I started out in my work life as a filing clerk with Northern Trust in South Florida. I gave United Way $1 out of my paycheck every week, because it’s what I could afford to give back to my community.
Today, I’m Senior Vice President and Senior Fiduciary Advisory Specialist at Wells Fargo in Miami. My job is to help my clients grow and protect their assets.
Asset-building is what I do in my life as a citizen, too.
I’m investing my money, volunteering my time and raising my voice to make Miami a stronger community. As part of United Way’s Women United®, I get to connect with Miami’s most dynamic, caring and driven group of women. We’ve spearheaded the Reading Pals initiative in our community, galvanizing hundreds of people as reading volunteers in prekindergarten classrooms. Early literacy is critical to success: research shows that children who learn to read well early on are more likely to graduate high school and pursue higher education. I’m proud that Women United is a driver of the impact that United Way Miami-Dade is making here.
Sure, Women United embodies the spirit of philanthropy and service. But it’s a lot of fun, too! Connecting with smart, passionate and powerful women in my community to do good together builds my professional and personal network and enriches my perspective – as I’m giving back.
There are 70,000+ women like me who make up Women United, across 165 communities. Since 2002, we’ve raised more than $1.5 billion to build stronger communities and improve people’s lives. We’ve raised our voices for better policy, too, and volunteered in our communities.
This week, we’ll be bringing women, solutions and strategies together at the 2017 Women United Summit. Almost 300 women are coming together in Cincinnati, Ohio to share ideas for driving lasting community change.
As outgoing chair of the Women United Global Leadership Council, I’m fortunate to have connected with thousands of women. Women United is cutting teen pregnancy in half in Milwaukee; passing laws providing safe harbor for human trafficking victims in Atlanta; increasing investment in school readiness in Des Moines; and boosting struggling youth with after-school enrichment in Asheville, N.C. One by one, women are helping build stronger communities.
Harnessing the power of women helps us do so much more. Join us! Click here to find your local Women United, and to get connected with amazing women doing amazing things.
