Engage Her: Activating Women and MultiCultural Communities

As vice president of public relations at Kaiser Permanente, America’s largest integrated health provider, Holly Potter regularly leverages her ingenuity, intellect, and extensive experience with both public and private sectors to effectively communicate with and understand the public on a national level.

Born and raised in Alameda, California, Holly attended the University of California, Davis, where she majored in Women’s Studies with an emphasis on Public Policy. She decided to take a break from college to work on a local ballot initiative in Fresno. After the initiative, Holly got the opportunity to gain valuable work experience doing public affairs and media relations for Planned Parenthood.

Holly knew she had a deep passion for advocating around important social issues. After college, she became a project manager for a statewide violence prevention initiative, managing a public education campaign with community experts. She worked with policy experts that specialized in gun control, as well as inner city intervention organizations. Holly also worked to sell communications campaigns to highlight social issues and find solutions. In addition to doing media relations, she also helped increase funding for youth intervention programs. As years passed, Holly continued her dedication to violence prevention, and became involved in drug policy issues. She worked on ways to reduce risk for kids using drugs. Instead of an abstinence only approach, her organization educated parents on how to communicate about reducing risks. Holly took her expertise to Washington, D.C. where she worked on the national campaign against youth violence, which was initially launched by President Clinton. 

Kaiser recruited Holly for vice president of public relations based not only on her experience but her attitude. Holly tries to always deliver her best — to push the envelope and think one step ahead of the game. Over the past few years, Holly has received recognition for pushing social media at Kaiser Permanente and developing new strategies that seemed impossible a few years ago. Her success is due, in part, to a willingness to take calculated risks. Holly advises to be aware of the choices you make and create the safeguards necessary to implement the plan of action successfully.

Holly has been very fortunate to have strong female mentors, both professionally and personally. She was strongly influenced by her mother, an ambitious businesswoman who proved that she could succeed in the traditionally male dominated field of pharmaceutical sales. Holly’s mother deeply instilled the value that you can do anything you set your mind to. She taught her daughter to walk into a situation looking for an opportunity and figuring out how to make the best of it. Holly recommends all women to seek out role models and mentors, people who can provide guidance, teach skills, and help you reach the next step.

As a communications specialist, Holly has had plenty of practice developing her speaking skills. Holly advises that practice is essential, and it is important to take and ask for advice from others.  She recommends speaking up whenever possible, whether in a discussion or addressing an issue in a meeting. Holly believes that confidence is key — you have to learn how to trust yourself and your abilities. But,   Holly counters that you need to measure your effect on people: it’s all about the balance between speaking too softly (not being heard) or being too aggressive. She urges everyone to reflect on the impact they have when speaking.

Holly emphasized that there is a shortage of women leaders. She refers to the pool of talented professional women as an “untapped expertise” that needs to be utilized. She encourages women to seek opportunities for the experience enabling them to rise to leadership positions. In college, Holly spent a summer in Washington, D.C. working on Capitol Hill for the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues.  Instead of giving tours, Holly decided to roll up her sleeves and gain real world work experience. She encourages women to work hard and take opportunities to educate themselves and learn from knowledgeable professionals. When asked on her opinion of how to become a leader, she answered that leadership comes in all shapes and sizes. Some leadership results in formal education, some from real world work experience. A  “leadership check-list” does not exist. Holly firmly believes that first and foremost, women need to believe in themselves.

Holly Potter knows that success doesn’t come easy. In order to be a successful leader, you have to constantly demonstrate that you go above and beyond the norm. Being a leader involves hard work, dedication, and ambition. As a mother of a young child, Holly struggles with the balance between work, family, and personal life. She honestly admits that she hasn’t figured out the secret, but that she is working on figuring out what is off balance and fixing it by taking small steps.  After meeting with Holly, it is clear to see why she is a success. Holly exemplifies the values of hard work, determination, and ambition. She is confident, well spoken, and incredibly down to earth. It was a pleasure to meet with such a talented and influential leader.

During the rebellious teenage years, mothers often tell their daughters hopeless sayings like “Some day, you’ll understand”. When I was sixteen, my mother told me that she picked up certain habits from her mother and found them engrained in her own life as she got older. I firmly reassured her that would not happen to me – I would never allow myself to turn into my own mother. After I graduated high school and moved off to college, I began to realize the truth in many of my mother’s lessons. The reality hit one night while having friends over for Chinese food. For some reason, I took the take-out boxes straight into the kitchen and put each item into its own ceramic bowl. “Much nicer than eating out of a carton” I thought to myself. As I walked back into the living room, a realization struck me so hard I almost dropped the mu shu pork on the floor. This is exactly what my mom would do if she was here. It’s really happening; I’m turning into my mother.

