Deb Moss

I attribute my success to watching my late, great-great-uncle Martin, who was the founder and CEO of a Boys and Girls Club that he steered for about 60 years until he passed a few years ago at a ripe old age. Just watching him do his thing and not knowing what he was really doing at the time made such an impact on me. We were able to talk about what I was pursuing, and he gave me direction. I kind of looked at my Uncle Martin as that mentor, someone who was an example of leadership and giving back to the community and making an impact. I also had a woman from my early professional life, one of my women's ministry leaders, who was just a powerhouse. These were people I didn't hire as coaches, but they were there being examples in my journey.

The best career advice I ever received was from my coach last year who told me I needed to lean into building out my name brand. She said I'd been around doing all these other things, but I needed to use my name as a brand. That advice led me to work with a consultant and develop 'Elevate and Dominate with Deb,' which has become central to my work helping people develop their disciplines and navigate workplace dynamics. Another pivotal moment was when a city Council member came to one of my events and told me I needed to make my work into a 501c3. I thought, 'Oh, really?' But that advice transformed what I was doing as a little hobby into the nonprofit foundation it is today.

If a young woman came to me wanting to start a nonprofit, I would tell her to get at least five people on her board, and make sure those are people who are committed to being working board members, not just names on paper. I would tell her to get herself a coach and keep a coach always. Not the same coach forever, because each coach is going to help you go to the next level in different ways. And I'd make sure she does her research and constantly remains a learner. You can't stop learning in this field.

Family and community have always been a big, big part of my life and work. I named my foundation the Rainy Moss Group Foundation to pay tribute to the heritage of my family, using my mother's maiden name and my father's last name. I've always had this big heart for people, being empathetic and hearing the people who hurt. Even though I went through painful things in my younger years, including my parents' divorce when I was young, I learned that we go through things so that we can be able to help someone else in the future. My biggest value is helping people elevate in their thinking so they can be set free to create the life they want to live and walk in their brilliance. People get stuck, and I'm all about helping them elevate above their circumstances so they can dominate in life. I believe in making an impact on the community through mentoring and developing leaders. Legacy is important to me too. I was thinking about what my legacy would be almost 21 years ago, and I didn't want to do typical things. I really wanted mine to be something that was going to be impactful.