We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dee Fretwell a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Dee, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
I’ve never considered my work as ‘coming’ from somewhere. Rather, my work ethic was developed ‘because’ of something. Just like everyone else I’ve ever met, my life has not been as smooth and simple as one might expect or want It to be.
I was shown by my parents that persistence and grit matter. They modeled the notion that if you don’t fight for what matters, then why are you waking up every day?
My parents also modeled the difficulties humans have and how they stacked up against challenges. They did not always handle these with grace and instead often compartmentalized the effects of said challenges.
Between parental models and my own personal challenges, I’ve been able to curate the best use of my natural grit and persistence to battle through the best way I know how.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
2023 brought many exciting developments, most of which were angled towards sustainable business practices within the nonprofit industry! My year has been spent working with over a dozen nonprofits and many for-profits as well. All of which had the same mission: to stabilize the organization while crafting a strong strategic focus of very intentional scaling. This scaling, albeit always included a growth factor to the bottom line, always included growth of staff and leadership. Now, in most recurring organizational strategies, growth to the bottom line is expected. Some skill development is also a common goal. To see both weighed equally important to the leadership vision, and for all of my clients to strive for this common goal, is very much not common. This gives me, and should give everyone, great hope for a stabilized future in the for- and nonprofit worlds of business.
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?
I’m most thankful for my accidental unwillingness to ‘pick a lane’ – work in for- or nonprofit industries. The truth is, having extensive experience in both industries has given me a unique perspective towards the inner workings and future collaborations these two categories carry forward. As has been seen over the last decade or so, nonprofit organizations have been leaning towards a more corporate-colored streamlining, and being a bridge between the two approaches has been incredibly fulfilling.
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?
I’m always keeping my eyes keen for collaborative partners, but an old love and life purpose has recently returned to the top of my list. I am on the hunt to join a team that works hard towards wildlife conservation and/or ocean restoration and cleanup. Ever since I was a child, it has always been my dream to do such work and my developed skills can help these types of organizations increase their impact while creating efficiencies needed for future impact growth. That said, I’d love to work with/for a global organization, allowing for me to leverage my abilities, travel with intention, and assert with a lasting impact on the world.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.deefretwell.com
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/deefretwell
Image Credits
Debra Thornton Photography
