Stephie Dunford

I attribute my success to having to move frequently and pick up new careers every place we went. By the time my son was 10, we had moved 4 times, including a cross-border move from Montreal to Minnesota, then Indiana, and then down to Florida. Having to pick up and start over multiple times forced me to step out of my comfort zone and get new jobs every place we've gone. While some people find the thought of moving to different states and countries scary, I've always seen it as a new opportunity, not only for me but for my son too. You go to a new place, you meet new friends, you try new activities, and you'll try stuff that you never thought you'd have a chance to try and meet people you'd never have a chance to meet. If we had never left Minnesota or Montreal, I'd probably be in the same job I was up there, because I was happy in those jobs. But the way our life has moved has really given me the chance to be successful to where I am. My husband is my biggest cheerleader, always saying 'yeah, you can do this, you got it, go for it. Do whatever you want to do, try whatever makes you happy.' That support and those experiences of always moving and always having to do something new is ultimately what's led me to who I am and to my success.

The best career advice I've received is to follow what pulls you, to follow a path that makes you happy, and not to get stuck in a career silo. It's okay to jump, it's okay to jump ship and try something new. I've had people tell me things like, don't get stuck in one path if it makes you miserable, get off the boat and try something else. That's how I've led this really bizarre path, going from aviation planning to SOC 2 security, because I tried it and I loved it. It makes me sad when you see kids, especially now with my 18-year-old who just graduated high school, feeling like they have to be in a niche and they have to know what they want to do. It's okay to not know what you want to do, and it's okay to try things, because that's the only way you're going to find what you really like. You don't need to know when you're 18 that you want to be a thyroid-specific thoracic surgeon or something so specific. And if you don't like what you're doing, then try something else. It's like moving, if you don't like where you live, sell your house and try something else. You don't know if you don't try.

I would say to always remember what your root values are. You don't have to like every job you do, but you have to stay true to who you are. Find what makes you happy, stay true to you, and if it's not working, if you're not being treated right, if you're not being heard, then find a place where you will be heard and you will be treated right. And when you find that place, you'll know. For example, at the job I'm at right now, we have a young girl, first job out of college, and she was not being respected in her role and was not being heard by the CEO. Even though right after college you kind of feel indebted, like 'oh, they gave me a chance, they took a chance on me,' you still have to feel valued. Just because you're 22 out of college doesn't mean you're not of value. It's taken me 25 years to learn that everybody has value, even if you're like me and you're quote-unquote 'just the admin.' You still have value, and you're still worthy of being respected and treated well. The junior graphic designer deserves as much respect from the CEO as the VP does. Just because one person doesn't see your value doesn't mean you don't have value. You're just not in the right place. It's about being where you're valued and being heard and being respected.

I think in the admin field, the biggest both challenge and opportunity is what's happening with AI. You'll have leaders who think that AI can do the job instead of a person, and then you'll have leaders and workers who see it as a way that AI can help their job and make them better. I've never been a ladder climber, partially because of how we've moved, but I love doing the back office stuff that makes everything work up front. That's where my passion is, making things work. I can use AI completely to my advantage and make me so much better at my job. I can do so much more with it. Even with the nonprofit, I'm using it to find the latest research studies and all of this work that would have taken me hours to go through Google. I don't have access to all the medical journals, but with AI tools, I can find all that information super fast and figure out what's most relevant. But there is definitely a trend in the field that thinks 'oh, I can just use AI to schedule all my meetings, or I can use AI to respond to all my emails, so I don't need an admin anymore.' AI can elevate you if you allow it to, but if you're a leader who sees it as replacing people, then they're going to learn really quick that ChatGPT is not going to replace your admin. It's a great tool for your admin to use to make their job easier. We can all smell the AI LinkedIn post from a mile away, and it doesn't replace people. It's cycling around the same information, so everything's the same format with emojis and bold words and bullet points.

In my work life, I think the value that's most important to me is mutual respect between coworkers. I've really seen the difference over the years of working in teams where people genuinely respect their coworkers and are always working towards the same goal. You see the teams where that is, and you see the teams where that isn't. It's so clear that you can work for a horrible company but have an amazing team, or you can work for an amazing company and have a horrible team. But having the horrible team is going to dictate your day-to-day. So having that mutual respect for your teammates is the biggest thing for me at work. Outside of work, I think just being a genuine person and living the life you say you live is really important to me. Being genuine to everybody around you matters deeply to me.