Judith is redefining traditional standards of what it looks like to be a successful woman today. A first-generation Filipina American, Judith’s work through InHerShoes is an example of what is available when courage overrides fear.
FWM: You are redefining traditional standards of what it looks like to be a successful woman today. Tell us about InHerShoes.
InHerShoes is the modern woman’s community for courage. A registered 501(c)(3) non-profit committed to catalyzing courage for girls and women around the world to live and create courageously, InHerShoes is a journey, not a destination. The foundation of everything we do begins and ends with one question: What would you do if you were 1% more courageous? We take a stand for girls’ freedom of expression, assertion of passion, and pursuit of possibility in every aspect of their lives.
At our core is a movement that provides access to conversation, community, and connection. We create a yearly summit that celebrates the quirks, questions, and courageous moments in life by bringing together groups of women and our allies around universal topics that transcend age, geography, and time. In addition to our summit, we create workshops and leadership trainings catered to building diversity equity, inclusion, and belonging.
FWM: As a leader at the intersection of social justice and the future of human capital, how has 2020 changed your vision?
2020 has not necessarily changed my vision, so much as crystallized it. Much of my work for over the last decade focuses on the intersectionality we all hold and how that impacts how we work, who we work with, and why, especially for our youth. I feel 2020 has brought clarity and intentionality to my vision not only within InHerShoes, but especially around my own driving force that guides me personally and in my work – to create and live a life aligned with my highest self while catalyzing the movement of human beings into their highest selves.
FWM: How are you mobilizing the next generation of leadership?
Growing up I always felt I was taught success and leadership were measured by intelligence, and we could find evidence for that intelligence through traditional “benchmarks” for success like grades, test scores, aptitude, and what job you found yourself when after attending college. In many cases, this is just as valid today; however, it is not sufficient for the world we live in, let alone the new world we are being challenged to create. Through our work at InHerShoes, we use the context of courage to explore and approach success and leadership through a lens that measures both beyond intelligence – delivering into things like empathy, courage, resilience, emotional intelligence, decency, and a handful of 21st-century skill sets to meet the new moments of a new world.
In this new world, it is no secret our workforce is changing. This year in 2020 alone we have seen changes to not only how we work, but where and especially who is working. According to a New York Times article this past November, 6.5% of women, 9.2% of black women, and 9% of Hispanic women in the U.S. workforce were unemployed as of October. That is a dwindling amount of female representation in the workforce, leadership, and decision making, let alone the impacts of our economic recovery from COVID-19 depending on women’s participation in the labor force. Through our programming, mentor opportunities, and community, InHerShoes is not only mobilizing young women but women across all generations, one act of courage at a time.
FWM: What are your core strengths and values?
One of my core strengths is being futuristic. This definitely has its upsides and downsides I have learned over the years. For many entrepreneurs, I believe we can envision a whole world of possibilities, but part of that also comes with the realities of what it takes to actualize what we visualize. That is no easy feat. No matter what venture you choose. What has helped me throughout my own journey has been being clear on the values that keep me grounded and connected to my “why”. Valuing community, integrity, and authenticity have been such a guiding light in business and in life for me.
FWM: You were named a Forbes 30 Under 30 nominee and you are a Vital Voices and TRESemme Global Leadership Fellow. What does this mean to you?
Honestly, it means so much and not much all at once. In one regard I feel so honored to be recognized in these ways. It is validating and gives me the motivation to keep creating and building. On the other hand, however, I also feel a sense of unattachment to these “titles.” As much as I am honored to receive these opportunities, I am still very much humbled knowing that I am just one of a bajillion people on this planet trying to make this world a better place. I am still very much a daughter of Filipino immigrants who grew up in Santa Fe Springs, CA. In a way these things to me mean we as women have come so far, and, there is also so much further to go.
FWM: InHerShoes has impacted thousands of young girls, women, and communities in the pursuit of possibility, one act of courage at a time. Share your advice for young women today.
If I could share one piece of advice to young women today it would be to not underestimate the value of self-discovery. In my personal experience, I felt as a student I was so busy and consumed by getting that “perfect grade” or “perfect job” after college, or being in that “perfect relationship”, that I didn’t pour into my own self, let alone give myself the permission to figure out who I was and what I wanted. This is something any person at any age experiences, but I especially want to advocate for young women today to see investment in self-discovery being just as crucial as acing that job interview or that “4.0 GPA”, or gaining those followers on social media. Discovering who you are will automatically spill over into every other area of your life and allow you to thrive in more ways than one.
FWM: You are a staunch advocate for environment-centered design. Tell us about your initiatives. How can we join forces with you?
When I first found myself stumbling upon social entrepreneurship and began working at Ashoka, I was pulled by the possibilities I saw through human-centered design. It wasn’t until I began to work more closely with students in higher education, however, where my love of environment-centered design came to life. Where human-centered design is a framework that focuses on developing solutions with the human perspective central in each step within problem-solving, environment-centered design is an approach used in services or product design that hones in on the preferences, limitations, and needs of not just the human/individual, but also the environment and ecosystem that are stakeholders whether we realize it or not.
As InHerShoes continues to navigate new approaches to building community and expanding our programming offline and online, we are always eager to incorporate environment centered design into how we go about doing that. One example has been our recent 2020 Catalyze Courage Summit being carbon negative. Usually a one-day in-person event, we turned our Summit into a first-ever three-day virtual convening and planting 10 trees in the process based on calculating our emissions even from a virtual standpoint.
You can learn more and join our work to build coalitions such as this by finding us at inhershoesmvmt.org.
FMW: Tell us about, “Students Lead Now.”
Student Lead Now is the first book written by students for student leaders navigating the complexities of student leadership while in college. I co-authored the book with fellow student leaders spanning across the U.S. five years ago. Much of the work that went into Students Lead Now came from seeing the connection of student advocacy and student leadership translating into how we lead and need leadership beyond school campuses.
FWM: What is your vision for 2021?
My vision for 2021 is intentionally creating by design and not by default. This past year has shaken up many things for many people in a lot of different ways and it’s time to create and confront what building a new future could look like. Whether it’s the future of work, advocacy, inclusivity, social impact, gender equity, racial equality – or even daring to answer “what do I want now?” – I am eager and excited to build off the learnings, clarity, and resilience that 2020 has taught me…and catalyze courage in new ways for the year to come.
