We were lucky to catch up with Gretchen Villegas recently and have shared our conversation below.
Gretchen, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
I found my purpose when I was serving in the US Peace Corps as a volunteer. I was placed in a village in Suriname, South America, of 600 people without running water, electricity or a road into the village. I had to learn the language, how to live and find a way to support the village leadership with their development goals. What I realized while there, is that global development is not about knowing the right answers for everything or bringing a new idea or technology. Supporting vulnerable communities is actually about listening carefully to the perspectives of the leaders and community members and supporting their desires to make changes. I realized that positive development comes from facilitating access to information and resources and asking good questions. Many times, development organizations address symptoms, and not the actual root causes because there is misunderstanding. It was at this point, that I felt I could be a positive force for social good in the global development space. My purpose was to create the linkages vulnerable communities need to access information, skills and resources in order to better their own lives.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am a global development executive with a passion for transformation – disrupting poverty and empowering vulnerable populations. I began my career as a Peace Corps volunteer, where I experienced firsthand the challenges of living in poverty without access to basic resources or education. This experience inspired me to work with global development organizations partnering with local communities to identify innovative and creative programming that can break generational cycles of poverty. I am a collaborative leader, skilled facilitator, and team builder, and I have a proven track record of bringing together a variety of stakeholders, including the private sector, to achieve common goals. I am driven by data and analytics, and I believe that evidence-based programming is essential for effective and sustainable development in the long-term. My superpower is identifying the gaps in systems that prevent vulnerable populations from becoming empowered and filling those gaps with innovative solutions. I believe that every country and community has unique challenges and that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to development. I have witnessed first-hand how the power of public-private partnerships makes true change possible. I am committed to actively listening to local communities and empowering them to create the change they need.
I lived and worked abroad in Latin America, and East and Southern Africa for 15+ years followed by 10+ years of working at the executive level at international non-profits within the United States. I enjoy my work as I thrive in seeing others accomplish success when the world seems to be stacked against them. I am a keen negotiator in bringing consortiums of partners together from the public and private sectors to make impact happen. I enjoy challenges that seem impossible to accomplish and will not stop until the objective is met. I believe that communities need to lead their own development, but those of us who are more fortunate with education and access to resources should always be giving back in gratitude.
I see myself continuing to serve the most vulnerable either by leading an international non-profit or building up the social impact arm of the for-profit company focused on doing business for good.
I am blessed to have had the career thus far in serving others through USG foreign aid projects. I have been able to meet people where they are at, learning from them and receiving 10X more in return than I was able to give. There is nothing better than the smile on a mother’s face when she has the resources to send her children to school fed and clothed for the day.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Volunteering was the key to experiencing poverty for me. It allowed me to understand what it was like to live without basic needs. As my career proceeded, I never forgot what it was like to not have electricity, or clean water, or a clinic close by with medicine that is not expired. Basic needs are a luxury for some.
I attended the School for International training and earned a MA in Intercultural Management. This degree supported my growth throughout my career. I learned how to use experiential learning to bring people of different cultures, languages, beliefs or ideals together to reach common goals. In global development we focus first on people and relationships and second on impact metrics and the bottom-line profits. My educational background exposed me to social returns on investment and how important it is to create trusting relationships to get work done. As I proceeded in my career, I then added the financial return on investments that linked to the social impacts. There are costs per activities completed, but long-term impacts are the focus, not short-termed or short-sighted solutions.
Learning how to bring the for-profit and non-profit sectors together were a key to my success and continues to be the center of my belief system and what I know how to do best. When a for-profit is part of the solution and has “skin in the game” then there is sustainability for continuing to create wealth for vulnerable populations and making them part of the systemic solution and not leaving the vulnerable outside. For profits bring expertise and resources, non-profits bring technical assistance and seed capital, and when this is all combined for the benefit of a vulnerable population, a wholistic and sustainable approach is accomplished. The objectives may seem different for non-profits and for-profits, but are they really? I do not think so – the outcome is wealth for everyone inside a system that functions with growth potential. There is triple win strategy for the communities, for-profit and non-profit entities in meeting set objectives.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
I am seeking advice and insights from executives in the for-profit social impact space, and the non-profit global development space. I am currently on a meaningful journey to establish where my skills and expertise will be most impactful, inside a for-profit focused on social impact, or leading a non-profit seeking to 10X their income and/or growth in impact! My skills are clearly transferable on either side of the aisle, however I want to ensure that I am able to serve vulnerable communities and leave a legacy of impact that will not be forgotten; an impact that will continue through more generations to come, an impact that will change the trajectories of life for those who do not see hope currently. If you are looking for the person to think outside the box, push boundaries and stereotypes, and bridge the divide between for-profit and non-profit cooperation to bring amplified funds for impact to the vulnerable, then please reach out by visiting my website at www.GretchenVillegas.net and e-mailing me at gretchen_villegas@yahoo.com.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.GretchenVillegas.net
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gretchenvillegassocialimpact/
Image Credits
These are my personal photos so no image credits.
