Also, they can boost their nation’s economy by being encouraged to work in sectors that men traditionally dominate. This will alter the thinking of financial lenders and provide women entrepreneurs with new possibilities to study, develop, and establish their own businesses.

Meet Selena Griffith, the CEO of Enactus Australia, who is an inspirational, successful businesswoman who has worked across sectors and is now preparing the next generation leaders for the future. She graduated from UNSW Sydney with a Bachelor of Industrial Design (Hons) and also attended AGSM and AICD. She is a Fellow of the Sydney School of Entrepreneurship, and the European Academy of Design.

As an enthusiastic generalist and life-long learner, she always pushes herself to acquire and apply new skills each year. This includes training in permaculture, Lego Serious Play, glass blowing, nautical navigation, stellar navigation, sailing, alpine rescue, mountaineering, kite surfing instruction, first aid, and fabrication, among other things. She is a keen hiker and photographer.

Besides this, Selena is self-taught in programming and built a “she shed” with a full set of tools for prototyping and building, including 3d printers, laser cutters, and CNC mills. She also reads widely and looks for opportunities to work with others to expand her knowledge and understanding of everything.

The fervent leader stated when asked where she gets her motivation from by saying, “I was raised by an artist and an engineer, so it follows that I have a strong sense of social purpose with a passion to preserve the beauty that our natural world affords. This motivates me to help develop our next generation of leaders enabled to deliver the sustainable future we would all want to live in. I love nothing more than helping others learn to ‘see’ how the world can work.”

Wearing Multiple Hats

Today, as the CEO of Enactus Australia, Selena works with university students from all over Australia to identify local social and environmental challenges and address them in multidisciplinary teams via entrepreneurial action. Through this engaged, and active, learning process, they acquire real-world skills for creating positive outcomes that will stay with them across their careers.

Every Enactus team functions as a start-up incubator and requires support with sustainable team development, governance, entrepreneurship, collaboration, mentoring, as well as community, academic, and industry engagement. Being a Not For Profit organization, Enactus Australia significantly relies on grants, partnerships, and philanthropy. This means that a significant portion of her time is spent looking for financing sources, creating grant applications, and working with partners to ensure the sustainability of their programs.

“My path to this point traverses roles in design, product development, procurement, production management, sales and marketing, design management, consultancy, academia, facilitation, and entrepreneurship both local and international,” says Selena. She further adds, “It has been enriched through a creative art and design practice, curatorial work, the publication of several text, theory, edited, and kids’books, various board roles, and election to serve a four-year term in local government.”

In her capacity as an academic, the creative leader specialized in sustainability, social impact, design, design thinking, strategic design, innovation, and entrepreneurship. She has worked in Australia, Singapore, the UK, and Central Asia at various universities, in faculties of Design, Social Sciences, Business, Engineering, and Law. Private collectors, institutions, and large-scale public exhibitions like Sculpture by the Sea and Vivid have purchased and shown her artwork.

An Experiential Learning And Impact-Incubator

The world’s largest platform for experiential learning and impact incubation is Enactus. It supports university students to develop entrepreneurship, leadership, innovation, collaboration, and impact delivery skills via developing social enterprises. While delivering positive outcomes in their local areas, participants can build a worldwide network at an early age.

Enactus was first established as SIFE (Students In Free Enterprise) in the United States in 1975. It is committed to improving the world while nurturing the upcoming generation of business leaders and social innovators. The Enactus network of international business, academic, and student leaders now spans 35 nations and more than 1600 universities. They are bound together by the shared goal of creating a better, more sustainable world.

Facing Challenges Head-on

“In industry it was juggling the needs of all my stakeholders. This led me to human centred design and systems design for solutions,” states Selena. Being at the forefront of a new disciplinary practice in academia made it more challenging to validate research methods. Persistence and consistency are the crucial two factors that helped her overcome this challenge.

Another challenge she faced was discrimination due to coming from industry and not having completed a Ph.D. However, Selena believes that to be a good educator or researcher, you do not need a Ph.D. It’s a lazily applied artificial barrier restricting the entire sector and is a better measure of social and economic privilege than capacity, ability or intelligence.

“In NFP, my challenge is staying positive when dealing with philanthropists and grant evaluators,” says the fervent leader. Their funding parameters may be rigid and prescriptive, which limits the creativity and flexibility necessary to have real impact. There is often a will to fund a project but not the associated organizational costs. In a commercial context, this wouldn’t take place. “Pro Bono services and restrictive funding are of limited use if you cannot cover operating costs. Knockbacks should not be taken; personally, they reflect the limitations of the imagination of the organization you are seeking support from, rather than the value of your project,” opines Selena.

