Her Story
About Rica
Drawing from her lived experience as a survivor of sexual assault, Rica founded the Emerald Heart Society to create platforms for survivors, including an Annual Survivor's Breakfast at Guys Party Center in Akron that features keynote speakers and has drawn over 88 attendees each year through word-of-mouth marketing. She is a member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc and an alumna of Leadership Akron and the Akron Community Foundation Emerging Philanthropist Alumni program, through which she established a donor-advised fund to support youth activities such as study abroad or college visits via nonprofit organizations. Rica attributes her success to the trials she has overcome and her faith, and she emphasizes values of honesty, hard work, and fairness in both her professional and personal life.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Rica
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to the trials and tribulations that I've gone through and God. God has pulled me through those situations and proven to me that sticking by Him shows me how strong I really am.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Hands down, be good to people. Be a good person, everything else will follow. I tell my sons that all the time.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say to truly look in the mirror and figure out who they used to be when they were at a great space, what they've gone through, and who they want to become. Because it takes all three of those things to figure out who you actually are. You have to acknowledge the history, be able to reach back to remember who you thought you were gonna be as a little person because we always will have to nurture that little peraon that's in us. But you have to bring them along to the current and show them who you are now, and balance the two.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge is receiving grants or funds in the nonprofit sector because funding anywhere right now is really hard. The biggest opportunity is reaching those who don't feel as if they're strong enough to walk through the big doors. They feel comfortable enough walking through the smaller doors, having conversations with someone on the same level.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Honesty, hard work, and being fair. It's more so to treat others as you would want to be treated. To me, that's fair. You also have to be an honest person, not so much just the verbal of the honesty, but your actions. You gotta walk the walk.
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