Ready to elevate your career game? In this episode, Lorie chats with Georgina Griffith-Yates, a leader who’s mastered the art of fostering strong communities and teams through genuine connection.
Learn how embracing your authenticity can lead to a more rewarding work environment and personal journey. Georgina walks us through her path from self-doubt to her pivotal role at Wasatch Community Gardens, offering practical advice for building resilience and achieving professional fulfillment.
Tune in to hear it all on Fearless Females.
Show Highlights:
- Why higher education based on your true passion matters. [00:03:37]
- Discover how self-love and total fulfillment interconnect. [00:07:38]
- How to do difficult things, like fundraising, authentically. [00:13:57]
- Wisdom on walking a not-so-rosy career path as women. [00:17:40]
- Tips for employed youth on how to approach oppression. [00:22:37]
- What to do with feeling incompetent at work. [00:25:21]
- How office policies can empower female health. [00:29:03]
- Unlock how to document and template process models. [00:33:30]
- The power of offering yourself grace for a strong identity. [00:37:33]
For more information or to connect with Georgina Griffith-Yates, go to:
https://wasatchgardens.org/who-we-are/staff/item/424-griffith-yates
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/twomomsanctuary/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georginaflorence
If you enjoyed this episode, please go to Apple Podcasts and leave a review! For more information about Lorie Jones, go to http://fearless-females.com/.
00:01.81
loriejones7
So today we're here with Gergina Griffith Yas who is the executive director of the wasatch community gardens and I'm so excited to be talking to you today. Thank you so much for doing this for us Jarina. So um i.
00:12.62
Georgina
Um, thanks for having me and so and so excited.
00:18.43
loriejones7
Wanted to start out with a question that's near and dear to me, it's I'm a reader I Love reading anything and everything I can get my hands on what is your favorite book.
00:27.49
Georgina
Okay, this was the hardest question you sent me because I am also an avid reader I think last year I averaged 3 books a week I was just so on it last year. Um I picked free from last year not my own.
00:39.33
loriejones7
Um, yeah, okay, great.
00:42.60
Georgina
My all-time favorite is amazing too. But um, so last year I picked homegoing by ya yasi incredible. It's an epic tale that spans 300 years from Ghana to New York and it's gorgeous. It's a fiction. The next is a nonfiction braiding sweetgrass by Robin Wall kimmerer
00:53.14
loriejones7
Oh Wow. Okay.
01:02.27
Georgina
Wow just it's she really convinced me that um I need to slow down and just take care of myself and my earth um, which was really beautiful and then you can probably sense a theme here. My third book was rest is resistance by Tricia Herrsey and so she's.
01:09.83
loriejones7
I Love it.
01:20.94
Georgina
She has ah a social media platform called the Nap Ministry and it's all about you know how rest and sleeping and taking care of yourself is a form of resistance kind of to this fast-paced um environment. We find ourselves in so often.
01:26.35
loriejones7
Ah.
01:38.15
loriejones7
Oh I Love that those are great suggestions and um, we were just chatting about how I'm excited about kind of helping our um entrepreneurs our women executives kind of slow down and maybe.
01:51.10
Georgina
Um, as miss.
01:51.21
loriejones7
Those that are listening to this podcast. Maybe they start out on the right foot and they take time for themselves so that they don't get in that position where they're just overwhelmed and overworked I Love that that's great. Thank you? So and so tell me.
01:58.19
Georgina
Um, right happens to the best of us.
02:07.16
loriejones7
Little bit about your journey. How did you get where you are today.
02:10.37
Georgina
Yeah, um, well I like most I don't know maybe not most kids but I was like I'm just going to be a doctor when I grow up and so my grandpa was a chemist and my sister was a chemist and like great I'll go do premed you know my undergrad.
02:28.22
loriejones7
Ah.
02:28.23
Georgina
And I started that and I could not stand it I was like why do I have to get up at 7 a m for a class about biology like I I am biology I'm a human was just so disinterested and that I quickly switched over to art which is the opposite of becoming a doctor. Um.
02:38.83
loriejones7
Um I got.
02:47.31
loriejones7
Um.
02:47.31
Georgina
And I absolutely loved being an art major and then I I took on another major which was family and child development which has taken a long time for me to like I don't know confidently say that I was a child and family development major I feel like there's a stigma to it that I carried for sure that I'm like I'm just.
03:00.60
loriejones7
I.
03:06.70
Georgina
Doing this because I don't I don't know it was um it was really interesting but it was so focused on Community and community building through families and um and so that really is how I started getting interested in the nonprofit sector was through that major and.
03:12.95
loriejones7
Ah.
03:22.32
loriejones7
A hand.
03:25.10
Georgina
And I love my art major and it helps me and I get to do fun things all the time but but that major really changed my view on my role. Um in in my community growing up and so ah I moved out to Utah that was in Virginia moved out to Utah and I said I have to get a job that requires a degree. Because I went to school. It has to be in my field because I learned a lot and so um I applied for so many jobs out here kind of in the sector and I got one and on the first day I was I was getting in my car and it was for you know a girl's home and and it was a cool job. Um.
