Addison Wilczak

My path to this industry wasn't mapped out in a classroom or drawn from some abstract career goal. It was shaped by two very personal moments, and I think being open about them matters.

The first happened at home. My mother struggled with mental health and addiction, and while she remained part of my life, it was my great-grandmother who raised me. Watching those struggles ripple through our family taught me something early: I would have to be the one who showed up for myself. That wasn't bitterness. It was clarity. Independence became something I didn't just want, it became something I needed, deeply and completely. That drive has followed me through every chapter of my career.

The second moment happened in a nursing home, when I was very young. My great-great-grandmother was placed in a skilled nursing facility. She died not long after her admission. I remember that nursing home. I remember the weight of it. And I remember something I had never seen before: my grandmother crying. That image never left me.

Watching what it meant for my grandmother lose her mother in that setting, gave me a sense of purpose I couldn't explain at the time but have spent my entire career honoring.

Those two experiences, the need to stand on my own and the desire to make sure others are cared for with dignity, are the foundation of everything I do. Guided by mentors who believed in me along the way, I've built a career that sits at the intersection of compliance, leadership, and genuine human accountability. Because at the end of the day, the people in these buildings deserve more than policies. They deserve people who remember why this work matters.

The best career advice and mentorship I've received has come from two incredible women who shaped how I lead today.

The first was Delnaz Moran, my longest mentor and the first woman I ever worked for in a leadership role. Before her, the Administrator I had worked under was male, so stepping into her world was already significant. What made it transformative was what she chose to do with her access to me. I was entry-level, and most people wouldn't have thought to pull someone in HR into financial conversations. Delnaz did. She took time out of her day, consistently, to teach me how businesses actually work, how to read the numbers that drive decisions, and how to speak the language of the executive table. She didn't have to do that. She did it anyway. I carry that with me every time I invest in someone who doesn't yet know what they're capable of.

The second woman who profoundly shaped me was Marianne Marcocig, my former Chief Operating Officer, and the first woman I worked for at the C-suite level. What Marianne modeled was something I hadn't seen before in that seat: leadership driven by genuine empathy. She knew her people, not just their titles or their performance, but what was actually going on in their lives. And she responded to that. If someone had a sick family member abroad, she might find a way to get them there. Not because it was policy, but because it was right. That kind of leadership isn't soft. It's sophisticated. It builds loyalty and trust that no compensation package can manufacture.

Together, Delnaz and Marianne taught me that business acumen and human compassion aren't opposites. The best leaders hold both, and invest in the people around them the way those two women invested in me.

My advice for young women in this industry is to focus on listening to understand versus listening to respond. I think the younger workforce now is so entrenched in making sure that they're making a massive movement and change in their new industry that they came into, and what I'm seeing is a lot of younger generation individuals expect to get a new job and by the end of it, they're changing the world. Unfortunately, that just isn't really what happens. I had the same mindset when I was that age - I just think we see it more on a global level now than we did before. I think COVID really did change people's mindsets at work, and so we see employees coming on, hit the ground running, and thinking they'll have this huge immediate impact. Most managers would say, 'Oh, this person thinks that they're going to be a manager in 2 weeks, and they just graduated college.' I don't think that's necessarily the case - I do think that employees believe they'll have a larger impact, but they need to sit back and understand that impact can look different, and you might not want to do the same things that you did when you first got into the role. The advice that I give to most young leaders, and the advice that I give to my daughters, is really making sure that they're understanding the components behind it and really just listening. True growth comes from patience, perspective, and understanding how influence develops within an organization.

Honesty and transparency are the most important values that I have - they guide everything I do. Beyond that, both family and work are central pillars in my life, shaped deeply by how I was raised. I was primarily raised by my great-grandmother and growing up in that household with a different generation instilled in me a strong appreciation for family while also shaping a work ethic rooted in consistency and purpose. I love being with my family, but I also have to say that work brings me joy. I genuinely find fulfillment in what I do, and in a field like human resources where laws, regulations, and best practices are constantly evolving, I've chosen a career that requires continuous learning and adaptation. I can't just sit back and stop - the industry doesn't allow for that. I hate to say that I am a workhorse, but outside of spending time with my family, I do enjoy learning more about my industry so I can make a bigger impact. For me, hanging with my family and continuing to expand my knowledge base is what I do for fun. Rather than separating work and learning from enjoyment, I see professional growth as part of my personal fulfillment. Learning, growth, and family time together form the foundation of what I consider both balance and purpose in my life.