Invest in Goodness
“Goodness is the only investment that never fails” – Henry David Thoreau
This mantra has carried with me throughout my personal and professional life. When you act with kindness, compassion, empathy, courage, and integrity, it will never let you down. As I think about what ignites my professional passion, and what I am most passionate about, they are one in the same. The answer is always helping others and being kind.
When I think about the unusual path, I have taken in order to find my passion in developing a culture of belonging, I realize that needing and wanting to help others is in my DNA. It has been part of my day to day since I was a small child—from giving all of my Christmas presents away to foster children to feeding the homeless.
I started my career as an executive assistant. It is the nature of this role to help others. In truth, I did not know exactly where the role would take me or what I wanted in my career. As a member of the Human Resources department, I worked on a philanthropy program. I immediately fell in love with the work and the incredible feeling of helping others in the community.
In today’s world, with a global pandemic and social issues coming to a head in our society, instilling a culture of belonging, inclusion, and diversity has never been more important in our work environments. It has also never been clearer that all organizations need an Inclusion and Diversity department, and an advocate in the Human Resource function, to bridge the gap between I&D councils, employee resource groups, employee giving and philanthropy, education, and mentorship.
This has greatly influenced my career path and has grown my passion to help develop programs and events that will lead to discussions and education, not only within the firm but also in the community.
We have come so far in the I&D space, but we have so far to go. Continuing to invest in goodness will never fail us, and with that we can change the world.