03:45.66
loriejones7
Ah.
03:57.52
loriejones7
I mean.
04:02.10
Georgina
In my gut I just knew I just had this gut feeling. It wasn't what I was supposed to do and I really I'm going into detail because I really this this story was so foundational for me and so transformational I listened I listen to myself like if I'm feeling sick to my stomach to go to this place.
04:07.56
loriejones7
Ah ha.
04:15.80
loriejones7
Um, yeah, yeah.
04:22.70
Georgina
And it's not the work. What is it and said I don't feel good about it and and within 48 hours a job that I'd been holding out for for a while called and it was um, it was an education based job that totally needed my my what I went to school for.
04:36.89
loriejones7
Yeah.
04:38.91
Georgina
And I started at the bottom of that nonprofit. Um, and I ended up staying there for 8 years and it totally shaped. Ah how I um really wanted my career to evolve because I got myself into a position where I was needed and that allowed me to ask for things. Um.
04:49.29
loriejones7
And.
04:58.10
Georgina
And so I asked for them to send me to school and to to pay for my master's degree in that I would stay on a little while and I did um and so that master's degree in public administration at the University Of Utah was pretty life changing and ah met incredible people through that learned about wasatch community gardens through that which is where I work now. Um.
05:10.64
loriejones7
Ah.
05:17.56
Georgina
And so after after 8 years of working at that last nonprofit and working my way up and getting into program design and um, you know governance and people management and all of that I I took the leap to become an executive director for the first time I started when I was 29 which I felt very weird about I was like if I could just be 30 feel like whatever reason that number is like then it's okay, but um, that's so silly now that I think look back and think and I'm like it doesn't matter how old you are. You could be 22. It doesn't matter if you're in if you have the skills and you have the desire and the passion. You know you can do whatever you set your mind.
05:51.63
loriejones7
Um, you're ready. Yes, yeah.
05:55.92
Georgina
And yeah, so that's a little bit about my story and how I got here and now I've been the executive director for two and a half years
06:02.63
loriejones7
I Love that I love that you listen to your gut That's something that sometimes if you don't you find yourself in situations where it just isn't a great fit for you. It just wouldn't have put you on the life path you needed to go? Yeah, um.
06:11.46
Georgina
Um, totally I would be it would be very different now.
06:20.24
loriejones7
So and this journey as you're coming to being an executive director at a really good age. Um, what is the best investment that you made in yourself. Is there something that you can say hey I am so glad I did that maybe it was just listening to your gut but the best thing you did.
06:25.30
Georgina
Um, yeah.
06:36.20
Georgina
Yeah, um, this is I was talking to my marketing director I was like let's go through these questions together and she was like if you know yourself then you can answer this only thank you It's very helpful. And we read this question and the first thing that came to mind which I don't know is might be silly as my wife and my relationship is is honestly the best investment I've made in myself is I and maybe my maybe I think of my marriage and my wife because.
06:57.50
loriejones7
Ah ahead and.
07:08.80
Georgina
It was such a huge goal of mine. A really big goal and I got this advice when I was a teenager and I worked so hard. Um, you know to to make this my reality that if you can't love yourself. How can you carry love for others. How can you carry love for your community for the work that you do and be authentic and have it be sustainable and not a mask or something you're trying to cover up or ignore and so you know we worked really hard. My wife and I are like we have to love ourselves before we ever get married and then we did and so.
07:27.44
loriejones7
Ah, ahead the head.
07:39.63
loriejones7
Um, with.
07:40.58
Georgina
You know that investment which isn't I've done a lot of other really cool things I've gotten a master's program which is a great investment. You know I've um I've joined different professional affiliations. But that's really just just anecdotal to your field. Um, and I definitely encourage that but I think for.
07:48.13
loriejones7
Um.
07:54.63
loriejones7
Right.
08:00.18
Georgina
For me and something that I can share with others is like Wow I know myself that's going to continue to change I know myself and I love myself and so with that I can I can go for it as my complete authentic self and.
08:16.20
loriejones7
Um I Love that. Um.
08:17.19
Georgina
And I've been in jobs where I didn't enter that way and it was very difficult I'm queer and in my last you know in 1 of my jobs. Um, when I started they told me not to tell anyone right to like just drink tell anyone and you'll be fine and so it's this like this authenticity to self I think opens doors.
08:25.35
loriejones7
Of 2
08:33.33
loriejones7
I Love that I love that you're talking about too like and the idea that if you are comfortable and you and you love who you are and you know who you are that you're able to share that with the community it. It feels like that is something that.
08:35.48
Georgina
For sure.
08:47.21
Georgina
Um, the earth.
08:50.41
loriejones7
Yeah, family is kind of like a universal concept I found it throughout my life throughout my career and throughout my world and I like that you're able to find that authenticity I I like that word being able to be who you are and bring your whole self.
08:52.31
Georgina
Um, yeah, you.
09:08.36
loriejones7
To work. Yeah.
09:09.46
Georgina
Yeah, it's It's what I live by now and I think I've been able to find that um I mean I think we all crave that too that ability to to just be real with each other and so.
