Meet Caitlyn Scaggs

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Caitlyn Scaggs a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Caitlyn , we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?
The development of my confidence and self-esteem has been the result of a variety of factors swirling together to result in who I am today and the concept of self that I have. First, I was fortunate to be raised in a loving and nurturing home in which my parents made me feel safe to learn, dream, and pursue goals. They gave me the foundation from which my confidence and self-esteem was able to flourish. Later in life though, my confidence and self- esteem grew out of a sense of urgency and necessity. I realized that playing it small or having an un-kind self concept served nobody well. I grabbed onto the idea that I may never be the best, smartest, fastest, strongest, or most experienced in the room but nobody has the exact same set of passions, experiences, or knowledge as me. That means I have to show up my best self because nobody else can do it for me. For me, confidence has been an intentional choice.

This first emerged out of college when I was a police officer. As a small-sized female officer I knew that I had to make a choice to show up with confidence and unapologetic for the non-traditional officer I was. I was aware that in my role, well-balanced confidence was a survival skill. Hesitation and self doubt would at best impact my effectiveness but at worst, it could lead to fatal errors. So, whether I was totally confident or not, I chose that I would be. But it is so much more than that.

My choice to be confident and cultivate a health sense of self has more to do with others, than myself. This world sits in a place of desperation and needs people who will be bright lights in the face of so much darkness. If we choose to play it small, and shrink back who we are, we will fail to give this world our very best. That is why I choose confidence in who I am and who I was created to be. Especially now, as I work for an international anti-trafficking non-profit, I know that I need to lean into the best parts of who I am and the talents I have, in order to make the maximum impact.

That is what it comes down to for me: making the maximum positive impact on this world. Wasting time and energy doubting myself or engaging in chronic negative self-talk does not help me in that goal. Rather, choosing to approach life with confidence sets me free to give it my all, try my best, and leave others better for it.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I have the joy and honor of working for New Hope Girls. Our non-profit is based in the Dominican Republic and we exist to fight the trafficking, abuse, and exploitation of young girls. Our organization has safe homes where we have the privilege of loving and caring for our girls like daughters. Every aspect of their care is met to include trauma-informed therapy, excellent education, great nutrition, and lots of fun! We also serve adult women, moms from within our community, as part of our strategic approach to combating trafficking. Our women are employed within our workshop where they sew gorgeous bags. As they work they earn a living wage within a safe and supportive environment. This helps reduce their vulnerabilities and not only keeps them safe, but also helps keep their children safer, too. As the only stateside employee, my role is to grow support, awareness, and reach for our organization. Often, this means that I am using my business acumen to pursue social enterprise growth. As we sell more bags, we can create more jobs, and we therefore positively impact more families within the Dominican Republic. We also use the profit from sales to help support the care of our young girls. I love how strategic and connected our model is! I also engage in development work alongside our Founder and Executive Director, as we still rely on donor funding in addition to funds generated through our social enterprise.

Love for our bags is really growing! We have completed 5 collaborative bags with Vera Bradley and are blessed by their mentorship and support. We are also now in a variety of retail stores across the country from airport retail to incredible independent “mom and pop” style stores. We are grateful for each person who chooses to share our bags and the story of hope that they carry!

It is important the people realize walking with us is supporting the front life efforts to push back on human trafficking. If anyone has ever felt a stirring to do something in the face of this darkness, we are a simple and effective way to join the fight. Buy a bag and you help ensure a mother and her children are safe. Donate and you are contributing to the rescue and care of little girls, some as young as 2. Connect with us on social media and you are choosing to stay informed about real anti-trafficking work. The reality is, there is space for all of us in this global fight! And, we know that we are stronger as we lock arms and collectively push back against trafficking and exploitation.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
As I look back on my career journey I can see how networking, fostering strong communication skills, and prioritizing continuous improvement have had a major impact on my journey.

Networking matters because people matter! I don’t suggest this emphasis in a self-serving and conniving way. Rather, the best type of networking lacks agenda or specific desired outcomes. Rather, you are a collector and connector of people because you recognize the immense potential that each person holds. I met the founder of New Hope Girls through a mutual friend. I met that friend simply because I agreed to grab coffee with someone who attended one of my marketing workshops. When I had my own marketing agency my leading mantra was, “take good care of people and the rest will take care of itself” and that is what I am suggesting here. Be intentionally relationally-rich.

Developing strong communication skills will undoubtedly benefit any career journey. We simply can’t escape the need to communicate, regardless of our chosen profession. This skill will help you share ideas, connect with others, and achieve new heights. Whether presenting, writing an email, sending a quick text, or engaging in-person at an event, you will need to communicate within your career. Recognizing this and choosing to improve will only propel you toward success and effectiveness. Sometimes, it isn’t the best idea that wins but rather the idea that is best communicated that wins.

Another strong factor within my career journey has been my commitment to continuously improve. I do not allow myself to let yesterday’s accomplishment or success become the end point for me. Rather, it is the next launching point for the pursuit of additional growth. This links back to my desire to make the maximum positive impact on this world. If I faith to grow I am limiting my potential for impact. For me, continuous improvement involves a lot of introspection and reflection. It also means pursuing resources, like books, that will help challenge and inform me. I see improvement and growth as an exciting pursuit that opens up possibilities.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
Right now, I am seeking corporate collaborators who want to include anti-trafficking work as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility efforts. Any organization with a global focus, a commitment to anti-trafficking work, or who supports children and families could be a great fit. This is important because businesses have reach, connections, and resources that can make a marked impact for organizations like ours. Simultaneously, collaborating allows other organizations to “put their money where their mouth is” and show that their commitment to making this world a safer and more just place is not just words on a website but enmeshed in who they are. We know that there are so many people out there who want to lock arms with us, I’m eager to find them! The best way to connect with me and the New Hope Girls team is to first visit our website and learn more about us www.NewHopeGirls.com and then send an email to info@newhopegirls. Let’s work together and make a bigger impact together than either of us can make apart.

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