April 27, 2025 • 26 mins
Join host Gabriela Salas for an inspiring conversation with Hilina Ajakaiye, the visionary Ethiopian-born executive who transformed her modeling career into pioneering business leadership at Meet Boston while founding the influential RISE Women's Leadership Conference.
In this powerful episode, Hilina shares her remarkable journey from international model to executive changemaker, revealing the pivotal moments that shaped her commitment to creating platforms for women's advancement. Listeners will discover:
- How Hilina navigated cultural transitions and industry barriers to achieve executive success
- The vision behind creating RISE, New England's premier women's leadership conference
- Practical strategies for women of color to overcome workplace challenges and claim their leadership voice
- Inside perspectives on Boston's evolving business landscape and inclusivity initiatives
- Actionable advice for building networks that drive both personal success and community impact
This conversation offers rare insights into the intersection of cultural identity, executive leadership, and women's empowerment. Hilina's story exemplifies how embracing your unique journey becomes your greatest strength in creating meaningful change.
Whether you're a professional woman seeking inspiration, a diversity advocate, or anyone interested in transformational leadership, this episode delivers valuable perspectives on creating spaces where all women can thrive.
## Keywords
Hilina Ajakaiye, RISE Women's Leadership Conference, Meet Boston, women executives, Ethiopian entrepreneurs, diversity in leadership, women of color in business, Boston business leaders, professional development, women's empowerment, executive women, leadership strategies, cultural diversity, business transformation, immigrant success stories, women's conferences
DESCRIPCIÓN DE PODCAST - SPREAKER Desafiando Límites: Hilina Ajakaiye sobre Liderazgo, Diversidad y Empoderamiento Femenino | Que Pasa Boston Únase a la presentadora Gabriela Salas para una conversación inspiradora con Hilina Ajakaiye, la visionaria ejecutiva nacida en Etiopía que transformó su carrera de modelo en un liderazgo empresarial pionero en Meet Boston, mientras fundaba la influyente Conferencia de Liderazgo Femenino RISE. En este poderoso episodio, Hilina comparte su extraordinario viaje de modelo internacional a ejecutiva transformadora, revelando los momentos cruciales que moldearon su compromiso con la creación de plataformas para el avance de las mujeres. Los oyentes descubrirán:
In this powerful episode, Hilina shares her remarkable journey from international model to executive changemaker, revealing the pivotal moments that shaped her commitment to creating platforms for women's advancement. Listeners will discover:
- How Hilina navigated cultural transitions and industry barriers to achieve executive success
- The vision behind creating RISE, New England's premier women's leadership conference
- Practical strategies for women of color to overcome workplace challenges and claim their leadership voice
- Inside perspectives on Boston's evolving business landscape and inclusivity initiatives
- Actionable advice for building networks that drive both personal success and community impact
This conversation offers rare insights into the intersection of cultural identity, executive leadership, and women's empowerment. Hilina's story exemplifies how embracing your unique journey becomes your greatest strength in creating meaningful change.
Whether you're a professional woman seeking inspiration, a diversity advocate, or anyone interested in transformational leadership, this episode delivers valuable perspectives on creating spaces where all women can thrive.
## Keywords
Hilina Ajakaiye, RISE Women's Leadership Conference, Meet Boston, women executives, Ethiopian entrepreneurs, diversity in leadership, women of color in business, Boston business leaders, professional development, women's empowerment, executive women, leadership strategies, cultural diversity, business transformation, immigrant success stories, women's conferences
DESCRIPCIÓN DE PODCAST - SPREAKER Desafiando Límites: Hilina Ajakaiye sobre Liderazgo, Diversidad y Empoderamiento Femenino | Que Pasa Boston Únase a la presentadora Gabriela Salas para una conversación inspiradora con Hilina Ajakaiye, la visionaria ejecutiva nacida en Etiopía que transformó su carrera de modelo en un liderazgo empresarial pionero en Meet Boston, mientras fundaba la influyente Conferencia de Liderazgo Femenino RISE. En este poderoso episodio, Hilina comparte su extraordinario viaje de modelo internacional a ejecutiva transformadora, revelando los momentos cruciales que moldearon su compromiso con la creación de plataformas para el avance de las mujeres. Los oyentes descubrirán:
- Cómo Hilina navegó transiciones culturales y barreras industriales para lograr el éxito ejecutivo
- La visión detrás de la creación de RISE, la principal conferencia de liderazgo femenino de Nueva Inglaterra
- Estrategias prácticas para que mujeres de color superen desafíos laborales y reclamen su voz de liderazgo
- Perspectivas internas sobre el cambiante panorama empresarial de Boston y las iniciativas de inclusión
- Consejos prácticos para construir redes que impulsen tanto el éxito personal como el impacto comunitario
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Whenosi as Boston Katalis Damniana. It's such a pleasure for
me to talk about exceptional women, exceptional women in all
shapes and forms. I love talking to my friends and
especially when they come and visit me here at my studio.
And this time is not our rarity to have her
(00:23):
join us, because I have to share a couple of
stories just so you have a bigger picture of who
she is and where she's coming from. Immigrant beautiful, tall
ex model because she I remember, I remember she was
in the fashion industry, and every time that we walk around,
(00:44):
people just stare at her because she has that presence,
that energy that she shares. And at the same time,
she's been named and nominated and awarded with so many recognitions.
But most importantly, she's part of the community. She's a leader,
and she has been opening a lot of paths for
(01:06):
us women that are trying to make it and break
it in the corporate world, in hospitality and society. You
name it with me, my dear friend, Helena Ajakaye.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Yes, did I get it? You got it it? Welcome.
Thank you so much, Gaty, good to be here with you.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
I'm so happy to be able to showcase your life,
because I believe that nowadays Boston needs a lot of
inspiration and learning from people like you is crucial. I
am so in awe every time that I see either
a post on LinkedIn or you sharing one of your stories.
(01:49):
I just admire you a lot. I want you to
know that, and I want people to feel how proud
I am to have you here.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Where are you from?
Speaker 2 (02:00):
First?