As I matured, I recognized the importance of having such an intelligent and inspirational role model. I’m very lucky to have been raised by a woman who instilled good values, manners, and a strong sense of independence. For as long as I can remember, my mother has been a working woman. As a little girl, I would put on her heels and prance around while she got ready for work. For many kids growing up, the idea of a working mom evokes the notion of PTA meetings and bake sales. For me, it was business suits and car sales – and to be honest, it really inspired me to become a successful working woman. She taught me independence at a very young age – do it yourself, don’t wait for someone to do it for you. My mother worked a lot of late nights, sometimes even weekends- but in the end, she always made time for family. No matter how long she had worked, she always read me a story and tucked me in at night. I distinctly remember having trouble with math homework one night when she had to work late. I faxed my homework to her office, and fifteen minutes later she had faxed it back with corrections and an explanation of how to fix the problem. Her level of dedication and commitment, especially with regards to learning and academics, has had an enormous impact on my life. Juggling a successful career and family is no easy task, and I can’t thank her enough for the tireless efforts and tremendous love that have made me who I am today.

When we discussed inspirational women leaders at one of our EngageHer meetings, I knew that my mother would be my first interview. She has worked extremely hard to rise to the top in the very male dominated automotive industry. Helena Turkel was born and raised in Sweden, and lived in Paris for two years before coming to the United States. She received her B.A. and M.B.A. from U.S.C., and began working at Peat, Marwick, and Mitchell as an accountant after graduation. She then spent fifteen years in the automotive retail business, holding positions from sales person to general manager. When it was time for a change, she headed to the “factory side”, working at Nissan North America for twelve years. When I was a sophomore in college, my mom accepted a job that would drastically change our lives. She had been asked to become the head of Nissan’s operations in Sweden, an incredible and challenging opportunity. My mom, dad, and brother packed up and moved across the world, settling down in the beautiful city of Stockholm, Sweden. The late nights and work on weekends persist as she tackles the daunting tasks of running and managing Nissan for an entire country.

My maternal grandparents were always very supportive of my mother, raising her to believe that there were no limitations as to what she could do. In the 1960s and 1970s, my grandmother was very involved in an organization that supported women’s rights, working towards the following vision: more women where the power resides, more men taking an active role in their children’s lives, and equal pay for equal work. Helena learned the importance of hard work and persistence early in her career. She remembers the challenges in business school, working twice as hard to prove that she had the knowledge and competence to get the job done. One of her first jobs was working for a company that owned and operated ten automotive dealerships. She was fortunate enough to work under an owner who was gender-blind, treating her as an equal. However, this was sink or swim- she had to compete on the same terms as men, and if she didn’t succeed she would not be given any additional support. A very important lesson my mother has taught me is to speak up. A poignant piece of advice- “Just working hard, hoping that someone is going to discover how good you are, is not enough.”  Part of being a powerful woman leader means taking control and making your voice heard.

A very critical aspect of leadership involves strong speaking skills. Helena encourages women to take classes in public speaking. She firmly believes in practice, practice, practice. The beginning of a speech must be flawless – you must capture the attention from the start and gain the confidence to be brilliant throughout the whole speech. She recommends practicing in front of a mirror, or in front of family or friends. During one training session, she had to film a short video of one of her speeches. It was then that she noticed how fast she tended to speak, and she learned to pace herself throughout the speech. Having a commanding presence and communicating thoughts clearly and concisely is extremely important.

Undoubtedly there are more opportunities for women today than there were twenty or thirty years ago, but there are still challenges we must address. An issue that Helena has seen time and time again is women pitted against each other in the workplace. Women must learn to support and encourage each other, to become mentors and promote each other. She notes that men can have disagreements and argue, but they tend to put their differences aside and have a beer or play golf. Women, however, tend to hold anger inside instead of properly dealing with the issues at hand. This sort of passive aggressive behavior and lack of communication is detrimental to female relationships, especially in the workplace.

One of the main reasons Helena has been so successful is that she truly loves what she does. Her passionate commitment to her job allows her to take charge of her own attitude and make the best of what life throws her way. I am so proud of my mother for all her tremendous accomplishments. When I see Helena Turkel on the cover of a magazine, or read an article written about her successes and achievements in the automotive world, I see a powerful leader who I’m lucky enough to know as a wonderful, loving mother. Thanks Mom, for inspiring me to break barriers and never settle for anything less than the best. I’m turning into my mother, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

A Berkeley, California, native, Joan Blades is as sharp as it gets when it comes to online organizing. Co-founder of Moveon.org and Momsrising.org, Joan had no idea that over six million members would eventually join these two movements.

She graduated from UC Berkeley with a bachelor’s in history and then earned a law degree from Golden Gate University in San Francisco. Specializing as a divorce mediator, she wanted to improve the lives of children whose parents divorced. Her first book, Mediate Your Divorce, provided guidance for divorcing parents. However, Joan’s future in mediation would soon intersect with the world of technology.

Joan Blades and Wes Boyd were not only destined to pair up for love, but to build Berkeley Systems. This husband and wife powerhouse produced entertainment and disability software. While her husband wrote the first manual, Joan made sure the manuals were comprehensible to non-technical users. This learning experience later helped develop her expertise in using digital technologies for political outreach.

In 1999 Bill Clinton was under siege for the cover-up of his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinski. Joan and Wes had an epiphany: to create a one-sentence petition to stop the impeachment and call for Congress to” censure of the president and move on to pressing the issues facing the nation” instead.

