Meet Virginia:
In her own words –
“People often focus on the newness of innovation, especially in the business world. But I’m more interested in the transformative power of reinvention. Reinvention is how we stay current both personally and professionally. It’s about understanding changing culture, embracing the art of the pivot, and finding creative solutions to meet evolving needs.
I’ve reinvented my career a few times over the years, all within the same industry – public relations. Without internships under my belt, I got a foot in the door of an agency by taking a job as a secretary determined to prove I was as good a writer and creative problem solver as I was a typist. It worked.
With a few more pivots over a 25 year career, today I’m the CEO of Current Global, a midsized PR agency that I essentially built from the ground up over the past 14 years, of course with a lot of help and inspiration from amazing colleagues and mentors. When asked for career advice, I always tell women to chart their own path. Businesses often have a prescribed promotion track, with only so much room at the top, so it is critical that you reinvent what may be a standard job description into one that plays to your strengths, taps into your past successes (and failures), creates new opportunities and offers value to the organization.
At Current Global, we’re constantly reinventing how we can help clients own the moment through an innate understanding of how customer demands, culture and story choreography converge to build relevant human connections that influencer behavior and drive impactful results. Never has the importance of reinvention been more relevant than in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and civil unrest around racial disparities. Today we are counseling clients on how to refine their role in the world, recover from impact, and return to profitability while doing right by society.
Personally, I’m invested in reinventing education opportunities for at-risk youth in Chicago through my work on the board of the Ryan Banks Academy. The education disparities in our city are appalling – your zip code should not determine your access to a good education – and lie at the center of systemic racism, poverty, unemployment, violence and more. Our vision is to establish an immersive and innovative education experience centered on a unique boarding school model that marries advanced STEAM curriculum with social-emotional learning in a safe environment.
It’s no small task, but if we can reinvent education opportunities to give every student in Chicago access to a stable and safe educational environment where they can flourish, then we can truly change lives and change the world. Are you ready to reinvent yourself, your career, your business? Don’t wait for a profound event or major milestone to serve as a catalyst, and don’t feel like you have to start from scratch. Commit to making a change (big or small) and watch the positive transformation begin.”
*** Please follow along on instagram as well and learn more about Laura. 52 Phenomenal Women is now in its second year! This is week 46 of 52.2.
Participants in this project will be supporting the efforts of Dress for Success Worldwide – Central. We are all stronger together and it is my sincere hope that we will be inspired by each other’s stories. Now is the time to celebrate as well as encourage one another. Tell your story!