Speaker 3 (02:00):
For first of all, let me say how grateful I
am to be here in space with you, because your
energy also feeds my inspiration. And I'll talk about, you know,
the first time we cross paths and how I was
so incredibly inspired by your presence and all the barriers
that you've broken for not only you know yourself, but
a lot of women. So birds of the same feather
(02:21):
and so you definitely definitely are one of my feathers.
And I appreciate your beauty in every sense of the word.
So I'm just you know, I would say, you know,
people say, don't just don't say I'm just h but
I'm an immigrant from Ethiopia. You know. I came here
in nineteen eighty seven from Addisava, Ethiopia, and I was
twelve years old I'm forty seven.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
For those who are curious today.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
I look in thirty seven, and you know, I came
here to go to school. I was a dreamer, just
like all of our you know, first generation or immigrants
who wanted to come here, seek a great education and
do something that is better than what the world season.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
And I've been able to.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
Hopefully scratch the surface of what that looks like from
an education perspective. I was able to finish my high
school education after learning English in two years, and simultaneously
finish my two year education and go right into my life.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
When you moved here, you spoke English or not really,
I didn't.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
So English is my second language, and on a good day,
I don't have an accent. On a day when I'm tired,
you'll hear my you know, native language of Amahaak for
those Ethiopians, and Abacha's listening in them Natchu Dananachu. But
I'm sitting le Nantes lemahone Ze. So I just said,
you know, I'm so glad to be here for my
(03:38):
Ethiopian natives. And that's one of the things that I'm
very proud of, is that I'm an Ethiopian black woman
living in the city of Boston and Massachusetts since nineteen
eighty seven and working here all of my career.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
What has been your biggest accomplishment as a woman so far?
Speaker 3 (03:54):
You know, as a woman, my biggest accomplishment is probably
being able to pay a forward for other young girls
and women who are like me. And so I will
tell you when I first came here, I did not
speak a word of English. My father drove cabs all day,
went to law school or at night, and then he
worked overnight at the Cambridge High Regency as a security director.
(04:18):
And he raised three daughters as a single dad. And
we were last key kids. I would run up and
down Western Avenue, go to my elementary school right in
the corner at the Martin Luther King Elementary School, and
I know a word of no English, and so I
would have my keys, my sisters and I to the
apartment on Western ab and we would just you know.
So my joy is that I've always been able to
stay out of harm's way. I've always had women pay
(04:41):
it forward to me. I've never been you know, women
and girls are in dangered species. So my greatest joy
is that I've lived that dangerous space where I realized
very quickly that other girls or women are not as lucky.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
So my grade, can.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
You say a dangerous space? What do you mean?
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Just vulnerable?
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Right?
Speaker 3 (04:59):
We can all always make the wrong decisions. We could
always you know, be at the wrong time in the
wrong place. And I've always had women mentor and pour
into me.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
And even though you are born, I mean you were
raised with a single dad, you were lucky to have
special women in your life.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
Absolutely, and I think that what makes the journey beautiful.
And what that superpower that I tell you about about
giving and uplifting and empowering is that because I do
have incredible women around me who pour into me every day.
And so the natural, you know, way of giving back
is something that gets me up every morning. Is who
can I help? You know, what woman needs my support?
(05:37):
What young girl is the girl that I was? And
how do I make sure that she's empowered and she's supported?
Speaker 1 (05:43):
And Funny, because now you're the mom of.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Boys, boys, I know, I'm a boy mom.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
I have a fifteen year old by the way, he'll
be sixteen this Sunday, and I have an eighteen year
old getting ready to go to college. I've been you know,
with my husband and best friend of thirty years, will
be twenty four years that we've been married this July.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
But I'm in a home of men, So I will
tell you this.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
I am such a passionate advocate for women, but not
at the cost of demasculating men. And so how do
we bring them together because they need them to be,
you know, advocates. You know, I call it the men
who get it when you go to it and we'll
talk about the conference. But you cannot have change if
you don't have all the stakeholders at the table. So yes,
I'm very very pro women, but I'm also as invested
(06:27):
in my black boys and black men and Latino men
and people that are you know, every type of man.
Our success doesn't necessarily depend on it, but we need them.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
You're saying that you're a supportive of men and them
supporting us, right at the same time, you've grown your
career in a very male dominated industry. How has that
been for you? Well, you know, it's interesting.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
I always say that, you know, my success belongs to
so many people that have kind of poured into me.
So I'm also my father's job. My father's a very
strong educator, he's an attorney. He is, you know, an
advocate for immigration. He does a lot of promono immigration work.
And so I grew up in retail. My initial first actual,
you know, journey in grocery retail for almost twenty years
(07:18):
was that I was the only one. I was the
only woman. I was the only person in the grocery
back room by the compact or in the front of
the registers when the bank got robbed, and people always
looked for me to be the solution solver.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
And I maybe a pope of the grocery store.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
Exactly, and so you know, I would get Paige to
the service desk to translate, and I only spoke English
and Amaharic, but I was translated in Spanish.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
And so I don't mind being the only one in
the room.
Speaker 3 (07:46):
Actually, I think I thrive off of that, whether it's
male dominated, whether it's in any other you know, quote
unquote dominant, I'm used to it, and I always attributed
to my father's daughter. I've never been told, Gabby that
I don't belong in a room. I've acknowledged it. But
that makes me want to get in that room and
stay there as long as possible, regardless of the adversity.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
You have to listen people that it's about what you
make of that moment or of that opportunity of that challenge.
It is very important for us to make sure that
we do not take either. And a compliment, you can
take it and you can make it your own, or
(08:27):
you can destroy it if you don't feel that it
belongs to you. Right, And when you're talking about becoming
a woman that is in power, most people that are
haters are going to come up with compliments in quotation
marks that are not suitable to either lift your ego
or at the same time put you down because a
(08:48):
lot of people need to step on you sometimes to
feel there greater and better when you experience certain circumstances
in that area. How would you suggest or give advice
to other women that are like us that we're trying
to be leaders and in examples, right, what would you
(09:09):
tell somebody that is going through a moment where they
are in a male dominated industry and they want to
uh success, succeed.