Joan says,” This sentence was a to unifying statement at the time, drawing substantial agreement from across the political spectrum.” Within a week, after emailing the message to 100 of their friends and asking their friends to forward it, over 100,000 people had signed the petition.

After Clinton’s trial, Joan and Wes grew Moveon.org as a grassroots political organization that would focus on national issues.

Joan shared her story about her first time speaking before 1,000 people eager to hear from the founder of Moveon.org. She describes being very nervous, grasping onto her handwritten speech, which would captivate her audience with words of real passion and desperate need. When Joan describes Moveon.org, she refers to the organization as “wonderful focus forcer.”

Meanwhile, Moveon.org has reached an all time high of 5.2 million members, and Joan has co-founded a new organization, which advocates for mothers’ rights, such as flex time, paid maternal/paternal leave, and equality in the workplace. Momsrising.org now has over one million members. She started Momsrising.org three years ago to change the policies – both from the government and private employers – that deny working mothers and families little or no support for raising a family.

I couldn’t resist asking her about Moveon’s plans for the upcoming 2010 midterm elections, especially with California facing record-breaking budget cuts, a decrease in educational programs, and severe increase unemployment rates. Joan believes the challenge is to get voters to the polls. “ This country is still economically worse off than we were two years ago, “she states. “Because people are doing poorly, we all want change.” Moveon.org plans to deeply engage and motivate its followers in making a difference by voting.

While interviewing Joan, I became so compelled by her passion, energy, and belief in changing our political system to better serve our country. I asked Joan about her mentors. She spoke eloquently of Kristin Rowe–Finkbeiner, co-founder of Momsrising.org. Joan emphasizes that it’s important to have an honest relationship and dialog when working together. As Joan and I brought closure to the interview, I remember feeling so inspired and empowered by her. The moment was profound for me, to have had the privilege of interviewing a national leader who is making a difference.

I get asked that question quite frequently and there is no simple answer. When I think about the definition a lot of words come into mind: Problem Solver, Risk Taker, Effective Speaker, Persuader and more. We’ll be exploring and talking with many different types of leaders in this column. I’m sure we’ll discover that leaders come in all sizes and shapes. More importantly, the circumstances under which they became a leader will be fascinating to hear about. It won’t be too surprising to find out that many people never set out to be a leader but found themselves stepping up to take on the role of leading a group, a team of people or their own families to solve problems that they face.

Our goal is to discover the different types of leaders, hear their stories and listen to the lessons they will share with us about their leadership experience. What is so exciting is that this column offers us an opportunity to learn and write about multicultural women and men who are leaders in different fields, occupations and in their communities. These people have spent years learning to become leaders. Thirty years ago, when I started out in my career, we never had leaders like these to have as role models. Now we have the great fortune to hear what they have learned and to archive it for future generations. Many of the women we have started interviewing are excited and pleased to share with us their stories and the lessons they’ve learned. They want to help people avoid the pitfalls, issues and challenges they’ve faced. They are eager to share solutions on how they dealt with difficult situations, career threatening events and management problems they faced.

If you have suggestions of leaders that you’d like us to interview, please send us a comment or email us at: info@engageher.org and we will follow up and interview them.

We are launching an exciting new column featuring stories and lessons learned from multicultural women leaders like Gloria Steinem, Dolores Huerta, Yuri Kochiyama, Helen Zia, Aileen Hernandez, Maria Teresa Kumar and many more.  We have access to many prominent women leaders who have accomplished so much in the past few decades breaking the glass ceiling, making great strides for all women and we need to learn from them.  Where else can we go to hear their stories, learn their hard earned lessons and pass that knowledge on to all of us?  Engage Her will be interviewing these women to learn about their personal stories, challenges and hear examples of the difficult situations they faced as they went on their journey for leadership and achieving goals that women never dreamed of doing years ago.

We will offer the unique perspective of talking to these women about the individual challenges they faced as multicultural women leaders in their respective fields. We’ll explore the influence of the cultural, social, political, economic and gender related  restrictions that were placed upon them by their  community and society. We want to learn how they navigated their difficulties to triumph and learn as much as we can to apply to our everyday lives.  We are at a special place in the time of history when we have the richest and most diverse group of women leaders that have achieved so much in the past few decades.  However, we need a place where we can share this information efficiently and broadcast it as widely and globally as possible so we can benefit from their triumphs and mistakes.

We’ll also interview young and emerging women leaders who are utilizing the newest Social Media and technology tools available through the Web and learn how they are tackling the new challenges facing them. Engage Her wants to connect women, share our stories and be motivated to make changes in our lives that will help all of us create a bigger and better community.  We hope you’ll send us your suggestions for women to interview, comment on our site and join the Engage Her team.  We are bringing women and men from different multicultural communities, bridging multiple generations and connecting us online and face to face through our Engage Her Circles.  You can start up your own Engage Her circle in your  community with your friends and colleagues. Click here for more information about Engage Her Circles in your area.  Enjoy!   Mable