Sofia's Story
Ever since I can remember I’ve been passionate about fairness and social causes. I remember instigating discussions during Thanksgiving dinners about how girls could be as good in math as boys and that maybe men should change their last names when they got married. I was eight and labeled a radical by my relatives who warned that no one would ever marry me.
My love for the environment surfaced at Camp Waskowitz in sixth grade when I learned that the forests I’d taken for granted all my life were in danger if humans didn’t do a better job conserving and protecting them. As a high school student I went back as a camp counselor, educating the next generation of sixth graders about environmental conservation.
My career in philanthropy was a bit accidental. After five years practicing corporate law, I found myself wondering “what’s next?” I stumbled upon the term “social entrepreneur” and was intrigued. I signed up to attend the National Gathering of Social Entrepreneurs in fall 2001, where I heard Paul Shoemaker speak and met a whole lot of other people applying their talents in innovative ways (some I later found out were SVP Partners).
SVP wasn’t hiring then, but through some connections, I learned about a great job doing market research and business planning for NESsT, an organization that is helping build sustainable social enterprises in emerging economies. The hitch? The job was in Chile, and I’d never even crossed the equator. More significantly, I had never done market research, didn’t speak Spanish, and the pay was minimal. I decided to leap. I sold or stored my belongings, rented out my house, and persuaded someone to watch my dogs. During the 15 hour plane ride I was convinced that they’d hired the wrong person and as soon as I arrived they were going to send me home!
I have somehow always found myself working at intersections … the intersection of law and technology (Venture Law Group); law and society (Adjunct Professor, Community Development & Entrepreneurship Clinic - Seattle U); and business and social sectors (NESsT, Washington CASH, SVP Seattle). I believe there’s great power in having multiple perspectives and approaches to a complex issue, and we will only get closer to finding solutions if we engage people who come from different sectors and diverse ways of thinking.
My favorite work or projects involve:
- Helping people uncover their passions for making social impact;
- Connecting people with shared interests;
- Hosting conversations that matter; and
- Exploring new ideas or approaches, applying them in unusual contexts.
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