Speaker 3 (09:19):
Yeah, that's a great question, and it's taken me a
significant amount of years and I still get to answer
that question every day. And so whether it's male dominated
or you're the only Latino or the only black woman,
There's always going to be that moment of inflection. And
you know, I I would say that embrace it. Embrace
(09:41):
it as emotional and as difficult as it may be.
I always say that, you know, don't sexify resilience, but
be resilient. Yes, I think that most of the time,
especially for women of color, we have to we have
to be resilient. You know, if you don't, if you
can't sit at the table and there's no chair for you,
bring a folding chair. There's so many things that built
in our head, like black girl magic.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
Guess all of that.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
I believe in all of that. I think that give
yourself space to be vulnerable.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
Is that why you started these community of rise women?
Is that why or why did you start?
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (10:17):
Yeah, thank you for asking that. And so at the
end of twenty eighteen, I had just finished my MBA
at Northeastern. I've had an incredible journey and retail and
I was always able to get into rooms at the
largest women's conferences in our state, and you know all
of them, and they're all incredible. But I noticed that
most of the time back then and sometimes now and
(10:38):
of course there's always progress forward. So I'm so proud
of all of these incredible conferences. There wouldn't be someone
that looked like me all the time, or a significant
number of us. And so at the end of twenty eighteen,
I wanted to really figure out how to convene a room.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
And I said, you.
Speaker 3 (10:53):
Know what, let's start with two hundred women. Let's just
have a conversation. I begged seventeen of my closest girlfriends,
who are all bad at is by the way, to
go on this journey with me. And it was about
creating a room for us and creating a business plan,
a strategy, a marketing initiative, and creating the right team.
And that year, Gabby, we had two hundred aspirational five
(11:14):
hundred and nineteen showed up what and so there was
in need we want to be seen.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
That is incredible. You actually are touching into a niche, right,
There's a necessity for us to come together and belong
and be part of something that it's impactful. And you've
accomplished that just by providing a platform for women that
feel the same way as you do.
Speaker 3 (11:36):
Well. Yeah, and so I get to do it with
about thirty incredible women. At this day, we're in year
eight and now we've grown up, you know, to a
fourteen hundred plus conference which is annual and with a
lot of activations actually coming to Massachusetts and Boston, but
our largest conference right now is in Providence, Rhode Island.
(11:56):
And I will tell you that one of the greatest
gifts is that we've been in to give thirty girls
that look like you and I scholarships to colleges, and
so we have more so there's a philanthropic piece of it.
There's a foundational you know, desire to create the change
that we want to see in this world, and so
I love doing that every day.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
I am so inspired. I'm telling you, that's why my
audience has to check you out and see what you're doing.
And besides the RISE conference, I know you've been involved
in a lot of things. One that comes to mind
for me, and I'm just going to say this because
I'm Mexican and soccer is very important to me. You know,
(12:36):
the World Cup is coming to Boston. So since I
learned that it was coming to the United States, I've
been making this my mission for small businesses. And we
had this conversation at our cafe. Remember that we went
for a drink and we talked about it. I would
love for US women to start businesses or grow our
business maximizing the opportunity of the World Cup. Absolutely be
(13:00):
your input there, Like what do you think about us
a small businesses and minorities taking on whether it is transportation,
because you know these massive concerts or sports events, they
bring so much people, So how can we capitalize on
it and help our community.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
Yeah, I'll speak from the perspective of I think some
of my board roles. I'm the board of the Rose
Kennedy Greenway. I'm the chair rather of the Rose Kennedy Greenway.
I also sit on the Black Economic of Massachusetts Board,
and it's all about that inclusive economic impact and so
making sure that there's a business readiness. So when you
think about some of the largest, you know, events that
(13:41):
come into the city and the state, businesses need to
be ready to understand what that looks like. And so
whether it be soccer, tall ships, FIFA, you know, you
name it, we need to be ready. And that's economic development.
I would say that you know, understand the number and
the masses of what's coming into the city. I'm a consumer,
(14:01):
so I'm speaking as a consumer, and when you think
about FIFA coming into the city, it's like having five
Super Bowls back to back at the same time. And
so how do I get ready? As a small business owner,
it's making sure that you're ready for that foot traffic.
So whether it's you know, supplies that you need for
your restaurant because your restaurant is going to be full
every day, or you need to, you know, get ready
(14:23):
for your bed and breakfast, whatever it may be, there's
definitely a readiness that I think requires, whether it's staffing,
but many many businesses throughout I think the state of
Massachusetts and really honestly in the Northeast corridor because so
many other states also have games.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
Yeah, well, I don't think that we're going to have
all the capacity to yeahbody, I know you're.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
A big fan.
Speaker 3 (14:45):
I think that we'll be enjoying a significant amount of
great games. And there's a lot going on in the
state and the city that I'm looking forward to enjoying.
But a lot of the boards I sit on are
talking about that, and I look forward to be talking
about it even.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
More, thank you. So I am eager to see what happens,
but more eager to see if we as a community
can come together and help each other. And then just
accept the advice of how you can implement different processes
or things to enjoy the events, but at the same
time maximize the opportunity. Helena, As a mom, what do
(15:26):
you think your sons think of you when they are
you know, addressing you as this is my mom, Helena,
and you know you have a beautiful family and your husband.
You should feel very proud of it. But at the
same time, with the situation and the government environment that
we're leaving nowadays, how do you teach your sons to
(15:48):
be strong men at the same time that they're gentle
with females at the same time that they are you know,
walking the streets. And it could be a little controversial.
I just want my fellow moms to feel that we
all experience it. You know. I have my daughter also
coming home sometimes tell me like they told me to
go back to my country and yeah, you know, she's Latina.
(16:09):
But I would love for you as a mom of
boys of men, because they are so big. Now, how
do you educate them? What suggestions do you give them
when they are out and about and you teach them
to be part of the society and be positive right
when we're living in this environment.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
Such a big question.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
But you know, I will tell you a little perspective
since we're listening versus seeing. I want to be able
to paint a picture, a brief ten second picture, so
I have you know, my kids are half Ethiopian, half Nigerian.
