Tiffany Ferriss-Wade

I attribute my success to grit and grind, if I'm being completely honest. You have to be able to dig deep, especially when you're in those moments where things don't look how you thought they would look or you wanted them to look. You've got to be able to find something to motivate you, something to push you, and then you have to go for it. Really, I would not be where I am today if I were not a grinder. I've had lots of different people help me throughout my career - it's been incredible, the mentors and access that I've had. But nobody can do it for you. You have to do it for yourself, and so really digging deep and finding that internal grit to grind it out is what I can attribute my success to. Not quitting on yourself, you know? My first job out of college, I was an Administrative Assistant, and to be totally frank, I had no idea what I was going to do with my life at that point. But they invested in me in the same way I was investing in them, and I was promoted 3 times in 3 years. That was the starting point for me. I then secured my second job, and that's when I really knew I had a knack for making decisions. I can influence, I can scale to my audience, I can bring change. Seventeen years later, I'm doing what I was made to be doing.

The best career advice I have received was from a former manager, and she actually wrote me a two-page letter when I was leaving Florida to go to DC. The support and the empowerment of go and write your own new chapter, go and write your own new story, and don't ever be confined to what you think it should be - that was pivotal for me! There's a lot of times, as I shared, I thought 3 years ago my career might be over. I was in a position where I had truly outgrown, there was no upper mobility without relocating, I didn't want to relocate, and so it just felt like it was the right time for me to take some time for myself. Even though it was a low, coming back to the next role and then finding this current role, I had to remind myself that just because you think it should look a certain way does not mean it should look a certain way. Just being open to, as she said, writing your own story, writing your own chapter, and rewriting it. And rewriting it again. You can always start over.

I would encourage young women entering the industry to take calculated risks, be willing to relocate or change course, when necessary, believe in themselves, and stay open to rewriting their professional story. You never know what's on the other side of the mountain.

One of the biggest opportunities in my newest field, Financial Services, is being able to transition and help lay the groundwork for long-term impact within a growing organization. At the same time, one of the biggest challenges is managing limited bandwidth and being intentional about which professional and volunteer commitments to pursue. You can't have it all, all the time. Being intentional with your time is one of your biggest assets.

At my core, I believe in doing things the right way — with honesty, follow-through, and genuine care for the people around me. Integrity isn't just a professional standard for me; it's personal. I want the people I work with and the people I love to know they can count on me. Relationships are really at the heart of how I operate. The most meaningful things I've been part of — professionally and personally — were built on real trust and mutual investment in each other's success. I don't take those connections lightly. I'm also deeply motivated by impact. I want the work I do to matter — to create something lasting for the people and communities it touches. That sense of purpose is what drives me. And I've learned that none of that is sustainable without balance. Taking care of yourself isn't separate from doing great work — it's what makes it possible. I try to model that for the people around me too.