 Hi this is Jan Reardon. I am a member of the Jennifer Reardon Foundation. I am on the board and I'm very proud to represent the Jennifer Reardon Foundation which has been put in place by my brother for my sister-in-law and we have continued to honor her memory through the foundation and one of the many ways that we do so is I'm bringing this wonderful show the kindness connection to you through our great partners here at CCTV that we we just love and appreciate so much and each month as you know I have a guest that I like to bring in to represent one of the pillars of Jen's Foundation and the pillar that we're representing today is women's empowerment and I am so proud to have Feilongo here and I'm going to look at my notes because this is a little bit more than I can remember all at once but Faith comes to us with she's from the center of women's the center for women and enterprise located here in Burlington Vermont which is so exciting and Faye I'm gonna this is the part I need to read her her title is community new pilot program coordinator community navigator navigator you know what I'm turning this over to Faye even sooner than I planned she's great she can give you her exact title I know what she does I just didn't know what it was really you know how it was summarized in a title but she does amazing things that I have heard about and I'm really proud to be able to sit here today and hear firsthand the wonderful things that you have been doing face so anyway this is Feilongo and let her tell you what her position is at the center thank you it's definitely a mouthful thank you so I am the community navigator pilot program project manager for the Center for Women and Enterprise okay okay thank you so much and with that obviously there's so many different things I want to ask you about because I the concept of this nonprofit is something that obviously you know one of the pillars for my sister-in-law but also near and dear to my heart too as far as the how powerful this is to really be focused on women's empowerment and to be right here in Burlington is a gift so if you could just tell us a little bit more about the mission of your organization I would love to know so the Center for Women and Enterprise is doing the amazing and awesome and inspiring work of lifting up the women who lift up the world this so CWE is actually a regional organization we house five women's business centers across four states and what are those states so we have Vermont women's business center New Hampshire women's business center Rhode Island and two in Massachusetts fabulous yeah we also house the veterans business outreach center of New England oh I love it and we act as the an arm of we bank which is has nothing to do with banking although it sounds like it but it's a we're the gold standard for private certification as woman owned wonderful we'll have to talk about that a little later too because I wasn't familiar with that either so this is exciting so how long have you been with the Center for Women and Enterprise I've been with the Center for about a year and sorry I got into explaining that we're a regional organization I didn't touch on what our mission actually okay that would be good to go back to that so thank you so I'm and lifting up the women who lift up the world really what that means is at our core CWE is an economic empowerment organization and we believe that by supporting women entrepreneurs and small business owners that's our our gateway to economic empowerment right absolutely so we do that through we provide education and training and one on one consultations with subject matter experts which are always free wonderful and I think most importantly we act as a connector so when you engage with CWE you're going to get the best of what we have to offer but we're going to make sure that you're also aware of and have access to the dozens of other organizations and entities that also support small businesses and entrepreneurs so you have collaborations with all of those different types of businesses in in many industries and many you know stages of their business yes like what would be an example of that well the community navigator pilot program which I manage is a great example of that right so the community navigator pilot program is funded through the SBA as are all many of the women's business centers all receive SBA funding right so the community navigator pilot program started a year ago and it's the grants were given at national state and local levels we received a state grant mm-hmm so what we do is there's CW is actually a spoke it uses a hub and spoke model okay Vermont SBDC the Vermont small business development centers are hub right and then there are nine spokes that includes CWE Vermont professionals of color the Vermont principles Association Vermont law school fabulous and others a CBO EO yes yes one and we all came together for the sole purpose of reaching and serving of Vermont's most marginalized and under represented entrepreneurs and small business owners so then what I would gather is you have this model in Vermont and since you're a regional organization the model that's in Massachusetts or in New Hampshire might not be identical so you tune that into what our state needs is it really pretty specific so the community navigator pilot program only Vermont women's business center right engaged in that right but the regional nature of CWE means that if I have if I'm working with an entrepreneur who needs counseling on something that like we don't have a consultant or instructor that has expertise in so let's just say exporting you know they're looking into international export and we don't have a consultant on staff in Vermont right help them I can act I can reach out to that whole very nice and pull expertise and yeah it's pretty great resources itself I mean that's fabulous to be able to have that really right at your fingertips it really is oh that's wonderful and then the organization