My husband is Nigerian, and I always say you have
the best of the West and the East. So that
pride of who they are has been embedded in their growth.
But when you look at my fifteen year old, he's
(16:53):
almost sixty five, so he looks like a full grown man.
When you look at my eighteen year old, he's sixs
to There're two black men boys growing up. And you know,
you ask what they think of me a couple things.
They know that Mom is very intentional about the words
that I say. You know, whether someone is treating us
bad and there's a customer service issue, they'll tell me
about it and they say, oh my god, Mom, thank
(17:15):
god you were in there and this happened. And they
know I said, oh, thank God for the person, and
they'll say, no, no, no, thank God for us, because
you know, you wouldn't let them get away with it.
It's very delicate, you know. I'm even very very intentional
about the friends that they keep, you know, whether they
asked me to go sleep over, especially you know, post
you know George Floyd, and post the pandemic. You know,
(17:37):
even now the new administration. We went through it in
twenty sixteen. We are here again, and so for me
to have my boys in a household without knowing the
parents is a.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
No go for me.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
I agree that intentionality of what is in their environment,
what rooms that they're in, their who their teachers are,
who their friends are, who's mentoring them, is very very intentional.
So as a mom, how do you keep with that?
I mean, like you're talking about your schedule.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
You're all over the place, running literally the world, and
yet you are so concerned about those little details that
are happening in your boys' lives. How do you manage it?
Speaker 3 (18:14):
I think it's transparency. I think it's really honestly conversations.
I know that there's a way we should deliver realities
to kids, and so I don't necessarily damage their kind
of optimism. But I don't beat around the bushes I
don't sugarcoat things I share with them. We talked about earlier.
I share my personal experiences of you know, triumphs, but
(18:35):
I share all of my experiences of failure. I remember
the first time before I even knew the word, you know,
a word in the English language being called the N word.
I was literally just got here and it was like
maybe six to eight months later. And so what you
are around is very important. So I tell them about
my joys and my tears and how to react, how
(18:56):
not to react. I will also tell you that, like
I said, the people around you, who's around them? Grandparents, mentors, teachers.
I have a phenomenal husband who's very intentional about you know.
He's a dark skinned Nigerian man who's over six two.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
So how did you guys meet?
Speaker 3 (19:11):
Oh man, it's a longtime. It's short, you know, short,
short snippet is that you know? We met in nineteen
ninety five, December of nineteen ninety five. I was in
my first year of college and he was finishing up
his last year of college and he came onto campus.
I was heading up the student senate and we hired
a DJ from WBRU in Providence, Rhode Island and everyone
(19:34):
recommended this guy. It was only an hour and a
half away from my school.
Speaker 1 (19:37):
He was a DJ. He was a DJ.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
He loves music, loves the culture, and so we hired
him and we pent paled for two years before we
even That's how we got to know.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
I wasn't allowed today, I wasn't allowed today.
Speaker 3 (19:51):
So he wrote me a letter every week, every Thursday,
every Thursday for two years, and then we became best friends.
And here we are thirty years later.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
Beautiful story. And he must be a very confident man
because in order to have a woman standing next to him,
you know, like you is because he has to also
value what you're doing to take.
Speaker 3 (20:12):
We thrive, you know, I think you know he's so busy.
He's a real estate developer. He has three projects going
on at the same time, not to mention his you know,
other projects. But yeah, we complement each other. We certainly,
I think, spend time together, but we also have so
many other commitments.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
So it works.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
And your kids, when you're suggesting them or just guiding
them into their new professional worlds, have you told them,
I don't know, it's economics that you have to go for.
Are you trying to get them into AI and some technology.
What are you advising your kids?
Speaker 2 (20:47):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (20:47):
Absolutely, I would say that this is a huge conversation
and so channeling my inner lanre. Who's my husband's name,
it's you know, it's they both. My oldest wants to
do finance and real estate, and I think that that's
where his heart is. You know, he in fifth grade
was doing math at three years ahead of his So
we really fostered that. My youngest wants to either be
an attorney or a doctor. So this summer we were
(21:09):
very intentional to make sure he has internships in both.
Of course AI, right, of course, you know the next
iteration of what our reality could be. I don't tell
them what to necessarily be. But they're exposing them, expose them.
You said it right there, Gabby. It's exposing them and
seeing what the way they thrive. And we've noticed both
(21:30):
of them, even the youngest, really take on to that,
you know, advocacy. They're very socially conscious, and so even
if it's financed, it's really about hedge funds and equity
work and great work around what that looks like. If
it's real estate, they see their father who's developing three
different properties for the community by the community, and it's
all about inclusive economy.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
And so they see us, Yeah, they see us.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
Are they into travel like you?
Speaker 2 (21:54):
Yeah? Yeah, they like travel, They love traveling.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
You know, my son just came back from Puerto Rico
and then we went to Miami after that. So they're
on spring break in March. But we try to leave
the country with them at least once or twice a year.
And they both have two different countries, so they can
go to Ethiopia, they can go to Nigeria. We love
going to dr and so many other countries.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
And that's something that you and I have in common
because we've been traveling the world for many, many years.
But when you come back to Boston, it happens to me.
Hopefully it happens to you too. But I always feel
like Boston has so much to offer that it just
makes you don't want to leave this place. Right, Where
do you see Boston five years from now, ten years
(22:34):
from now that you're so involved in the city, in
the development.
Speaker 2 (22:39):
Now.
Speaker 3 (22:39):
I love the city and I love the state, right,
and I think that there's this domestifying or there's this
kind of reconstructing of thoughts and so I'm looking forward
to five years from now we will continue to be
a thriving community and state. But I will tell you
that my hope is to see a greater authenticity around
(23:00):
who's here. I think folks outside of where we are
may not know the beauty of the fact that there's
about seventy five thousand Ethiopians here and I bet you
identity they are, and Puerto Rico, the fact that this
is the third largest Asian community in the country, with
San fran and New York being the first too. And
so there's all of this joy and how do we
(23:20):
activate that joy as an act of resistance?
