the challenges that
people are facing and youconnect with that.
(46:48):
I think that's a, that's abeauty and I really think about
that, um, as one of mysuperpowers.
I really do, you know, and I, Ithis whole notion of like, oh,
sometimes, like women gettypecasted to be like emotional,
and and I, I actually think forwomen, um, that is one of our
superpowers and we need tounleash it.
So, yeah, so like, if you feela passion for something like,
(47:11):
don't be afraid to like expressit and show it.
Um, it has served me reallywell in my career, that's
awesome.
Speaker 2 (47:17):
Thank you for joining us today.
I appreciate your time.
Speaker 1 (47:19):
Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2 (47:22):
I hope you enjoyed this episode.
If you did and believe on themission we're on, please like,
rate and subscribe to thispodcast on whatever platform
you're using, and share thispodcast with your friends and
your networks.
Make sure you follow us onInstagram and LinkedIn at Career
Cheat Code and tell us peopleor careers you would like to see
highlighted.
See you next week with somemore cheat codes.
Peace.
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