Her Story
About Sophia
Sophia Swallers is a nonprofit leader and community advocate whose career has been defined by mission-driven service, leadership development, and a passion for helping others succeed. Currently serving as Community Options Director at EP!C, Swallers has built her professional path around organizations that prioritize people, purpose, and community impact. She believes strongly in servant leadership and creating supportive workplace cultures where employees feel empowered to grow, communicate openly, and thrive. Her work is guided by the belief that meaningful leadership is not about titles, but about the positive influence leaders leave on the people they serve.
Before joining EP!C, Swallers spent approximately 14 years with the American Red Cross, where she earned her phlebotomy certification and worked extensively in blood-drive operations and education programs. In her educational and training roles, she traveled widely to deliver instruction and support community health initiatives, experiences that strengthened her communication, leadership, and people-development skills. Her transition into broader nonprofit leadership came naturally, as she recognized that her strongest motivation has always been mission-centered work focused on improving lives and strengthening communities. Throughout her career, she has remained deeply committed to supporting both the individuals served by nonprofit organizations and the employees who help carry out those missions.
Swallers’ personal journey has also shaped her professional philosophy. After spending years caring for her mother, she fulfilled a promise to return to school and continue her education, earning her Bachelor of Business Administration from Southern New Hampshire University. She is currently pursuing her MBA with a concentration in human resources and staff development, with the goal of creating stronger leaders and more effective employee success programs. Passionate about mentorship, collaboration, and positive workplace culture, Swallers continues to advocate for leadership approaches rooted in empathy, communication, and service, striving to leave a lasting and meaningful impact on both organizations and the people within them.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Sophia
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to servant leadership and staying mission-driven, always focusing on how I can support others and make a meaningful impact rather than centering everything on myself.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received is that it's not all about me. Sometimes you just have to walk away when you don't want to. I was taught servant leadership before I knew what servant leadership was, and it has impacted everything I do now. Those two things walk hand in hand. My to-do list went from things that I need to get done for me, to a to-do list of things I need to get done for somebody else. It went from being self-serving and focused on getting things done because they're on my list, to being about getting the best for others. And then it became more mission-driven and more fulfilling. So my days became more fulfilling.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Don't look at what the paycheck could bring you, look at what the things that you will be fulfilled with. It's not an easy job, it's just a fulfilling job. There are some days you go home and think, wow, the people we impacted. I talk to people all the time because they say, why do you do that job? You're so exhausted. I do the job because I know the impact that I have on the people that I serve every day, and that's not just the people that I care for, that's the people that I serve within the whole of the company that I work within. It's fulfilling to feel like I've given back to all of them in any role that I do, no matter small or large. No leader is any different than any other person within our company, and that's different between working a corporation to a nonprofit for me. We work as a whole for that mission. I learn from everyone. If you want to make an impact, that impact truly is in a nonprofit.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge in nonprofit work right now is that we are 85 to 86% driven by government funding, and getting people to go into this field is hard because we're certainly not driven by pay. Living in mission means knowing that you're making sacrifices to do what's about the people that we support, not about the money that's in your pocket. The biggest struggle is trying to show the government that people need to get paid. Our direct support people that we provide hands-on care need to be paid better, and that is based on government funding. So we go out and put ourselves face-front in front of legislation all the time. That's the biggest struggle.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Care is the most important value to me. Knowing that what I do every day leaves behind a trail of positive loving, caring reinforcement. I'm in the middle of finishing my MBA, and I've probably changed my concentration a couple of times because I end up going back to wanting to be the most positive impact. Sometimes that's enforced based on leadership. However, I want to create better leaders than what I've had or what has been left behind for me. So I want to create this positive impact. I decided my concentration was going to be on human resources because I want to leave a positive trail behind me. If I can create good communication and positive impact on our workforce to show that that's what needs to happen for our future, I want to have that positive impact. Because the negativity can be profound in our everyday work life. So if I can have that positive impact moving forward, that's what I want.
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