Speaker 2 (23:23):
Because I think that there's kind of that idea.
Speaker 3 (23:25):
And so when I when I've been here since nineteen
eighty seven, and so although we have a home in
Providence and that's where my husband is and we you know,
I've never professionally worked anywhere but the city of Boston,
and that's intentional.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
That's very intentional.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
So say, you know, the best of both worlds.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
I have. I say my life is on ninety five.
But you know what where I see us going is
continuing with the likes of you and leadership that you
know all the different you know, capacities and rooms that
we're in together. We're poised with you know, the leadership
at state and city level right now, not to just
think of it or check check the box, but to
be that, to be that we are that.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
Yeah, I am thrilled to have you here. Can we
share where they can find you? More about Rise? I
would love for black women, Latina women, all of us
to share that platform and stay present and take any
knowledge that you're sharing and bring it into their careers
(24:22):
and let's make balls in a better place. How can
we found you?
Speaker 2 (24:25):
Absolutely?
Speaker 3 (24:26):
So you know, I'd love for everyone to be plugged
into RISE. So it's Rise wlc dot com. So the
word rise wlc dot com. And I have a surprise
for you. I'd love for you. So our conference this
year is actually October twenty eighth, and we'll see another
sixteen hundred women. But I will love for you between
now and then, raffle off twenty five tickets your leisure
(24:49):
and it doesn't have to happen, but it's all about
providing access. And so as we think about it, I
would love for you to continue to get the right
women in the room. I know that though I haven't
gotten all the clearers, but Gabriella will be a speaker. Yes, holes,
I'm really excited about that. But yeah, it is just
(25:09):
about RISWLC dot com. We're on all of our socials
and will ping it and actually attach it to this.
But we love having people there.
Speaker 1 (25:18):
So Helena, it's been such a pleasure. I love these
interviews because they feel like nothing has happened in ten
minutes and it's already half an hour. Wow, And I
can wait to share this episode. Of course, my audience Boston,
I'm going to share all the information, so you are
keeping taps of what Helene is doing and her family
(25:39):
as well. Follow us on Rumba ninety seven and seven
and gemin ninety four five and you know it, you
have to download that iHeart app and select kept Passa
Wollstone as your favorite podcast. And we're here again with
leaders with stories, with inspiration for our community to thrive
(25:59):
and just do better as your KKPASA Boston. We'll see
you next Sunday. Thank you very much,
Whenosi as Boston Katalis Damniana. It's such a pleasure for
me to talk about exceptional women, exceptional women in all
shapes and forms. I love talking to my friends and
especially when they come and visit me here at my studio.
And this time is not our rarity to have her
(00:23):
join us, because I have to share a couple of
stories just so you have a bigger picture of who
she is and where she's coming from. Immigrant beautiful, tall
ex model because she I remember, I remember she was
in the fashion industry, and every time that we walk around,
(00:44):
people just stare at her because she has that presence,
that energy that she shares. And at the same time,
she's been named and nominated and awarded with so many recognitions.
But most importantly, she's part of the community. She's a leader,
and she has been opening a lot of paths for
(01:06):
us women that are trying to make it and break
it in the corporate world, in hospitality and society. You
name it with me, my dear friend, Helena Ajakaye.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Yes, did I get it? You got it it? Welcome.
Thank you so much, Gaty, good to be here with you.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
I'm so happy to be able to showcase your life,
because I believe that nowadays Boston needs a lot of
inspiration and learning from people like you is crucial. I
am so in awe every time that I see either
a post on LinkedIn or you sharing one of your stories.
(01:49):
I just admire you a lot. I want you to
know that, and I want people to feel how proud
I am to have you here.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Where are you from?
Speaker 2 (02:00):
First?
Speaker 3 (02:00):
For first of all, let me say how grateful I
am to be here in space with you, because your
energy also feeds my inspiration. And I'll talk about, you know,
the first time we cross paths and how I was
so incredibly inspired by your presence and all the barriers
that you've broken for not only you know yourself, but
a lot of women. So birds of the same feather
(02:21):
and so you definitely definitely are one of my feathers.
And I appreciate your beauty in every sense of the word.
So I'm just you know, I would say, you know,
people say, don't just don't say I'm just h but
I'm an immigrant from Ethiopia. You know. I came here
in nineteen eighty seven from Addisava, Ethiopia, and I was
twelve years old I'm forty seven.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
For those who are curious today.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
I look in thirty seven, and you know, I came
here to go to school. I was a dreamer, just
like all of our you know, first generation or immigrants
who wanted to come here, seek a great education and
do something that is better than what the world season.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
And I've been able to.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
Hopefully scratch the surface of what that looks like from
an education perspective. I was able to finish my high
school education after learning English in two years, and simultaneously
finish my two year education and go right into my life.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
When you moved here, you spoke English or not really,
I didn't.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
So English is my second language, and on a good day,
I don't have an accent. On a day when I'm tired,
you'll hear my you know, native language of Amahaak for
those Ethiopians, and Abacha's listening in them Natchu Dananachu. But
I'm sitting le Nantes lemahone Ze. So I just said,
you know, I'm so glad to be here for my
(03:38):
Ethiopian natives. And that's one of the things that I'm
very proud of, is that I'm an Ethiopian black woman
living in the city of Boston and Massachusetts since nineteen
eighty seven and working here all of my career.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
What has been your biggest accomplishment as a woman so far?
Speaker 3 (03:54):
You know, as a woman, my biggest accomplishment is probably
being able to pay a forward for other young girls
and women who are like me. And so I will
tell you when I first came here, I did not
speak a word of English. My father drove cabs all day,
went to law school or at night, and then he
worked overnight at the Cambridge High Regency as a security director.
(04:18):
And he raised three daughters as a single dad. And
we were last key kids. I would run up and
down Western Avenue, go to my elementary school right in
the corner at the Martin Luther King Elementary School, and
I know a word of no English, and so I
would have my keys, my sisters and I to the
apartment on Western ab and we would just you know.