Gained A Worldwide Perspective

As a female entrepreneur, Selena has gained a worldwide perspective on numerous issues and developed insights into social, cultural, economic, environmental, and geopolitical parallels and differences thanks to the opportunity to travel globally with her work. She states, “Every experience you have provides an opportunity for self-reflection and learning. Setting goals and reaching them is a way of continual development.”

Challenges Faced By Women In The Corporate World

Building a professional life in a field where men predominate can be a challenge for women. On top of that, they must overcome numerous difficulties they encounter. According to Selena, the challenges faced by her can be categorized into three broad:

1) Assumption that a woman cannot do the work as well as a man. The dynamic leader believes that the best way to overcome this problem is by demonstrating the opposite.

2) Sexual harassment: Her male supervisor made unwelcome approaches to Selena at every meeting, which led her to give up her Ph.D. There was no other option than to get out of an insecure situation.

3) Women who restrict you. Female co-workers can be wonderful supporters, but counterintuitively, some women deliberately and persistently hold other women back. Selena says ask HR for a copy of your file if you suspect this is taking place. Be kind to yourself; they are the ones at fault. Lead a change by making an effort to mentor and uplift other women and foster a positive environment.

Future Goals

At this point in her career, Selena wants to concentrate on the NFP sector and continue to work with young people to help them improve their skills so they can contribute to a better future. The best platform for this is Enactus. Besides this, she loves her position as the board chair of the African Stem Education Initiative (ASEI) and would like to work to further their ambitions to scale. She also enjoys her position as a board director at Eramboo, an art space near where she lives. The dedicated leader wants to provide them with more tools so they can do more to benefit the artistic community. Selena is open to paid board roles.

Words of Wisdom

Selena states, “Develop a strong sense of self and remain true to it. Be open to opportunity. Seek development opportunities. Lift others up where you can. Mentors can be found in all sorts of places so don’t just look up.”

Whether on the personal or the professional front, learning helps us navigate the path to success. Especially at a professional level, owing to ever-changing business dynamics and to keep oneself motivated, one needs to stay updated with the latest industry developments.

Many organizations learn the hard way, after investing significant dollars in training opportunities, that sustainability, understanding the human element, and teaching strong core interpersonal skills are key elements. Every company is different, and so are its employees and their growth needs. Every individual deserves the respect of being listened to and understood and this is where Beverly D. Flaxington and her firm, The Collaborative for Investment Education & Business Development Inc., differ from others.

The Firm with a Difference

The Collaborative for Investment Education & Business Development Inc (The Collaborative) is a consulting, coaching, and training firm providing learning opportunities with a focus on understanding human behavior and dynamics. All of their trademarked and proprietary approaches keep the human element at the center. “We have a change management process, a growth strategy including the roadmap for success, an online sales academy, a proprietary coaching process, and approaches to help clients market themselves and stand out in a crowded market. We are hands-on in approach, and while we have many, many proven ways of approaching most any problem, we work to understand our clients and tailor the solution to their environment, their team, and their specific needs,” says Beverly.

The Collaborative’s entire team has a depth of knowledge and experience. They’ve all held senior-level roles, had to implement change from a corporate seat, and have mentored and coached successful professionals for years. They have many proven ways of delivering content, but they also understand that every person, every team, and every company is unique. “We spend time getting to know the culture and the nuances. We believe each individual and organization is different, and so we don’t have an “in-the-box” style. We have developed a number of repeatable, proven approaches, and we work in partnership with our client firms to ensure that all of the material is tailored to their environment. Our clients come back to us time and time again because they get a unique experience working with us, unlike most any other vendor in our industry,” shares Beverly.

Turning Life Around

At the age of 16, when dreams start blooming and future plans begin to take shape, Beverly D. Flaxington met an accident – a – life-threatening one. It required months of rehabilitation to get better. Seated on a couch with nothing to do but watch television, she vowed to use every chance she got, once she was better, to live life to the fullest, learn every day, and help everyone she could to be the best they could be. Today, she’s proud to have kept her vow all these years. She hasn’t just lived her life to the fullest, but has taken care of people, animals, and the environment. She has worked hard every day to do what she can to give back – to her family, her friends, her extended network, and anyone trying to make a difference somehow.