09:22.67
loriejones7
Um, yeah.
09:24.18
Georgina
As I've worked with people. It's kind of opened up connecting with others as well like man and I tell this to my staff all the time I'm like we are all humans living a human experience and that changes every single day and so let yourself be human, you know before you list out.
09:33.52
loriejones7
Yeah, yeah.
09:40.13
Georgina
Coworker employee or anything like that like make sure humans are the top.
09:43.43
loriejones7
Yeah, yeah, who you really are so have you had any? um, is there any particular way that you've you've found like a book is there a checklist somewhere I can check off that tells me how to learn to love myself anything I can read to do this.
09:54.34
Georgina
Oh my God I wish I Wish oh my gosh I feel like um, okay so I'll tell you my favorite book of all time is a fictional book. It's called the history of love and it's just love in so many forms and you know there isn't.
10:07.98
loriejones7
Ah.
10:12.19
Georgina
I think and this is maybe what I want to share is like I've had had I had dated people and had people in my life where it like that wasn't the goal and so I think it's so much more of like who and you don't have to have a partner to to find authenticity. But for me that was my checklist and that was my book right? I was like.
10:26.78
loriejones7
A.
10:32.21
Georgina
I know that I need this for myself and I have a deadline here because I have someone I'm so in love with and want to marry. But but there's so many different ways to to find that in yourself and um and I think just I started taking note of when I found myself.
10:41.96
loriejones7
Um, and.
10:48.58
Georgina
What you know the term I use is masking where I just was trying to be something different or trying to hide something and every time I did that I just took note like literal note in my phone like what in this circumstance is making me do this you know and then just working working through that and and it's never ending right.
10:50.52
loriejones7
Me here.
10:59.64
loriejones7
Yeah.
11:07.52
loriejones7
Yeah, and I I think if you find yourself making those notes more often. Um, then maybe you haven't found your tribe wherever you're at right where you're where you're saying I'm using my mask quite a bit in this situation.
11:08.23
Georgina
So.
11:13.71
Georgina
Yeah, yeah, yeah, and that can happen in your career right? where you're like wait I got educated for this I'm getting paid for it I don't like it's not.
11:24.19
loriejones7
Maybe this.
11:32.17
loriejones7
Again.
11:32.72
Georgina
Bad work. You know, but what's missing and I think you know there have been studies about millennials and as a millennial I like to read these studies about how you know there's from housing to jobs. It's all very different for this generation. But how no matter what no matter what field. We're in we need connection to the work we're doing we need yeah authentic connection and I think we find that authentic connection when we see it feeding back into our souls and our community and our family and it can be not like I mean it's very easy to be like yeah I can see how food does that but I don't think it Matt I think you can be.
11:56.14
loriejones7
Um, and.
12:09.69
Georgina
Ah, Pilot or a finance manager or you know whatever that means for you and and still find that meaning in that connection.
12:14.76
loriejones7
I was just going to say that I love my job so much and the part that I love the most about it is when I help someone come to like financial peace of mind when they walk out of my office and they are like thank heavens we.
12:20.77
Georgina
Um, reserve.
12:24.42
Georgina
Um, yeah.
12:31.77
loriejones7
We feel like we're going in the right direction we feel so confident about what we're doing and and that transcends like you said your specific job that you're doing to this overarching feeling of I have helped I have made the world a better place today. Yeah.
12:34.70
Georgina
Um, yeah.
12:43.17
Georgina
Right? I think it can get. We can get like I can talk about this kind of stuff and it can feel really just pretty and that sounds nice, but that's not real and you know the reality is if you get a job you take it and it's you know. Xy and Z and you know that's all true too and you have to hold both at the same time and if it isn't your career that's giving you that because you just can't right? Then that's okay, too. You know, but and and so I think we have to try.
13:01.70
loriejones7
Here.
13:11.10
loriejones7
Um, yeah.
13:16.29
Georgina
And work for better for us and for women in the field in you know any field but in their careers and also understand that we're working in very difficult systems that we have to pay our bills at the end of the day.
13:23.81
loriejones7
Yeah, yeah, yeah, there are times I have to do paperwork and I don't find much joy and fulfillment in that either. So you're right? but I like that I like that. But so what is the worst. Advice you've ever gotten and did you take it.
13:42.85
Georgina
Um, um, came from a man but um I was yeah I got really bad advice for a while about fundraising and that's my.
13:54.91
loriejones7
Oh.
13:58.91
Georgina
Bread and butter now right? This is what I do. Um, besides all the other stuff but um and I was told you know people don't want to give money to causes. They want to give money to their friends so you have to arm twist them if you can if you can figure out how to twist arms. Then you can figure out how to fundraise and it sat so it didn't sit well with me and so at that time I decided well I guess I'm never going to fundraise and it's not going to be for me and and it was It was pretty devastating to me at the time because I was a program I was a program manager at the time. And a nonprofit. You know it's higher pay and you know there's just a lot more within fundraising I was really excited to kind of get there and it was it was so it was crushing to me just this like oh shoot because I know me and I know I won't twist arms and so it's not a field for me and then I Um, you know.