So my joy is that I've always been able to
stay out of harm's way. I've always had women pay
(04:41):
it forward to me. I've never been you know, women
and girls are in dangered species. So my greatest joy
is that I've lived that dangerous space where I realized
very quickly that other girls or women are not as lucky.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
So my grade, can.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
You say a dangerous space? What do you mean?
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Just vulnerable?
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Right?
Speaker 3 (04:59):
We can all always make the wrong decisions. We could
always you know, be at the wrong time in the
wrong place. And I've always had women mentor and pour
into me.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
And even though you are born, I mean you were
raised with a single dad, you were lucky to have
special women in your life.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
Absolutely, and I think that what makes the journey beautiful.
And what that superpower that I tell you about about
giving and uplifting and empowering is that because I do
have incredible women around me who pour into me every day.
And so the natural, you know, way of giving back
is something that gets me up every morning. Is who
can I help? You know, what woman needs my support?
(05:37):
What young girl is the girl that I was? And
how do I make sure that she's empowered and she's supported?
Speaker 1 (05:43):
And Funny, because now you're the mom of.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Boys, boys, I know, I'm a boy mom.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
I have a fifteen year old by the way, he'll
be sixteen this Sunday, and I have an eighteen year
old getting ready to go to college. I've been you know,
with my husband and best friend of thirty years, will
be twenty four years that we've been married this July.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
But I'm in a home of men, So I will
tell you this.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
I am such a passionate advocate for women, but not
at the cost of demasculating men. And so how do
we bring them together because they need them to be,
you know, advocates. You know, I call it the men
who get it when you go to it and we'll
talk about the conference. But you cannot have change if
you don't have all the stakeholders at the table. So yes,
I'm very very pro women, but I'm also as invested
(06:27):
in my black boys and black men and Latino men
and people that are you know, every type of man.
Our success doesn't necessarily depend on it, but we need them.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
You're saying that you're a supportive of men and them
supporting us, right at the same time, you've grown your
career in a very male dominated industry. How has that
been for you? Well, you know, it's interesting.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
I always say that, you know, my success belongs to
so many people that have kind of poured into me.
So I'm also my father's job. My father's a very
strong educator, he's an attorney. He is, you know, an
advocate for immigration. He does a lot of promono immigration work.
And so I grew up in retail. My initial first actual,
you know, journey in grocery retail for almost twenty years
(07:18):
was that I was the only one. I was the
only woman. I was the only person in the grocery
back room by the compact or in the front of
the registers when the bank got robbed, and people always
looked for me to be the solution solver.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
And I maybe a pope of the grocery store.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
Exactly, and so you know, I would get Paige to
the service desk to translate, and I only spoke English
and Amaharic, but I was translated in Spanish.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
And so I don't mind being the only one in
the room.
Speaker 3 (07:46):
Actually, I think I thrive off of that, whether it's
male dominated, whether it's in any other you know, quote
unquote dominant, I'm used to it, and I always attributed
to my father's daughter. I've never been told, Gabby that
I don't belong in a room. I've acknowledged it. But
that makes me want to get in that room and
stay there as long as possible, regardless of the adversity.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
You have to listen people that it's about what you
make of that moment or of that opportunity of that challenge.
It is very important for us to make sure that
we do not take either. And a compliment, you can
take it and you can make it your own, or
(08:27):
you can destroy it if you don't feel that it
belongs to you. Right, And when you're talking about becoming
a woman that is in power, most people that are
haters are going to come up with compliments in quotation
marks that are not suitable to either lift your ego
or at the same time put you down because a
(08:48):
lot of people need to step on you sometimes to
feel there greater and better when you experience certain circumstances
in that area. How would you suggest or give advice
to other women that are like us that we're trying
to be leaders and in examples, right, what would you
(09:09):
tell somebody that is going through a moment where they
are in a male dominated industry and they want to
uh success, succeed.
Speaker 3 (09:19):
Yeah, that's a great question, and it's taken me a
significant amount of years and I still get to answer
that question every day. And so whether it's male dominated
or you're the only Latino or the only black woman,
There's always going to be that moment of inflection. And
you know, I I would say that embrace it. Embrace
(09:41):
it as emotional and as difficult as it may be.
I always say that, you know, don't sexify resilience, but
be resilient. Yes, I think that most of the time,
especially for women of color, we have to we have
to be resilient. You know, if you don't, if you
can't sit at the table and there's no chair for you,
bring a folding chair. There's so many things that built
in our head, like black girl magic.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
Guess all of that.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
I believe in all of that. I think that give
yourself space to be vulnerable.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
Is that why you started these community of rise women?
Is that why or why did you start?
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (10:17):
Yeah, thank you for asking that. And so at the
end of twenty eighteen, I had just finished my MBA
at Northeastern. I've had an incredible journey and retail and
I was always able to get into rooms at the
largest women's conferences in our state, and you know all
of them, and they're all incredible. But I noticed that
most of the time back then and sometimes now and
(10:38):
of course there's always progress forward. So I'm so proud
of all of these incredible conferences. There wouldn't be someone
that looked like me all the time, or a significant
number of us. And so at the end of twenty eighteen,
I wanted to really figure out how to convene a room.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
And I said, you.
Speaker 3 (10:53):
Know what, let's start with two hundred women. Let's just
have a conversation. I begged seventeen of my closest girlfriends,
who are all bad at is by the way, to
go on this journey with me. And it was about
creating a room for us and creating a business plan,
a strategy, a marketing initiative, and creating the right team.
And that year, Gabby, we had two hundred aspirational five
(11:14):
hundred and nineteen showed up what and so there was
in need we want to be seen.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
That is incredible. You actually are touching into a niche, right,
There's a necessity for us to come together and belong
and be part of something that it's impactful. And you've
accomplished that just by providing a platform for women that
feel the same way as you do.
Speaker 3 (11:36):
Well. Yeah, and so I get to do it with
about thirty incredible women. At this day, we're in year
eight and now we've grown up, you know, to a
fourteen hundred plus conference which is annual and with a
lot of activations actually coming to Massachusetts and Boston, but
our largest conference right now is in Providence, Rhode Island.
