Abigail A. Gomes

I attribute my success to the mentors who shaped me early in my career. My first supervisor at my mother's company taught me how to manage my paycheck and laid the foundation for paying it forward and helping folks out. But it was really my mentor, Ms. Oma S. Holloway, who had the most profound impact on me. She taught me about leadership through both guidance and tough love - she was the first and only boss to ever fire me, and she did it to teach me a lesson about being mindful of the circle you keep and understanding that the things they do will impact you. She showed me that if you're not willing to be selective about who you surround yourself with, you're going to have to bear the brunt of the consequences. I learned that lesson easy and quick, and I've carried it with me ever since. She also taught me that leading with love means being honest and transparent with the people you're leading, even when the decisions aren't comfortable or happy, because they're necessary and important for growth.

I would say two things. First, the table may have been created, but you bring your chair. You bring your own chair. You do not wait for someone to offer you a seat at that table. You sit down and ask them, what we talking about? And the second thing is exactly what I teach my students in my program - if you're not willing to serve the people you want to lead, then you cannot be a leader. If you're not there yet, you need to get yourself there to the point where you are able to humble yourself to lead, so that you are able to lead effectively. If you cannot serve someone, you cannot lead them.

The most important values to me are service, dignity, and making a meaningful impact. I believe that as a leader, if you are not willing to serve the people you lead, then you are not, in fact, a leader. Leading with love is essential - it means being honest and transparent with people, even when the decisions aren't comfortable, because they're necessary for growth. Providing dignity to the families I serve is really important to me. I don't want them to feel like they're being given handouts or being patted on the head because they got the shorter end of the stick in life. They need to feel like they have true partners. When a student or parent thanks me for being part of their village, or when I've opened up an opportunity for a teen to speak freely to their parent about mental health, especially in Caribbean-backed households where that's taboo - those things make me feel like everything is worth it. I believe that God put me here on Earth to make some kind of impact, and I really hope and pray he hasn't pulled me out of it, so I'm assuming I'm on the right path.