14:43.46
loriejones7
Um, yeah.
14:53.32
Georgina
Continued living and when I started this job I had this team of women who all different ages all different experience and the word that comes to mind is just empowerment I started here and they were so empowering because I was so scared of fundraise I was so scared. Like I don't know how to twist arms. How am I going to fundraise here I told the board when they were interviewing me that I could for sure do it and you know all this stuff and they're like well what feels good to you? What feels good to you and I said well I don't know. I don't know yet because I haven't done fundraising but all I want to focus on right now is just making really good relationships based on the work is this whole conversation right? Do we make relationships based on the person who's running the org or based on the work so that when that person leaves. It's not this whole right? and.
15:37.37
loriejones7
Um.
15:45.10
loriejones7
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
15:48.17
Georgina
And nonprofits easily fall into that right? if I can just get all my friends to donate we can get through this year but that's not sustainable and it's not fair to the team. It's not fair to your staff and so um, yeah, so I didn't take the advice because I i. Physically emotionally spiritually I could not I'm just I'm not capable of twisting arms. Um, but I did hold it for a long time which was really hard for me because it felt like um the end of what I thought was advancement in my career and so being able to take that.
16:06.85
loriejones7
Yeah.
16:18.98
loriejones7
Ah.
16:22.18
Georgina
And let go of it and see a different way and I think women in in fields all over the place. Do this all the time and it's not just fundraising. It's like something that was set up to be oh only only a man can do this or only if you are aggressive for only if you.
16:24.19
loriejones7
Um, ah.
16:28.20
loriejones7
Here.
16:39.74
Georgina
Take on these qualities. Can you get to this point and yeah, we'll let you in but you got to do it that way you know and I think we'd come up against that when it's like oh what if I just did this but I said come learn and tell me how we want to get engaged.
16:43.29
loriejones7
Yeah.
16:54.49
Georgina
And it's been incredible I mean I started two and a half years ago we had a one point two million dollars budget we just passed a two point four million dollars budget and we raised $4000000 on top of that over the last two years and so it's been I mean absolutely incredible.
17:01.50
loriejones7
Ah.
17:07.73
loriejones7
Congratulations and you did it through like building a relationship with the work that you were doing huh.
17:10.50
Georgina
Yeah, and the community right? and it's and the work can do for the work could speak for itself I don't need to twist. Someone's arm to to see its merit.
17:17.94
loriejones7
Yeah, that's really interesting I did I was told that that's part of the story of where I got where I'm at is I was told girls don't do math girls. Don't do finance right.
17:29.67
Georgina
Um, in theory will move.
17:30.54
loriejones7
And so um, so I showed up at work as the secretary of the first day and sure enough everyone that was a secretary looked like me and everyone else was a man. So of course then in my mind. Well I guess girls don't do finance and and I did held that I held that belief for a while.
17:35.56
Georgina
Um, concerns.
17:43.49
Georgina
Yeah I guess you're right.
17:50.28
loriejones7
You know and that it wasn't anything that anyone else told me exactly it's just that's what I held and held onto it for way too long.
17:54.13
Georgina
Um, the he next.
17:56.98
Georgina
Yeah I don't think honestly how we're conditioned as women especially women in the workforce I don't think it takes much to crush us honestly and so and not in like a we're at the we're at the mercy of men or you know these things but it takes.
18:07.22
loriejones7
Um, what.
18:16.50
Georgina
Often takes so much courage to enter those spaces in the first place that if someone says your worst fear pretty quickly. That's all you need to be like yeah okay I'll stay in my corner you know and I think it can be really easy to just stay painted in your own corner as long as you'll keep telling you that's where you belong.
18:29.25
loriejones7
Yeah, yeah, um, that's why I like the idea of being fearless. Um, you know it's not I'm not fearless I I Definitely think of all the things and and scary things that could happen. Um, but but trying anyway.
18:36.75
Georgina
Um, yeah.
18:42.52
Georgina
Um, with tonight.
18:45.14
Georgina
Is totally totally My wife and I talk about this all the time about something and I think I was just raised this way. So I think my parents that they're like failure is not an end. It's just a try. You know so just keep.
18:46.49
loriejones7
Even though I'm scared that's fearless if you ask me.
19:01.67
loriejones7
Yeah.
19:04.55
Georgina
Failure is just drying and drying and trying and so it's nothing negative.
19:07.48
loriejones7
So what about regrets. Do you have a situation in your career that you maybe would have handled differently or like what kind of lessons did you learn from that speaking of it's not a failure. It's just a learning experience right.
19:15.72
Georgina
Um, yeah.
19:21.39
Georgina
Right? Yeah, yeah, and um, one thing that came to mind pretty quickly is I used to run these pretty big donor events and I had this incredible team of women. Um. Who were kind of the behind the scenes at the different stations for this event that type of thing and ah just as that Org Grew Bigger. We got more donors that we weren't familiar with and so we couldn't really tell what the vibe was going to be. Um, we didn't We didn't have alcohol at these events and so after a while we got these donors who would come in drunk beforehand. Um, you know they pregame or whatever for the donor event We hope Pregame. Um, and.