(11:56):
And I will tell you that one of the greatest
gifts is that we've been in to give thirty girls
that look like you and I scholarships to colleges, and
so we have more so there's a philanthropic piece of it.
There's a foundational you know, desire to create the change
that we want to see in this world, and so
I love doing that every day.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
I am so inspired. I'm telling you, that's why my
audience has to check you out and see what you're doing.
And besides the RISE conference, I know you've been involved
in a lot of things. One that comes to mind
for me, and I'm just going to say this because
I'm Mexican and soccer is very important to me. You know,
(12:36):
the World Cup is coming to Boston. So since I
learned that it was coming to the United States, I've
been making this my mission for small businesses. And we
had this conversation at our cafe. Remember that we went
for a drink and we talked about it. I would
love for US women to start businesses or grow our
business maximizing the opportunity of the World Cup. Absolutely be
(13:00):
your input there, Like what do you think about us
a small businesses and minorities taking on whether it is transportation,
because you know these massive concerts or sports events, they
bring so much people, So how can we capitalize on
it and help our community.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
Yeah, I'll speak from the perspective of I think some
of my board roles. I'm the board of the Rose
Kennedy Greenway. I'm the chair rather of the Rose Kennedy Greenway.
I also sit on the Black Economic of Massachusetts Board,
and it's all about that inclusive economic impact and so
making sure that there's a business readiness. So when you
think about some of the largest, you know, events that
(13:41):
come into the city and the state, businesses need to
be ready to understand what that looks like. And so
whether it be soccer, tall ships, FIFA, you know, you
name it, we need to be ready. And that's economic development.
I would say that you know, understand the number and
the masses of what's coming into the city. I'm a consumer,
(14:01):
so I'm speaking as a consumer, and when you think
about FIFA coming into the city, it's like having five
Super Bowls back to back at the same time. And
so how do I get ready? As a small business owner,
it's making sure that you're ready for that foot traffic.
So whether it's you know, supplies that you need for
your restaurant because your restaurant is going to be full
every day, or you need to, you know, get ready
(14:23):
for your bed and breakfast, whatever it may be, there's
definitely a readiness that I think requires, whether it's staffing,
but many many businesses throughout I think the state of
Massachusetts and really honestly in the Northeast corridor because so
many other states also have games.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
Yeah, well, I don't think that we're going to have
all the capacity to yeahbody, I know you're.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
A big fan.
Speaker 3 (14:45):
I think that we'll be enjoying a significant amount of
great games. And there's a lot going on in the
state and the city that I'm looking forward to enjoying.
But a lot of the boards I sit on are
talking about that, and I look forward to be talking
about it even.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
More, thank you. So I am eager to see what happens,
but more eager to see if we as a community
can come together and help each other. And then just
accept the advice of how you can implement different processes
or things to enjoy the events, but at the same
time maximize the opportunity. Helena, As a mom, what do
(15:26):
you think your sons think of you when they are
you know, addressing you as this is my mom, Helena,
and you know you have a beautiful family and your husband.
You should feel very proud of it. But at the
same time, with the situation and the government environment that
we're leaving nowadays, how do you teach your sons to
(15:48):
be strong men at the same time that they're gentle
with females at the same time that they are you know,
walking the streets. And it could be a little controversial.
I just want my fellow moms to feel that we
all experience it. You know. I have my daughter also
coming home sometimes tell me like they told me to
go back to my country and yeah, you know, she's Latina.
(16:09):
But I would love for you as a mom of
boys of men, because they are so big. Now, how
do you educate them? What suggestions do you give them
when they are out and about and you teach them
to be part of the society and be positive right
when we're living in this environment.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
Such a big question.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
But you know, I will tell you a little perspective
since we're listening versus seeing. I want to be able
to paint a picture, a brief ten second picture, so
I have you know, my kids are half Ethiopian, half Nigerian.
My husband is Nigerian, and I always say you have
the best of the West and the East. So that
pride of who they are has been embedded in their growth.
But when you look at my fifteen year old, he's
(16:53):
almost sixty five, so he looks like a full grown man.
When you look at my eighteen year old, he's sixs
to There're two black men boys growing up. And you know,
you ask what they think of me a couple things.
They know that Mom is very intentional about the words
that I say. You know, whether someone is treating us
bad and there's a customer service issue, they'll tell me
about it and they say, oh my god, Mom, thank
(17:15):
god you were in there and this happened. And they
know I said, oh, thank God for the person, and
they'll say, no, no, no, thank God for us, because
you know, you wouldn't let them get away with it.
It's very delicate, you know. I'm even very very intentional
about the friends that they keep, you know, whether they
asked me to go sleep over, especially you know, post
you know George Floyd, and post the pandemic. You know,
(17:37):
even now the new administration. We went through it in
twenty sixteen. We are here again, and so for me
to have my boys in a household without knowing the
parents is a.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
No go for me.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
I agree that intentionality of what is in their environment,
what rooms that they're in, their who their teachers are,
who their friends are, who's mentoring them, is very very intentional.
So as a mom, how do you keep with that?
I mean, like you're talking about your schedule.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
You're all over the place, running literally the world, and
yet you are so concerned about those little details that
are happening in your boys' lives. How do you manage it?
Speaker 3 (18:14):
I think it's transparency. I think it's really honestly conversations.
I know that there's a way we should deliver realities
to kids, and so I don't necessarily damage their kind
of optimism. But I don't beat around the bushes I
don't sugarcoat things I share with them. We talked about earlier.
I share my personal experiences of you know, triumphs, but
(18:35):
I share all of my experiences of failure. I remember
the first time before I even knew the word, you know,
a word in the English language being called the N word.
I was literally just got here and it was like
maybe six to eight months later. And so what you
are around is very important. So I tell them about
my joys and my tears and how to react, how
(18:56):
not to react. I will also tell you that, like
I said, the people around you, who's around them? Grandparents, mentors, teachers.
I have a phenomenal husband who's very intentional about you know.
He's a dark skinned Nigerian man who's over six two.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
So how did you guys meet?
