Carol Ann Conover

I attribute my success to being a trust builder and value connector. I realized that it was me who was the trust builder and the value connector in those spaces I worked in. I consider myself a storyteller, which is how I've been so successful at making connections. I not only tell stories, but I listen and share other people's stories. That helps me idea farm and connect people to each other. For example, I had a conversation with a colleague about his son's robotics team, and I knew my friends who run a machine health business love to support the community and education. I connected them, and now Urbest Instruments is the sponsor for the robotics club at Queensbury High School. They went to second place in the championship, they do field trips, and they're mentoring these young students. Those are the kind of conversations that really inform your experiences and allow you to be a bigger support for people. When you're open to educating yourself on your skill set, but also open to educating yourself on the people that you're dealing with, that really allows you to serve them better.

The best career advice I've ever received came from my mentor, Sherry Finkel Murphy. She has a saying that's called 'a rising tide lifts all boats.' She taught me that we, as a collective, need to really stick together and support each other in these spaces. She's been an advocate for lifting up and mentoring women throughout her career - she was in very male-dominated spaces like IBM in the 80s, and then when she got to 50, she conquered something else and got into the world of finance, again a very male-centric space. I follow that track very much. She also informed me that multiple streams are the way to go, which is why I had been developing my passion project memyselfandwine.com before I lost my job, so when eventually I do retire, I would have something that I love to do that would already be built.

I would say have an attitude of service and a commitment to making sure that you are current with your knowledge. Even if you're an expert, there's still something to learn. If you've been in a space for a long time, you shouldn't become complacent on what you know, because things change. Time shifts, accessibility and needs shift - there's a whole landscape of a world in flux. To be able to have an attitude of service, you need to have a commitment to continuing education and making sure you stay current. I'm always a big fan of continuing education. When you're open to educating yourself on your skill set, but also open to educating yourself on the people that you're dealing with, that really informs your experiences and allows you to be a bigger support for them. I'm absolutely happy to help a young woman who's trying to find her way. I can share my experience with her. That person's going to share that experience someday, and that's gonna plant a seed that is gonna grow into something.

A lot of nonprofits right now are struggling with the uncertainty of funding. Grants are taking longer to get paid, so that's leaving cash flow gaps for them, and it's a real problem. They're gonna have to start to become more strategic with the types of investments that they make. A lot of times donors want to see their money go to a program, but without the building, without the staff being paid, without the building upkeep, without the light bill being paid, those programs can never happen. I think a lot of times in donors' minds, they are shielded from the reality that a nonprofit is a business. Making them part of lockstep, being part of supporting the entire entity rather than just the feel-good kind of things is an important conversational shift. That's the culture I'm trying to drive through my work with the Living Donor Legacy Program. There are better structures than just a tax write-off - for example, if you're retired and have expendable income and have to take your qualified distribution every year, if you donate to a charity of your choice that's local, that comes off of your taxable income. It's about giving donors more comprehensive choices and really making them part of the mission, rather than just a supporter on the outside.

Having an attitude of service and serving my community is big to me. I've continued having an attitude of service even after losing my job unexpectedly. I believe in being a trust builder and value connector. I follow the philosophy that a rising tide lifts all boats, and that we as a collective need to really stick together and support each other. I'm an advocate for lifting up and mentoring women in these spaces. If I can inspire somebody who in midlife finds themselves in these spaces, if my story resonates with them, that is a wonderful thing. I'm a trusted resource in the community, and when someone shares that experience, that's gonna plant a seed that is gonna grow into something. I believe in finding solutions and listening to the pain points of what people's needs are. I also believe in being a good steward - having that fiduciary responsibility for running and making sure you're a good steward of the funds and budgets when serving nonprofits.