20:08.49
loriejones7
I didn't even know that was a thing for fundraisers.
20:18.49
Georgina
We had a couple a couple of events where um, some of the men who came that we weren't as familiar with harassed my team members either saying verbally they just were saying things and that were incredibly inappropriate and my staff should never have to go through. And at the time my reaction to that was to um, change how I assigned out my staff and not change The fact.
20:47.31
loriejones7
And. And left.
20:52.46
Georgina
That the behavior that was happening right? I was like okay if this is going to happen then only my male employees will be stationed and the women will be. You know I was like just problem solving and I have I have regret with that because if that would happen now I mean that was years ago but that have now they would be.
21:00.87
loriejones7
Ah.
21:10.75
Georgina
Men would be crying by the time I was done talking and and so it's um, you know a great learning experience I'm still close with those women by um, by the end of my leaving there. We had kicked out those those men and they were invited back. But yeah I think that bravery I was just like am I going to am I going to lose my job if I tell the boss that the donors aren't being nice. You know.
21:35.81
loriejones7
Yeah, yeah, that's a really hard situation and one that we run into all the time. No matter what profession we're in where do we do? We stand up for ourselves. Do we.
21:43.20
Georgina
Um, needs.
21:48.69
loriejones7
Do we stand up for our you know if they if they hit the mama bear in me I definitely they they can't be mean to my people so but but that's been a long time learning that too when you're first when you're young, a lot of times. It's really hard to take that stance.
21:53.34
Georgina
Um, yes now.
22:04.10
Georgina
Yeah, totally and when you're like in it too like men were saying things to me and I'm like I'll just it's for the org. It's for the kids. It's for the you know you can just write off behavior like that in any way possible, but it's no unacceptable.
22:19.45
loriejones7
Yeah, yeah, I like that. So so um, have you run into any of those situations like like recently does it still happen or and and do you treat it differently.
22:31.21
Georgina
Yeah, um, different org different donor base haven't dealt with that in the same way but have dealt with um, harassment of staff members and the ah perpetrators don't associate with this org anymore.
22:42.84
loriejones7
yeah yeah I like it. Um, it's ah 1 of the one of the companies we work with has a strict policy. We don't work with jerks and and I'm like yeah, that's that's exactly right? So don't be broke.
22:53.59
Georgina
Um, yeah, yeah, and it's really interesting. Kind of my leadership style is very like humanist. It's like very human centered and so it's really interesting.
23:02.83
loriejones7
And.
23:06.50
Georgina
Maybe even for my staff and I'm like we're all humans and experiences and these things happen all the time you know if things happen and life happens and then something like that happens I'm like no this is not the human experience get out of here I'm taking care of this. This is not part of the human experience I'm talking about.
23:21.72
loriejones7
Ah, so if you could go back and talk to your younger self 2021 and 22 what would you? What would you tell her.
23:23.71
Georgina
Walk half.
23:31.64
Georgina
Yeah I think first I feel stuff feel like I'm 20 and 21 for the rest of our lives. We're just every age we've ever been. Um I think what I would say is to to recognize. And not waste time on systems of oppression just unless your work is to dismantle those systems of oppression. Don't give them credence whether that's getting paid less than your male co-workers that type of system whether it's in ah inadequate healthcare. That kind of system whether it's promotions or um or what is expected expected of me you know I don't need to adapt to be more of a dude to get in with the group to succeed you know where I feel like that's a tactic.
24:07.13
loriejones7
Um, is that.
24:26.23
Georgina
That I held on to I was like okay I can hang with the bros like we can do this? No I don't need to work within their system of oppression I can build you know a team of of men and women and nonbinary individuals who are um. Who are so comfortable working in each other's realities instead of trying to work within a reality that someone else created.
24:46.74
loriejones7
So how would you say? how would you tell her to do that.
24:54.55
Georgina
Um, trust trust yourself I Think that's a big one. Um, what's what's the phrase. Um, don't operate from a scarcity mindset.
24:56.95
loriejones7
E.
25:09.19
loriejones7
Okay.
25:11.37
Georgina
If I don't That's what I would say don't operate from a scarcity mindset Every every interaction you're in every job you're in every room. Don't think if I don't then nothing will be left or if I don't do this then I can't It's not how the world works. That's not how the Earth and nature works the more you the more you can give the more you can.
25:30.83
loriejones7
I like that the idea of giving freely. Um because and trusting that that will come back to you.
25:30.90
Georgina
You know, receive instead of trying to fit into you know, listen to your gut and compare that to what your brain is telling you you have to do to fit in.
25:48.51
loriejones7
Do you think? um I'm gonna play Devil's ad advocate for just a minute so but do you think that she would get hurt if she did that if she was giving freely and trying to you know.
25:50.91
Georgina
Yeah.
26:02.53
loriejones7
Ah, have this abundance and assume that everyone else was abundant to.