itself when did that get started so the women's Vermont women's business center started 16 years ago I believe but CWE has been around since 1985 I believe and the director of Vermont women's business center Gwen Pocalo yes heart yes has been our director since our inception oh wonderful she's just amazing like amazing right I probably don't really need to ask this but it was in the notes so I may as well but what made you decide to go to work at the Center for Women in Enterprise I can feel the passion so I sort of get it but I think it's important like say a year ago turn back the clock she didn't know obviously as much as you do now about the mission I mean you can read it but what now you're living it so what what really drew you to this position woman empowerment there we go okay honestly like I have I have worked in the nonprofit sector largely in Vermont I did a small stint in New Mexico no you're kidding what part of New Mexico Eagle Nest oh my goodness I can't I didn't realize that yeah but I came back to Vermont so I moved away I came back for a while but I have 15 years experience in the nonprofit sector and in every role I've ever had I've sought to serve women women like me who have struggled with oppression and stigmatizing conditions you know like I grew up in poverty and I struggled with mental health and and I just I'm just really long you're so well accomplished I had read your work in the nonprofit field and I have worked in a couple of nonprofits myself so I have so much respect in general for you even before we had a chance to get to chat a little bit more but the background that you have brings so much to the table and certainly to the Center for Women in Enterprise and CW we specifically dedicates itself so don't let our name fool you we serve people regardless of their gender identity but we have a special interest and we have a special interest in serving a woman identified entrepreneurs or small business owners and it's because we utilize a woman-centered model have you ever experienced a woman-centered model something specifically designed for women? Absolutely yes it's amazing there's there's an amazing difference you know good on both sides and in all but there's just something that really resonates and and can you can feel in your core. That's what drew me to work at CW. Love that love that it doesn't get better as far as you know living the dream I mean and and I was very fortunate as well to have a career that I just loved every single day so that's important and that obviously adds to our quality of life as women and being able to feel good about what we do and share that with others you know there's nothing like lifting somebody else up and you know the old saying when you know the woman's crown is tipped a little bit you don't say anything just straighten it out and off you go yeah but anyway let's just chat a little bit more about you know not necessarily this past year for you but even if you think about the Center for Center for Women in Enterprise is there an accomplishment that's been made in this area that really speaks to you and your your love of the position and the organization? I thought about I've thought about that a lot it's a question I get a lot like and first I want to say I haven't accomplished anything on my own at this organization I don't work in a vacuum I have an amazing team I have amazing colleagues and I work with even with my colleagues at different organizations right that networking is fabulous I'm sure for collaboration and it speaks to how women tend to do business differently we work in relationship we like community right right but there are so many things I'm proud of I'm really proud of the way that Vermont is breaking down silos and reaching like rather than looking at things as if we're all in competition together we all have the same goal the lift-up entrepreneurs especially marginalized or underrepresented entrepreneurs we are all marching towards the same goal and if we all work together we're gonna get there so much faster and it's gonna be so much better for everyone so exactly for everyone yes it's true seeing those silos come down in generations to come this will change our culture exactly it really will I mean it has and will continue to for myself this is it's been exceptional and an unbelievable honor and privilege to get to work with so many entrepreneurs across Vermont being there with them like we usually meet over zoom right right so I've helped a few folks register their business which is a huge step that is fabulous you give me chills I mean you are such a gift to to this world you really are what you're doing is making such a difference now and forever this is really really wonderful thank you how how does your organization continue to grow how what is the funding stream like and how what are the needs that's such a good question so we're a nonprofit so most of our funding comes from grants where SBA funded from small business administration sorry I shouldn't be using acronyms we receive a lot of support and funding from from the small business administration opportunities like the community navigator pilot program that's a grant program it's for two years we also we do fundraising we're a nonprofit so we accept donations right and that's one thing I really wanted to you know be sure to find out from you how do you seek those donations and how does somebody donate if they want to after they you know listen to you speak so highly of your organization if people are interested in donating they can go to our website and there's a donate button right there you can yeah pretty straightforward okay good and just give us your website address yep it's cweonline.org perfect okay that should take care of that and then so really most of your the programs that you do are all grant funded yeah many of them are we also we do we work in partnership a lot cwe like I said it's all about relationship being in community collaborating or like