Speaker 3 (19:11):
Oh man, it's a longtime. It's short, you know, short,
short snippet is that you know? We met in nineteen
ninety five, December of nineteen ninety five. I was in
my first year of college and he was finishing up
his last year of college and he came onto campus.
I was heading up the student senate and we hired
a DJ from WBRU in Providence, Rhode Island and everyone
(19:34):
recommended this guy. It was only an hour and a
half away from my school.
Speaker 1 (19:37):
He was a DJ. He was a DJ.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
He loves music, loves the culture, and so we hired
him and we pent paled for two years before we
even That's how we got to know.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
I wasn't allowed today, I wasn't allowed today.
Speaker 3 (19:51):
So he wrote me a letter every week, every Thursday,
every Thursday for two years, and then we became best friends.
And here we are thirty years later.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
Beautiful story. And he must be a very confident man
because in order to have a woman standing next to him,
you know, like you is because he has to also
value what you're doing to take.
Speaker 3 (20:12):
We thrive, you know, I think you know he's so busy.
He's a real estate developer. He has three projects going
on at the same time, not to mention his you know,
other projects. But yeah, we complement each other. We certainly,
I think, spend time together, but we also have so
many other commitments.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
So it works.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
And your kids, when you're suggesting them or just guiding
them into their new professional worlds, have you told them,
I don't know, it's economics that you have to go for.
Are you trying to get them into AI and some technology.
What are you advising your kids?
Speaker 2 (20:47):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (20:47):
Absolutely, I would say that this is a huge conversation
and so channeling my inner lanre. Who's my husband's name,
it's you know, it's they both. My oldest wants to
do finance and real estate, and I think that that's
where his heart is. You know, he in fifth grade
was doing math at three years ahead of his So
we really fostered that. My youngest wants to either be
an attorney or a doctor. So this summer we were
(21:09):
very intentional to make sure he has internships in both.
Of course AI, right, of course, you know the next
iteration of what our reality could be. I don't tell
them what to necessarily be. But they're exposing them, expose them.
You said it right there, Gabby. It's exposing them and
seeing what the way they thrive. And we've noticed both
(21:30):
of them, even the youngest, really take on to that,
you know, advocacy. They're very socially conscious, and so even
if it's financed, it's really about hedge funds and equity
work and great work around what that looks like. If
it's real estate, they see their father who's developing three
different properties for the community by the community, and it's
all about inclusive economy.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
And so they see us, Yeah, they see us.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
Are they into travel like you?
Speaker 2 (21:54):
Yeah? Yeah, they like travel, They love traveling.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
You know, my son just came back from Puerto Rico
and then we went to Miami after that. So they're
on spring break in March. But we try to leave
the country with them at least once or twice a year.
And they both have two different countries, so they can
go to Ethiopia, they can go to Nigeria. We love
going to dr and so many other countries.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
And that's something that you and I have in common
because we've been traveling the world for many, many years.
But when you come back to Boston, it happens to me.
Hopefully it happens to you too. But I always feel
like Boston has so much to offer that it just
makes you don't want to leave this place. Right, Where
do you see Boston five years from now, ten years
(22:34):
from now that you're so involved in the city, in
the development.
Speaker 2 (22:39):
Now.
Speaker 3 (22:39):
I love the city and I love the state, right,
and I think that there's this domestifying or there's this
kind of reconstructing of thoughts and so I'm looking forward
to five years from now we will continue to be
a thriving community and state. But I will tell you
that my hope is to see a greater authenticity around
(23:00):
who's here. I think folks outside of where we are
may not know the beauty of the fact that there's
about seventy five thousand Ethiopians here and I bet you
identity they are, and Puerto Rico, the fact that this
is the third largest Asian community in the country, with
San fran and New York being the first too. And
so there's all of this joy and how do we
(23:20):
activate that joy as an act of resistance?
Speaker 2 (23:23):
Because I think that there's kind of that idea.
Speaker 3 (23:25):
And so when I when I've been here since nineteen
eighty seven, and so although we have a home in
Providence and that's where my husband is and we you know,
I've never professionally worked anywhere but the city of Boston,
and that's intentional.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
That's very intentional.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
So say, you know, the best of both worlds.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
I have. I say my life is on ninety five.
But you know what where I see us going is
continuing with the likes of you and leadership that you
know all the different you know, capacities and rooms that
we're in together. We're poised with you know, the leadership
at state and city level right now, not to just
think of it or check check the box, but to
be that, to be that we are that.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
Yeah, I am thrilled to have you here. Can we
share where they can find you? More about Rise? I
would love for black women, Latina women, all of us
to share that platform and stay present and take any
knowledge that you're sharing and bring it into their careers
(24:22):
and let's make balls in a better place. How can
we found you?
Speaker 2 (24:25):
Absolutely?
Speaker 3 (24:26):
So you know, I'd love for everyone to be plugged
into RISE. So it's Rise wlc dot com. So the
word rise wlc dot com. And I have a surprise
for you. I'd love for you. So our conference this
year is actually October twenty eighth, and we'll see another
sixteen hundred women. But I will love for you between
now and then, raffle off twenty five tickets your leisure
(24:49):
and it doesn't have to happen, but it's all about
providing access. And so as we think about it, I
would love for you to continue to get the right
women in the room. I know that though I haven't
gotten all the clearers, but Gabriella will be a speaker. Yes, holes,
I'm really excited about that. But yeah, it is just
(25:09):
about RISWLC dot com. We're on all of our socials
and will ping it and actually attach it to this.
But we love having people there.
Speaker 1 (25:18):
So Helena, it's been such a pleasure. I love these
interviews because they feel like nothing has happened in ten
minutes and it's already half an hour. Wow, And I
can wait to share this episode. Of course, my audience Boston,
I'm going to share all the information, so you are
keeping taps of what Helene is doing and her family
(25:39):
as well. Follow us on Rumba ninety seven and seven
and gemin ninety four five and you know it, you
have to download that iHeart app and select kept Passa
Wollstone as your favorite podcast. And we're here again with
leaders with stories, with inspiration for our community to thrive
(25:59):
and just do better as your KKPASA Boston. We'll see
you next Sunday. Thank you very much,
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