26:05.47
Georgina
Yeah, there's so much hurt in that there's so much more hurt when you don't protect yourself, you know and you don't and you know my my I was just talking about this with a co-worker because I had to put my dog down this last weekend and it's the worst right? and.
26:09.90
loriejones7
M.
26:20.37
loriejones7
I'm subsequently. Yeah, yeah.
26:23.27
Georgina
It's also a part of life this this death but um, sorry tell me what we were talking about I just lost. Yeah, yeah, thank you? Yeah so I was talking to my coworker about how much like this kind of loss that just happens in life hurts and how.
26:30.16
loriejones7
Would she get hurt would she get her.
26:43.20
Georgina
If you don't open yourself up and this is just I mean boilerplate. But you have to remind yourself all the time if you don't open yourself up then for all the incredible things. You know that that hurt doesn't exist but all those incredible things don't either and and so yeah I think I'd get hurt I think I'd be embarrassed I think I would.
26:49.88
loriejones7
A.
26:55.29
loriejones7
Yeah.
27:01.91
Georgina
Um, not have pleased as many people and I also think I still would have ended up here. So yeah.
27:05.36
loriejones7
Um, yeah, yeah, what scared you the most when you started your career.
27:15.88
Georgina
Um, not knowing everything you know I feel like and that might be personal to me. It's like this major capricorn or something but I'm like I have to know everything so that if anyone asks me anything I can answer and I don't look dumb and like a dumb little girl. That was like my thing and I used that phrase all the time like my I'd call my mom like I Just don't want to seem like a dumb little girl because like physically I'm very small like I'm not in an imposing person and it just scared me so much and so I was like I need to know everything and I would just work overtime to understand systems and all things like that.
27:38.79
loriejones7
Um.
27:52.28
Georgina
And my approach is very different now where I I think that was a very individualist approach which is all I had at my fingertips at that time and I'm like oh if I don't know something I hire someone I partner with someone or I teach myself or have someone else teach me right? and.
27:56.60
loriejones7
And.
28:04.46
loriejones7
This is.
28:08.62
Georgina
It's not the end of the world and that's been this job has provided so much opportunity for discomfort in the unknown because I'm a nonprofit um person I have killed every garden I've ever grown. Yeah.
28:21.40
loriejones7
But so it's funny that you say that I have a black thumb I can't make anything live.
28:25.74
Georgina
Yeah, it's not I started hearing I was like please don't ask me anything about plants. Please don't end then the first day what is this I'm like it's green I don't know like and I was so scared and I'm like I have to know everything about gardening and farming to be able to be successful in this job and let me tell you what I don't.
28:38.50
loriejones7
Ah.
28:45.61
Georgina
I have staff who are so willing to bring that expertise to the table because they don't want to have to bring my expertise to the table they they're like I don't want to learn how to fundraiser like I don't want to learn how to create a hiring and onboarding process or I don't want to like that's not my you do that and I'll do this and we'll work together and so that. But that was such a big fear for such a long time and I think I was in a very like male- dominatated team for a while that um it was like if you don't know you're Dumb. You know that's like the the phrasing that was used and I had some I had this guy tell me once out of printing office.
29:17.30
loriejones7
Um, there is.
29:22.40
Georgina
I like remember vividly my first year working he's like who did you hire. She's so green. She's so green behind the ears. He said that to my boss and my boss told me that and I don't know why he told me that but he was like but don't worry like you'll get there and in that situation I was right. Right? about what I was talking about with the printing and I remember thinking like oh it doesn't matter how much I know I'm if I'm trying to prove myself to people I'm going to doing that for the rest of my life so just focus on what you love and what you're good at and then open your arms when you don't know don't like.
29:57.83
loriejones7
Yeah I like that because it is. We do have a tendency especially as woman but in general to have to feel like we have to know twice as much as everybody else about everything. Yeah.
29:58.74
Georgina
Shut down.
30:07.41
Georgina
You worthy to sit at the table.
30:13.62
loriejones7
And and I think that um and that that mindset is changing a bit in that ah a lot of times I'll find so many wonderful um women and men that are willing to like help and grow and and help you in your career. It's not.
30:27.82
Georgina
Totally and I have yeah great mentors across the board. It's definitely. It's situational. It's time. It's what's going on in the world. There's a lot.
30:30.30
loriejones7
They're not trying to put you down. They're trying to raise you up.
30:43.92
loriejones7
I think I think the situation has changed a bit but but yeah I I still feel I still feel like I need to know twice as much as everybody else in the ah.
30:53.30
Georgina
Um, right? yeah.
30:55.55
loriejones7
But I I do try to lean on my team a little bit more pretty soon they know more than I do and I just like I don't know ask them yep up. Um, so what? about.
30:58.50
Georgina
Right? It's a great feeling come like I just want to hire people who are smarter than me. Yeah.
31:09.78
loriejones7
Unique challenges because you were a woman I know that we have things that are kind of unique to us like ah you know time off for child care or like you mentioned the pay. You know the pay discrepancy or something like that did you face any unique challenges.
31:21.19
Georgina
Um, yeah, yeah, something for me um, is when I'm on my period. My cramps are so awful I can't work I just can't and I'm.
