Katie Marie Dignan

I didn’t succeed on my own — I inherited a curriculum. Every person in my life taught one subject, and I’m the sum of their lessons.

1. How to work — Baba Helen and Dede Anthony ran a family business and showed me operations are love in practical form. Grandpa Bernard and Grandma Bernice taught me Oakland: you work to survive, and you survive together.

2. How to care — My mother Susan gave me compassion, dignity, and the healer’s instinct. My best friends Gina Bogetti VanKlavern, Maryam Fathi Javanbakht, Raven Carter, Emily Madero, Lindsey Peterson, Dani Galloway, Lou Martinez Sancho and Yakira Nunez taught me the same lesson from the outside: listening is a skill, and chosen family is real family.

3. How to make things with my hands — Great Grandma Amy’s Italian baking, my godfather Larry Grcich’s farming, Aunt Judy and Uncle John’s floral business in Salinas — where I also lived while earning my captain’s license.

4. How to move in the world — My father James: accounting, discipline, “politricks,” and the art of making a room enjoyable. Uncle Bernie: basketball, economics, trading, and that all three are really about relationships. My godmother Sandra DeAlcuaz: politics, and the reading and writing that make politics make sense.

5. How wide the world is — Zambia and the Peace Corps: Daphne Chimuka, Musonda Kaluba, Natalie and Holo Hachonda, Laura Hickey, Elizabeth Oparchoro, Kafupi Chola, Francis Bwalya, and many more. Then Tulane and a list that keeps going.

So when you ask what I attribute my success to — it’s a family business, a city that taught me to work, a kitchen, a farm, a flower shop, a village in Zambia, and a lot of people who kept answering the phone.

The best career advice I recently received came from one of my mentors, Vincent Smith. He told me to follow in the footsteps of our Lord: listen, be patient, and follow the light. Listening has taught me to truly understand the people I work with and serve before acting. Patience has helped me stay steady through challenges and trust that growth takes time. Following the light reminds me to let my faith and values guide my decisions, especially when the path isn't clear. His words have shaped not only how I work, but who I am.

My advice to women entering this industry is to listen, observe, and be patient. Mind your manners and show respect for all things: people, animals, the environment, and nature. Before you act, take the time to truly understand the people around you, including who they are, what they stand for, their family background and culture, and what their goals and priorities are. That understanding builds trust and helps you make wise decisions. Above all, stay true to your moral compass. Lead with positivity and let your light guide you. Whatever higher power you believe in, or even if you don't, hold on to the teachings and values that keep you grounded. Integrity and kindness will carry you further than anything else.

The biggest challenges in my field today are food scarcity, protecting the rights of farmers, ranchers, and landowners, homelessness, economic stability, and the growing impacts of climate change.

There are also real opportunities. On climate, I recommend John Doerr's Speed & Scale, which lays out an actionable plan for reaching net-zero emissions, and following its progress updates. On homelessness, we don't need to try to save the world alone. The most effective approach is to support established social service organizations that have served our communities for generations and to back their missions, even when we disagree with the politics around them. Creating separate, independent aid efforts often causes problems for struggling, cash-strapped cities and agencies that are already doing this work.

Everyone can also make a difference through simple daily choices. Put trash in trash and recycling bins, and don't pollute. Litter on streets and land ends up in our oceans and natural spaces, where it harms wildlife. Reduce, reuse, repurpose, and recycle. Get outside and enjoy nature, and support our national, regional, and local parks and recreation agencies. Finally, respect and honor our public servants, who work every day to keep our communities running.

The values most important to me are God, family, country, and work, along with maintaining a stable, healthy work-life balance.

I believe in staying true to who I am, no matter what role I'm given. The Stanford Prison Experiment showed how easily people can lose themselves in power or pressure, and I make a conscious effort not to let that happen to me at work or in life. My intent is always to respect my family and all people. I believe in giving people chances, but when someone is so far gone that they are beyond help, I let them go so they don't drag me down.

I try to answer the call whenever someone needs me, while also recognizing that I am not immortal and have limits. Knowing those limits is what allows me to keep showing up for others. We may sometimes feel like we have superhero abilities, but we are human, not vigilantes or villains, and we need rest and support too.

Above all, I have faith and trust that the light will prevail. In times of need or crisis, I find strength in studying the lives of the Saints and reflecting on those I relate to most. Their examples remind me to lead with humility, courage, and compassion.