ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the career journey of a Korean-American president/chief executive officer of a national intergenerational non-profit organization that unapologetically advocates for social and systems change with and for girls, young women, and gender-expansive youth of color who are too often relegated to the margins of society. As the organization has evolved since its inception in 1883, and has recently reinvented itself, the author provides key insights and recommendations for those who are in or aspire to leadership roles in social justice movements. Key lessons in this chapter include strategies for addressing the impacts of interpersonal, organizational, and social manifestations of oppression, as well as the importance of aligning with core values, collaboration over competition, welcoming of mistakes as learning opportunities, engaging the leadership of the people most impacted, and moving with conscious compassion and caring for one another. As Grace Lee Boggs said, “The only way to survive is by taking care of one another.”
