Her Story
About Faith
I've been working with nonprofits in the public health field since 2017. I'm currently a program manager for a large philanthropic anti-hunger organization, where I've been since 2019, about 7 years now, and I've been promoted about 2 times during that period. I initially started working on our No Kid Hungry campaign, which focused on anti-hunger work. During the pandemic, my organization realized that it takes more than food to end hunger, so we launched something called the Family Economic Mobility Initiative. I was promoted over to that team because my master's thesis and now my dissertation as a PhD student align with how we actually eradicate poverty and hunger and lift people out of poverty. My work focuses specifically on single moms. A typical day for me involves meeting with a lot of my partners that I manage and grant to, doing strategy and alignment work, and some travel. A big part of my role is communications and narrative work, focusing on how we frame how we talk about single moms, how we elevate them and change the narrative of what society says about them. I spend a lot of time doing research and working with other communication organizations on changing the narrative to talk about moms as the anchors of the family, as the head of the household. I focus on the language we use, how we use active framing, and then testing those messages. I take what my partners are doing and tell that story in a way that captivates not only other funders, but shifts the narrative that legislators see and shifts the narrative of society. I also do some budget work for my team and work across all different teams across my organization to shift the message about moms. I'm leading our first inaugural Mother's Day campaign, which I coined Because of Mom, working directly with our communications team, marketing team, different programmatic teams, and web teams to bring this campaign to life.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Faith
01What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice I've received comes from my mentor, Dr. Arsika Tyner, who has been with me since undergrad. She taught me that not all speed is movement. Just because you're going fast doesn't mean you're actually making progress or moving in the direction that you want to go in. When I tell her about awesome opportunities, she always asks me, 'Does that align with your end goal?' That question really sticks with me whenever I'm thinking about taking on something new. I might think an opportunity is nice and I can put it on my plate, but I have to ask myself, should I really? She keeps it real with me and has told me when I'm carrying too much. She sees me holistically, not just professionally, and pours wisdom into me about all aspects of life, including finances, which is so important because coming from where I come from, finances aren't what you talked about.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would tell women that not every speed is movement. Just because you're going fast doesn't mean you're actually making progress, or you're moving in the direction that you want to go in. I think I would tell women to pause and really figure out if what they are doing and how fast they're going aligns with where they want to go, where the destination is, because not all speed is movement.
03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I lead with purpose and intention in every category of my life. It's important to me to pause and make sure that what I'm doing aligns with my end goals. I value having mentors who see me holistically, not just professionally, but who want to see me doing well outside of my professional life as well. I believe it's critical to understand the root causes and systems that create problems like poverty, so people can understand why the work is important and how it interconnects. I'm passionate about changing narratives and elevating voices that are often marginalized, particularly single moms, talking about them as the anchors of the family and heads of household rather than how society typically frames them.
Keep Exploring
More Influential Women · District of Columbia
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.