“Women in CEO positions, and the C Suite in general, in the non-profit and the for-profit world, need an enormous amount of cultural and institutional work, in the perceptions that people have and in the practices organizations have about women’s leadership.”
About This Episode
On this inaugural episode of Season 1 of the Social Change Diaries podcast, Ana Oliveira offers both practical advice and the wisdom of a sage on thought leadership for women working in the nonprofit sector. Her deep understanding of the field and candid insights on how women can best support one another professionally — along with her secret to successful fundraising as leaders — make this a must-listen interview.
About Ana Oliveira
Ana Oliveira is the President and CEO of The New York Women’s Foundation. Her efforts on behalf of women and girls are legendary. Since 2006, Ana has led the increase of NYWF’s grantmaking to organizations from $1.7M to $7.6M distributed annually. Focusing on economic security, safety and health, in 30 years, the Foundation has distributed over $58M to 371 organizations. Ana has also served as co-chair of The New York City Council Speaker’s Young Women’s Initiative and is a Commissioner for the NYC Commission on Human Rights. She sits on the Independent Commission to Study Criminal Justice Reform in New York City and is on the board of Philanthropy New York. She has held key roles as a CEO of the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, at the Osborne Association, and at Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center Substance Abuse Clinic.
In her words…
“Organizations are imperfect. If you are in a situation that does not value your thoughts, your ideas, your contributions- that’s probably not the right situation. It’s better to give up on the situation than to give up on yourself, because there will be another situation that will value you.”
“I like to talk about power as the ability to create in the world what I want to see in the world. Not power over people – power with people, to create the change you want to see.”
“When looking for donors and raising money, it’s easy to lose oneself. However, when you show people the way and help create a sense of community around making a difference, the money will follow. Don’t perpetuate a paradigm of scarcity. Work together with other organizations and act in a place of abundance.”
Questions Answered on this Episode
- How can I tell if my organization is potentially open to my thought leadership?
- How do we prepare women to contribute their voices to shape the future?
- How has your vision and thinking changed over the years?
- What are your thoughts on the competitive New York non-profit sector for women?
- What prevents women from becoming thought leaders?
- What does Radical Generosity look like and what is its impact?
- Are there any shifts in the culture you would like to see by 2020?
- When do you feel most vulnerable in your work?