A curious, lifelong learner, Beverly’s best learnings have come from the School of Hard Knocks, where you have to experience something, fail at it, and learn how to do it differently. Academically, she received an MBA from Suffolk University. Beverly is also a certified Hypnotherapist and a Certified Hypnosis Trainer by the National Guild of Hypnotists. She is also certified in Behavioral Instruction, understanding values, and EQ from Target Training International. She started her career in Executive Search, a role that taught her quite a bit but that she didn’t really enjoy. She later joined John Hancock Leasing Company and spent the next 10 years at John Hancock Insurance Company and Mutual Fund Company working in a variety of roles in the finance and investing sector. She took on every role that came her way with a learning attitude. “I don’t assume, I ask questions and listen carefully to what people are sharing, and I am willing to be wrong. It is a continual journey of learning. I love being thrown into something that is a challenge and having to work my way through it.”

Today, as the Founder and President at The Collaborative for Investment Education & Business Development Inc., she does everything from identifying great talent to join the firm, to creating new content, to working directly with the firm’s clients.

Donning Multiple Hats

Beverly truly loves her work – she loves solving puzzles for clients trying to find answers, teaching new ideas, helping people make behavioral shifts, and implementing change to make things even better. She considers her clients as her partners and oftentimes her friends. She became a college professor at Suffolk University in 2008, which has helped her hone the craft of instructional design. She finds inspiration from the students she is blessed with every semester. Working with new students helps her learn how to teach Next Generation individuals through her corporate work, and also stay leading edge with research and new ideas. She finds the students often hungry to learn, and has mentored many outside of the classroom, too. It is her fervent desire to spread her knowledge far and wide to help others be successful. She also started writing books in 2009, and has 8 published now with three as bestsellers on Amazon. “All of these experiences came together to help me offer a unique perspective to the market, and the firm has just continued to grow and enhance from there. I volunteer for a number of organizations and help out financially and personally – especially for under-privileged children and rescue animals. I am passionate about helping those who are unable to have a voice of their own,” shares Beverly.

Bringing a Paradigm Shift

At The Collaborative, Beverly has been talking, coaching, and teaching about the human element for as long as the firm has been in business. But many firms where The Collaborative has a primary focus, in the investment and financial industry, remain focused on the technical piece – training on products and services. Things have shifted dramatically in the last few years, now the industry is finally catching up with what The Collaborative has been practicing. There is a specific focus on wealth planning and whole life planning. It is all about getting to know the client, their fears, hopes, and dreams. It’s about listening, asking good questions, and staying open to learning. These are all things Beverly and her firm have been teaching and coaching for over two decades. Their work has become very relevant, and they are in demand to share their knowledge of human behavior and Emotional Intelligence with practitioners. As most people know, when it comes to money, emotions and the way people think and feel factor in, significantly. The Collaborative shares the philosophy they teach their own clients, which is to connect and care about them beyond what you can sell and deliver. Get to know their business. Develop relationships, so firms, large and small, understand you are the “go-to” for them. Stay abreast of what is happening, so you learn about their obstacles and challenges. Don’t believe you have all of the answers – continue to learn and grow.

“Our clients have the competitive edge because they implement our ideas to connect with their market at a deeper level. It’s been so fulfilling to watch this happen. And our work is relevant whether the market is up or down. People are on emotional highs and lows regarding their finances almost constantly, and you have to understand, as an advisor or wealth manager or asset management firm, how to meet them where they are, and it isn’t by offering the best products and services,” shares Beverly.

The Balancing Act

Beverly has spent her career in what has always been a man’s business. She had male bosses and colleagues make extremely inappropriate comments hundreds of times. However, there also have been men, especially clients, who have been nothing but respectful, professional, and appropriate. “I have many close client relationships and have never once felt mistreated, disrespected, or unsafe. However, it is a balance for women in our business – you can’t be too direct or pushy, but you can’t be too demure or soft. If you have children, the balancing act is tough and most of the men I have worked with, really don’t understand how tough it is on a working mom. We care deeply about our careers, and we care deeply about our children. It isn’t an “either/or” scenario. Every day is a challenge to figure out how to be present for both and give both the necessary attention,” says Beverly.

“A specific take-away from my own journey,” she continues, “is that the boss and culture matter a lot. Some people and places fully support women and their unique journeys, others not so much. I tell professional women “be your authentic self, but you have to do so by understanding your boss and the organization.”

