Her Story
About Chiquita
I'm in two separate fields that are both driven by my lifelong passion for helping people. My mom has told me that I've been trying to save the world my whole life, and that's exactly what I do through my work. For about 8 years, I've been helping people start their businesses, conducting workshops 2 or 3 days a week and doing one-on-one sessions where I help clients get to their next level, whether they're just beginning or already established. I just retired from the IRS after 25 years in federal government, where I spent about 15 years as a government contract specialist, making sure businesses were suitable to do work with the government. That training in what suitability looks like now helps me prepare my clients for government contracting or funding based on government industry standards. For 12 years, I've also served as an executive director for a baseball and softball organization. On weekends, we host exposure events where our kids come in and help kids in the neighborhood, teaching them baseball and softball and then playing games. I coordinate everything from getting in contact with potential sponsors to organizing food, managing our education and mental health components, and working with vendors, volunteers, and small businesses in the area to give back to our young athletes. The most rewarding part is seeing these kids grow from middle school into collegiate baseball players, watching them achieve their dreams just like the business owners I work with. Building out businesses and nonprofits has been a joy because I get to help people grow into wherever they are, and I can sometimes be overly helpful, but that's just who I am.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Chiquita
01What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The greatest piece of advice I've received is about balance. Because sometimes I tend to overdo, and what ends up happening is I lose the balance factor. I've been advised twice, once by somebody younger, which was beautiful to me, and then by an older lady, and they both told me: you can't pour from an empty cup. Learning how to balance your actual life from your work life is going to help you get further along. And knowing when to say no, and knowing that it's okay to say no, that's been huge for me.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
In the nonprofit world, it's about specialization. Pick one or even two areas, your primary and your secondary duty that you want to perform, and do those things well. It could be as a development director where you're going to help raise funds for the organization and get the organization visible, or branding and marketing and getting the organization visible, or strictly focusing on board governance or just the everyday operation. Because when you're doing it as a whole, it can tend to be a burnout. But if you have that portion of what you want to do, and a good team around you, you can go far.
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