Pam Lozano

Honestly, my kids. I think that they are my biggest motivators. As a single parent, I always want to be the example, but I also want to lead by doing, not just telling them what to do. I want to show them that it's okay to make mistakes, it's okay to want more, but it's also okay to prioritize yourself. For them to see that sometimes my time is limited, or sometimes we're going to have to be in the car moving around a bit, but I'm going to be determined to make it work so they're getting what they need from me as a mom, but I'm also able to pour into what I love to do. It's been pretty amazing to be able to show them that I can balance things and insert boundaries so that they know those are the things they should be striving to do. I want them to see that I can go for things even when I don't have the perfect background, because you never know what's on the other side unless you do it. A lot of people shy away from experiences and challenges because they don't know if they're cut out for it, but if you don't have a little anxiety around it and a little stress about it, then maybe that's not the space you're meant to be in. But if you have all these feelings, it's up to you to figure it out. I can't tell my kids to try and put themselves in spaces where they don't know if it's right for them and then not do it myself. Fear is a really great motivator, and while I believe if it's meant for you it will find you, you push yourself back so much when you delay what's there and what's calling you because of that fear.

Stop overthinking. That's it. I think a lot of what delays our progress is overthinking, rethinking everything. Sometimes you just have to have some action, and I think we are - by nature we want to be perfect, and we want to have things in line. We're planners, especially as moms or older siblings, we plan everything, and that's helpful, but that shouldn't guide our choices. I've been told so many times, stop overthinking it. You know, especially if you have to be in front of a group of people, I'm going to over-plan what I'm saying. I'm going to worry - did I say 'like' too much? Am I saying 'so' at the end? Stop overthinking it. Get out of your head, get out of your body, and just do it, because it's so natural to do certain things, and I'm like, why did I think that was gonna be scary?

I would say we are who we are appealing to, and what I've learned is that women are some of the most incredible philanthropists that are not seen in that space. A lot of people assume that you have to have a certain background to be solicited for partnerships or major brand deals or corporate sponsorships, but people want to relate to someone. As women, we're challenged to go after what people think looks a certain way or is done a certain way, when in reality, we are the breeders of really great ideas, and we are the ones who can use our experiences and our intuition and our feelings to connect the dots on a lot of different things. Women are so underrated in how powerful and smart and strategic and amazing thinkers we can be in so many of these spaces. Just because of my experiences as a mom and being in different roles, I'm able to pull from a lot of different things that a lot of other women can do, too. Pulling from all the different experiences we have as being the underdog and being put in spaces where we could really be doing more and handling more makes me want to encourage more women to understand that you can be the face of this organization, you are the best storyteller, because you connect with people in a way that is unique to us. You're not limited, and you are a powerful voice. We are philanthropists. We are the ones who can really storytell and connect people in so many different ways. We are the connectors of a lot of different worlds, and that really is what brings different people to the table. Women are such amazing representations of visual storytellers and being able to connect with people in so many different spaces. It's hard work, but it's rewarding work, and we do it like no other.

The biggest challenge is funding. Funding is a major challenge. A lot of nonprofits are up against the same thing, with the way funding cycles have worked in the past and how they evolve with different people in administration - from the White House to the local level, it really does impact how we're funded. There's also so many people doing amazing work, and there's a lot of competitive vying for those competitive funds. Making sure we're telling the story while also ensuring we can have the overhead to put more people in without deterring from the quality of work we do is always a challenge. A lot of great organizations are facing federal funding challenges and disbursements of funds that aren't going the same way, and it impacts everybody. As for opportunities, I think there's a level of connection that is such a resource - by connection, I mean partnerships. There are so many corporate groups and organizations that have the resources and the want to do more, but there's a gap in knowing where that want can go and be of greater good. I've been such a big pusher for how do we connect the dots. A lot of kids aren't getting financial literacy and having real conversations about how to turn minimum wage into an investment. There are so many opportunities to connect people in these spaces that have resources, and they just have to know how to do it. Development is not just fundraising, it's storytelling, and it's having conversations and meeting people where they are to help them understand how they can propel somebody else to be in a position they would want to see them in. It's about advocating for these partnerships and making sure they're intentional and not just transactional.

Authenticity and transparency - I think they go hand in hand. People can tell when you are not confident, when you're being slightly deceptive, when you're not comfortable, and your body tells it first. When you go into spaces and lead with being genuine and being who you are, and being honest, that just drops a veil and drops a wall that you feel like you have to climb over to even get comfortable. If you go into those spaces and you're just being yourself, people connect with it so much quicker and so much easier. They can see it radiate off of you. It's just that simple - just go in and don't create this vision of who you think you are supposed to be for each different space you're in. Yes, you have to adapt, but that doesn't mean you have to change who you are. I try to guide myself and guide my time in different areas by making sure the thread is I'm still me in everything I do, and there's a level of honesty that I like to have that I feel like is something that I want people to respect.