Lisa McKown

I attribute my success to believing that I could do it in the first place. My journey built on itself and gave me that self-efficacy that is required to be able to persevere. I had three kids I had to take care of, and when I was going through that in the beginning years, my youngest was three. I had to figure it out, and they were depending on me, and I didn't have anybody else that I could depend on. I think that kind of helps with the amount of focus that a person has on being able to come up with a solution. The solutions don't necessarily result in financial independence or anything immediately, it takes time. The more I went along my path and gained marketable skills, those were those hard credentials, the certifications that were in my field, and that helped set me apart. Then there were the college courses. I think the things that I was drawn to was because I saw things that were wrong, and I wanted to be part of making them right. I wanted to empower other people to do that, too. That was especially meaningful for me because I came up, I grew up in poverty, and I grew up with a lack of resources, and I didn't feel empowered. I'm a quiet person, I lead with a quiet kind of disposition. I'm more of a nurturer, not like a lot of executives in positions of power who are loud and directive. I had to think about how can I have the power of influence in my style, in the way that I can connect with people and help movement.

The first thing is you have to believe in yourself and the things that you care about. You have to have a vision for what it is that matters, even if however it ends up looking is way different than what you think it's going to be in the beginning. It's still that alignment with who you are as a person. You have to be able to stand in your own skin and not be defined by other people. You have to define yourself. Just because something might seem impossible right now doesn't mean that it is. And it doesn't mean that if your path isn't straight that you're not gonna get there. I would encourage them to commit to doing something that is going to bring them fulfillment. Don't give up.

First of all, I'm a huge advocate of human rights, like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I think that's one of the most beautiful documents that we as a human race have tried to articulate. As a value, I think that people should have certain rights just because they're a living person. I also support advocating for people and addressing injustices. It's an injustice for people to go to the hospital when they are sick with something and get an infection just because they went there. There are many other injustices in the world, and I am a person who has empathy and compassion, so I would likely be someone that would want to advocate for something that would be a value of mine.