Patricia Levasseur

I would say I come from a generation of strong, independent women who overcome everything that was thrown at them. They're troopers, and their mentorship and leadership and their examples showed me that anything is possible. My mom always says, Patricia, you can be whatever you want to be. Even if you want to be a criminal, just be the best at it. She would say, if you're gonna be a criminal, don't get in trouble for robbing the local bank, do it big. I've always had supportive parents. My dad was a lawyer who loved the arts and wrote poetry. My mom was more the strict, assertive businesswoman who ran several businesses. So I've been surrounded by very successful people who I looked up to and who mentored me, and basically I attribute everything that I do because of their encouragement. They've never said to me, you have to be this, you have to do this. I was always free to explore, and always change, and try to figure out, so I'm one of those people that I try everything that I feel passionate about.

The best career advice I ever received is to always advocate for yourself. I know that just seems very simple, but again, as women, we weren't really taught how to negotiate. We weren't really taught how to speak up for ourselves. We were just always expected to accept whatever was given to us. One of the best things that someone ever said to me early on, she said two things, and I still admire her for those two things. She said, one, there's no such thing as job safety. I remember saying, oh, I love this job, because she was trying to get me to advocate for myself. I love this job, I don't want to leave, you know, and I feel safe, and she said, there's no such thing as job safety. That was the first lesson I learned, and then she told me, Patricia, you need to advocate for yourself. Do not devalue your worth. Speak up and fight for what it is that you are deserving of. So, advocating for myself was the best advice I ever received from someone.

Same thing that was said to me: advocate for yourself. You have purpose in being in this room, so speak up, don't let anyone quiet your voice. Speak up, because then you can have your I-told-you-so moment, and know that you were right. Fight for yourself. Again, it's advocating for yourself. It's one of the best lessons anyone has ever told me. Advocate for yourself, negotiate your pay, negotiate your position. You can negotiate your titles. So, advocate for yourself. It's the best advice I can give any woman entering the field, especially in a field that is traditionally not paved or created for you. You make it your role.

The biggest challenge, again, I'm a Black woman in a field that is traditionally dominated by men. Sometimes you're in a room, and you're probably the only person of color. You're the only woman in that room. And it feels like you're the tiny person who's yelling out to get your viewpoints across. But, I'm happy that I speak loud enough that you're not leaving the room until you hear my voice and my opinion, because I love to tell people I told you so. I'm sorry, that's wrong. But I do, because I love when I'm right. So, I always make sure that I put it on the table. Doesn't mean you have to accept what I'm saying, or do what I'm saying, but there's a moment when I could come back, and I could look you in the eye, and I don't even have to say it. We already know that I was right.

The most important values that I have are honesty, compassion, and integrity. In everything that I do, I'm very straightforward. I'm honest to a fault, in terms of sometimes I'm too blunt, but that's because I don't like confusion. I want people to be clear about what I'm saying and my values. So my core values matter to me. But integrity matters to me, like, I value my name. And I value the association that people have when they say my name. I want people to feel that they can trust me. I want to be honorable in my words, and I don't want people to be confused about my priorities, or what my intentions are. So those are the things that I value: honesty, integrity, and especially when you're in the political world, that's muddy. So I take people at face value because I have, I'm a little naive, in a way, but I'm not stupid. Like, I may know your character, but there's enough in your character that I want to see the good out of everyone. So I tend to see that before I see everything else, so I judge you based off of that. And sometimes, you know, you expect you out of people, and they don't give you you, so that can be disappointing, but as long as you're honest with me, I can tolerate anything, just be honest.