31:32.53
loriejones7
Right.
31:35.70
Georgina
Whole thing and I know a lot of women experience that across the world or any individual with the uterus. Um, and I remember I mean it's just for so long just being like I just have to deal with this like I just have to and I can't say anything. To anyone and I just have to like run out of a meeting and puke and come back and you know it just felt so inhumane and right and I and I think and I mean I think women deal with this all the time just like.
32:01.19
loriejones7
Ah, sounds awful.
32:09.41
Georgina
Being on your period at work or going through Menopause and having to go to work like just these life things that like we know if men had uterus is that they would there'd be free tampons on every corner and you know and so um and so that was really unique to me that that was something I.
32:21.90
loriejones7
Um, and.
32:27.17
Georgina
Didn't feel like I could be vulnerable about that I had to push through every month for you know decades of my life. Um, and and I think I mean I think any end of it. Any woman has their unique.
32:36.39
loriejones7
Um, this here.
32:43.86
Georgina
Challenge of just the nature of being a woman. Whatever that means but I don't have kids but I'm sure there'd be issues if I had you know children and and child care. But that corporate America is not set up to support. And what's so interesting is there's this like oh we can't like if we did that then we'd have to I feel like that's always the if we gave you days off for your cramps then we'd have to give days off for constipation like just so and that's always how I felt those kinds of conversations went and.
33:00.68
loriejones7
Um.
33:19.92
Georgina
Man when I started here for the first while I was like what are the policies and I'm like wait I get to decide the policies so we have a reproductive health and wellness leaf. Here at our organization you get paid days every month for whatever you need with your uterus or with someone who has a uterus who's in your family or your roommate or whatever and you get it every month all year. No yeah.
33:45.18
loriejones7
That's great I I was listening to ah Simon Sinek and he was talking about comforter days is what he said and they were days where you just didn't feel like getting out of your bed you wanted to stay in your comfort and he's like.
33:53.77
Georgina
Um, yes.
33:58.80
Georgina
Um, and I was that 9
34:00.19
loriejones7
I don't make them lie to me and tell me that they're not coming into work it just because it's better for them to have a day off. They wouldn't be bringing their best self anyway.
34:07.14
Georgina
Truly disconnect too because if you're if you're lying to your boss about why you're gone then you feel that or at least I do I'm like I can't fully enjoy my day right total.
34:19.30
loriejones7
Yeah, yeah, yeah, oh I Love that? Um, what is the thing that you are the most proud of chargina.
34:28.88
Georgina
Yeah I think currently um I'm really proud of my garden can say I did so last year I had 27 tomato plants in my backyard I had.
34:35.23
loriejones7
Oh I Love that you did you learn to grow green things. Oh I'm so proud.
34:46.23
Georgina
I mean I had leaks and peppers and onions and cucamelons and it was so fun. So very very proud of my ability to learn how to grow things over the past couple of years um but also incredibly proud of my team and my staff here at all such community gardens. They have gone through a lot of discomfort to ask a lot of these questions we've been talking about what scares you What's uncomfortable. What makes you feel like you can and can't succeed and we really just like put it all laid it all out on the table and did a strategic plan with all 30 of us together and.
35:19.86
loriejones7
Here.
35:22.86
Georgina
Um, I mean I've had to take a lot of time off the past two months just because of family stuff and this team can just crank I mean they know they know what's expected of them. They know they can take time off still they know they can do whatever they need to get the the projects done and to take care of themselves and I'm so proud of a staff that has that autonomy that can say. I'm going to go hard with this I need this kind of time. Um I have a staff member who loves to go skiing every Wednesday and like yeah because time and hours are made up but projects aren't so finish the project I sorry yeah.
35:54.77
loriejones7
Um, and so kind of the work is your boss. The work is your boss kind of thing like.
36:00.16
Georgina
Totally totally and just trust each other and ask for help when you need it and so really proud of my staff for for leaning into that kind of leadership style and that kind of work culture because it goes against a lot of what we're taught kind of at the beginning of like how to engage with your work.
36:14.97
loriejones7
It sounds like it's a really a friendly environment and there any sort of like processes or procedures or rules or something like that that you learned that it kind of foster this environment because how do you replicate it if you don't have you churchina.
36:31.81
Georgina
Yeah, so I um, my dog's sparking in his sleep. Yeah I think so we have three pillars as an organization right now and 1 of them is called creating shareable models. It's how do we take.
36:43.60
loriejones7
That.
36:47.34
Georgina
Things like processes and document them so we can share them with others so I created the strategic planning process that anyone can do from a small project to a whole org wide thing and I shared that with multiple organizations already. Um, and so I think being able to 1
36:56.40
loriejones7
The head.
37:06.51
Georgina
Don't think we prioritize processes and that impacts our burnout. So when I started here there wasn't a hiring process. There wasn't an onboarding process. There wasn't an exit process any of that and so every single person we hired it took so much lift and so I think identifying the processes.
37:06.53
loriejones7
Okay.
37:21.24
loriejones7
Ah.