co-optition and so we do we do offer a lot of programs and work on specific projects with specific funders sometimes okay I see for instance recently we did some financial literacy and credit for for small business together with with a bank that's fantastic just last month because one of the other pillars of Jen's foundation is financial literacy so last month we had John Pelletier here just talking about right all the different things that need to get into the school system so the kids have a chance to understand the importance of finance and to be able to set a bright path for the future and it was great and things are moving forward in the legislature to have that happen it might be a slow slow slower process than we'd like but at some point you know kids will be learning to to budget to what interest means to what you know college loans mean and you name it everything along the way just a household budget so those are the things that can make or break a kid just you know getting out of school or you know wondering what they're going to do and a lot can happen in those first few years so this is a wonderful you know path that that we're taking you know the state of Vermont on so hopefully that will come together sooner than later that would be amazing yes yes let's see so back with the funding do you ever have any events or anything like that oh yes we do we have an annual gala we have one coming up in I think it's next week actually fantastic I don't want to say the date and misinform people okay we can go to the site I want to make a note here to check that out just to my party a little bit yes let's see so give us the details and then we'll check on the date so the annual gala usually happens in Boston that's where our headquarters very nice okay and it's a big event we we highlight our rising stars which are CW clients who have been voted in Vera Sheehan yes actually our rising Vermont's rising star wonderful she is an extraordinary yes yes yes and yeah people can come there's an auction it's there's you know food and drink an amazing company that's fabulous fine and then does all the proceeds from that go right to the overall organization and then divvied up from there like how does okay yeah Vermont how many how many different states are there that would be involved in in an event like this there are so CW houses the five women's business centers right us for states okay I will say though so we do have fundraising efforts that are that are the way that you just described they're considered regional fund so those would be you know they go to a central pool and then they're divvied up to the different sites but we also have a lot something that I really love about CW is we also have a lot of state or project specific funding wonderful it's nice that it could be direct yeah so like community navigators for instance right specific for the state of Vermont right so that that grant that funding my time effort is all about Vermont yes and there's every every site has its own partnerships and relationships that were built over time so that we can provide things on a regional level and gain the the you know education inside the power right just the power numbers but still be able to focus locally exactly that's the best combination of all that's that's you know the why when I worked at the Y for a while and what I loved was why the USA did wonderful amazing things and then each state really you know a multiple wise within each state would be able to apply and be treated based on their community so it's fabulous to be structured that way that's for sure yeah so what does a typical day look like for you if I know there's no such thing as typical but you know like what and it doesn't even I was expecting to go into the day but that never happens either so how about just you know looking back what was the day like that what was it really your greatest day so far every day is great in its own way yeah but my day it can so I work with clients every day one-on-one I do a lot of one-on-one coaching or just helping people navigate the system and find you know access the resources they need so excuse me for one second babe but say you're working with a client does that client always come to you or do you really kind of seek people out in different settings like say through even high schools that have business programs and you know some of those kids might be interested in taking that business out on their own do you do you reach out in a proactive way or is it where people come to you and they know about Center for Women and Enterprise and they reach out to you it's both and great great yeah better yeah so maybe I'll start off my morning with some one-on-ones some some coaching calls and then after that I'm going to teach an hour and a half long webinar and then I'm going to answer a bunch of emails and then I'm going to schedule programming and it's everything which is probably what you love to is the combination of all different things not just you know eight hours of doing this or 10 hours of doing this and things like that so exactly so as far as you know again with your particular position will the results of that role that you have right now as I know it's a pilot program will that be something that would be implemented in these other states in the future perhaps or is it a one and done here it stays in Vermont that's a great question and I don't know the answer to that they're actually I actually do know some some answer there's through our our pilot program we were able to provide a bilingual classroom experience so very nice it was a largely English speaking class and we were able to provide live simultaneous Dari interpretation for a client that needed that that is just fabulous I mean dealbreakers in that sense I mean life altering moments and the that work although it specifically was in Vermont and it specifically served Vermont what we learned from that experience is gonna inform CWE regionally I see that's