37:25.65
Georgina
That would like prioritize and identify processes that contribute to your capacity that build your capacity is kind of the first thing that I went after um and man I Google google Google I like everything I'm just like template of this start me off on best practice.
37:31.17
loriejones7
Mr.
37:43.65
Georgina
This is for like I am Google girl. It's so and like and when people are like hey could we maybe try to form this I'm like sure we'll figure it out and we just start seeing what other people's practices are and so yes, there is a way to to maybe take advantage of some of the. Processes that we've documented here because we're sharing them with anyone who wants them? Um, but I think also just on an individual level identifying those immediate processes that open up capacity for your sustainability as ah as a human.
38:03.46
loriejones7
Yeah.
38:12.72
loriejones7
So you so you do the processes and you get those down and then it gives you a little bit more leeway to yeah yeah.
38:19.73
Georgina
A whole foundation to stand on yeah because it's I mean that that hiring process was so tedious and we weren't really hiring people. It was such It was so cumbersome and i. Interviewed all of my staff and I was like what do we need and they identified 11 positions that we need that we don't have and so I budgeted and fundraised for 11 positions and I said we will do this and we can get the work done if we're standing on this this. Foundation of processes and so we went through and um I mean really, it has to be so collective and collaborative I think for any situation you're in um because.
39:03.39
loriejones7
There.
39:08.91
Georgina
At that time we said well we can't really hire a lot of people at once two weeks ago we onboarded 4 people at the same time and it was incredible. They're a cohort. They all know each other they're getting along great. They know exactly what's expected of them right? and so we were were able to provide the community with 4 new people. 1 ne's an a and justice director 1 ne's doing marketing for us right? And 1 ne's an educator out in the community. One's a volunteer director. These are really important positions that our community's going to benefit from because we took time to prioritize our own shit right? We we were like okay, what do we and and.
39:34.10
loriejones7
And.
39:39.92
loriejones7
I Like that? yeah.
39:45.24
Georgina
There's a joke. It's up on my board right now and it's like strategic plan plan is what it's called and it says plan the plan for the plan and that really is like how I go about things like how can we get all of these things in place so that when these ideas come or when our community needs us. We're in a position to respond and not say oh wait hold on. We need to figure out how to get this posted first and get this taken care of and you know and it might seem small and I keep thinking about that one because it's the hiring process because it's very we've been using it a lot here. But yeah, it just. I think it it provides when you document and streamline processes. Um, you're being more accountable to yourself in your community.
40:26.75
loriejones7
I Like that. Um do you mind sending me the ah material the information of perfect and we'll put it as a link to the podcast.
40:29.26
Georgina
But yeah I also have a website that I have a bunch of templates on that I started years ago. Um, when people started asking me so nonprofit budget template like how to start a nonprofit template all these things so I can definitely share them.
40:47.16
loriejones7
Oh yeah, that would be great. Thank you So um, Gergina any advice for if you have someone who's just starting down the path a journey that you are already halfway down or or further. Um, what what? you.
40:49.30
Georgina
Yes.
40:53.55
Georgina
You hear.
41:04.80
loriejones7
What would you tell that young lady What advice would you give her to be successful like you.
41:06.31
Georgina
Um, yeah I think that um comparison is the thief of joy and that you don't have to duplicate anyone else's. Path to get where you need to go So Don't waste your time comparing yourself to other people use um use curiosity instead of comparison and and um, invest in your authentic self to me those.
41:21.23
loriejones7
Okay.
41:39.11
Georgina
Those things open doors when I stop worrying about how well I'm doing compared to someone else I ask more questions I think that's um and they're you know community facing questions. A lot of the time. Ah, that's how I find.. That's how I would build myself and my success great. It's like testing.
41:58.00
loriejones7
Um, give me just a second. My printer is making noise that shouldn't be making so I'm like I thought I turned you off and told you to be quiet apparently I did not and i. Understand it's like the loudest printer on earth for some reason thank heavens. Ah well thank you dirty and thank you so much for doing this interview with us today if someone wants to what's the.
42:23.21
Georgina
Um, need help.
42:29.98
loriejones7
Best way to connect with you if they want to see all the cool things Linkedin or.
42:35.58
Georgina
Yeah I look at Linkedin like twice a year but ah, we'll add you. So yeah, you can add me on Linkedin I also have an Instagram it's 2 mom sanctuary all spelled out we have 24 rescue animals and um. Put ah put a lot of information out there about gardening and the work we do with Wasatch and all of that so that that might be the most direct way or you can look at the Wasatch Community Gardens website wasatgardens.org has my contact information if you ever want to come take a tour or see what we're doing here or just.
42:52.00
loriejones7
Um, well.
43:08.11
Georgina
You know, pick brains about different processes. We're really excited to share. So um, any of those ways you know.
43:14.46
loriejones7
Thank you! Thanks Regina for your time today I really appreciate it. It's been. It's been just great getting to know you and um, maybe one of these days I too will be able to grow something green right? Ah all right I'm going to push pause for just.
43:23.92
Georgina
Yes I have faith. Awesome.