fabulous and then do you have a role in there's someone in the organization from like an advocacy point of view that represents women that so our amazing wonderful director Gwen yes recently was promoted to VP of policy fabulous and we have so we're actually we have two new positions at CWE region all the VP of policy which is which is our Gwen and then we have a VP of impact her titles longer than that so much of what CWE does is our direct service and that is a that there's a lot of power and there's a lot of responsibility in that absolutely right like we are at the front lines working with entrepreneurs and small business owners hearing from women what the challenges are and what the barriers are every single day so we recognize the situation and the responsibility that that puts us in and we want to live into that as an organization that is fabulous and what are some of the other positions at you know in Vermont that you interact with within your organization do you mean within the women's business center or in general within the women's business center so the women's business center usually runs off to full-time staff okay so we have a director and we have a client experience coordinator or a program manager but my through the community navigator pilot program my position was able to be added so right now in Vermont and mind you the women's business center our headquarters may be located in Burlington but we serve the whole state exactly I'm based in southern Vermont exactly which is fabulous it's always nice to be able to we do so much in Chittenden County and to get some of that outside and throughout the entire state seems to be the focus for many nonprofits which is wonderful but one of the questions I get a lot is how in the world can two or three staff serve the whole state right it's because of those connections in the social capital CW he's been able to build like I work closely with other organizations that serve women all the time mercy connections is amazing yes absolutely we bond the women's business ownership network Vermont women pernewers yes and there there are others you have collaborations really with all of those organizations there's there's a network that goes on there as well yeah I refer people to those organizations all the time and I receive referrals and I think that's really what makes Vermont so exceptional is I agree there's so much of that happening exactly right just for the good and in the you know making things better and that's not even including the connections we have through community navigators sure to those you know we have our hub and nine spokes yeah it's a really amazing network that's for sure it's very very powerful where exactly is the business center located so the Vermont women's business centers located on Pine Street okay in Burlington location yeah I wish when we're here right now because she she tells this beautiful story about Pine Street and how it's like the last oh how it's evolved yeah it's kind of yeah it's like the I'm trying to think of the right word for it but I know exactly what you say yes if there's all this going on around it but there's pie street and it's just developing and developing so much I mean it's become such a you know that's where you drive through that's where you go you know there's all sorts of businesses down there that are just you know locally owned that WWE clients even better it would be one that comes to mind for you on Pine Street um I so I can't name oh okay okay but anyway Pine Street is hopping it really is it is to be and with arts riot and everything going there getting a lot of social atmosphere as well and I will say if somebody goes to you know a woman owned business on Pine Street or in Burlington or anywhere and you know they don't know about CWE now you have information you can tell them exactly oh without a question that's that's you know certainly something that I'll be spreading the word on oh and I don't know if I mentioned this but CWE provides services and supports to business owners who are at every stage of their business oh interesting here I thought it was more of the you know the initial you more incubator style I didn't realize that you know it continued along the way or could start at some point down the road totally so if you're in a business and it's already established and going well we have trainings and cohort style classes and one-on-one consultations if you're looking to grow expand it or even step out of your business maybe you're ready to sell or retire or get advice in that regard yeah yeah we're here that is about as comprehensive as it could be how about volunteer support so CWE works very closely with consultants and instructors right a lot of the classes that I've been talking about in the one-on-one consultations don't happen with CWE staff we of course do we facilitate the courses and I do coaching a lot but we have a pool of consultants and instructors that we work with on a regular basis and they provide most of the instruction or the one-on-one consultations and so that's a volunteer basis um so you can choose to do it as a volunteer basis and there is also CWE has a we do have some funds available so it's in the budget to have some of that but you could volunteer if you want to say if there was a need for a particular industry and you knew that person they would just really that's beautiful totally yeah that's wonderful is there anything else that you have so much information that it's hard to squeeze it into a half hour here but that's why people should reach out I love hearing from people oh good yes you've been great ever since we first connected trying to get together here on the show so I do appreciate obviously all the work that you're doing your passion for women's empowerment is near and dear to my heart and my sister-in-law so thank you so much again for being here and for everything that you do for this state of Vermont my pleasure thank you thank you have a great day