A Word for Fellow women Entrepreneurs

Beverly’s advice to young women who want to succeed is to learn about themselves. “Be clear on your own strengths and areas for improvement. Don’t beat up on yourself, but rather be objective about what you can contribute, and what you can do differently and better. Find a mentor, or a sponsor – someone who will guide you and help you avoid some of the landmines. Make mistakes. Some of the best learnings come from what we don’t do well the first time, and that helps us understand how to do something differently. Be confident in who you are and find the ways to bring your best self forward.”

She also feels that it is important to find ways to incorporate the things we care about outside of work into our daily life. “I am totally passionate about what I do and enjoy working with clients and partnering with them on their journey, but I also enjoy my family and being with my children whenever the opportunity presents as they are now all grown up. I love boxing and physical activity, and I love animal rescue work, volunteering and giving back financially. Live a well-rounded life,” Beverly advises.

The Path Ahead

Beverly wants to spread the word even further about how understanding people is the key to success. Investors deserve to work with firms who truly care about them as people, and about what they think and feel toward their money. There is still plenty of work to do in the industry to raise awareness about this, but most importantly to give advisors tools to get better. Most advisors do not have backgrounds in psychology and social work, so helping them learn how to apply the skills is key. In addition, she hopes to expand out to other industries – The Collaborative has worked with some medical companies, and retail banks, and there is a lot to do there as well. “In addition to the business objectives, when I look more broadly at my goals, as an avid volunteer in the animal rescue space I want to continue to share my time and energy to help as many unfortunate animals as I can. I would also like to write one or two more books on effective parenting and the importance of listening to and really understanding who your child is so you can parent most effectively,” concludes Beverly.

Helping organizations seal this gap is Dr. Theoria M. Cason, Founder, and Chief Executive Officer, of Theoria In Praxis, a diversity, equity, and inclusion consulting firm. It works with businesses and individual professionals to improve their performance by providing transformational experiences that challenge mindsets, provide feedback with actionable strategies to solve problems, encourage growth and maximize potential.

The name of her business reflects who Dr. Cason is and how she operates. It is a play on the phrase: theory to practice. As a scholar-practitioner she has built her career by following this order of operations: gather information, develop a plan, then act. “My name is of Greek origin, so I went to the source for inspiration. Praxis is the practical application of any branch of learning. Praxis can be used as a noun when you talk formally about putting an idea or theory into practice. When it comes to my work as a DEI professional, my clients can count on me to follow these three foundational steps: seek to understand, develop a strategy, and put it into action; hence the company name: Theoria In Praxis,” explains Dr. Cason.

Helping Organizations Transform

In many instances, the work to address the gaps in DEI is under-resourced. Many DEI practitioners are operating as the sole practitioner in their organization and are working in isolation. This is hard work, it is heart-work and there is a lot of unpaid emotional labor that is leading to burnout.

That is why Dr. Cason has created a virtual Global DEI Agile Community of Praxis for fellow DEI professionals. This confidential group-coaching program is for practitioners who have reached a roadblock in the implementation of their DEI strategic initiatives and would benefit from the combined brilliance of a community of experts and Theoria in Praxis’s resources.

Participation in the program is not confidential, however, what is discussed is contained within the program. The goal is not to air the company’s dirty laundry, but rather to collectively work through a problem of practice to further the goals of the organization. Organizational sponsorship is strongly encouraged, especially for companies that are unable to build a full DEI team of practitioners.

Theoria In Praxis Inc. provides the following services: keynote speaking, transformational coaching, consulting, strategic planning sessions, equity audits, and training workshops. Dr. Cason is excited to announce three new services recently added to her company’s repertoire. The virtual Global Agile Community of Praxis, the virtual Mariposa Mastermind for professional women of color, and the Global Inclusive Leadership for P.E.A.C.E. Program.

The Global Inclusive Leadership for P.E.A.C.E. Program is a highly specialized, one-week transformational DEI program for executives and c-suite leaders that takes place in Costa Rica. “We believe that to establish DEI efforts that will affect change and produce sustainable results, you need to infuse P.E.A.C.E. into the process. Program participants will gain strategic insights, personal leadership skills, and the opportunity to build a powerful network to accelerate their DEI efforts by using our five-step P.E.A.C.E. model within their organization,” says Dr. Cason.

Tracing Her Journey

When asked how to describe herself she says, “I am a great many things: a sister; a daughter; a friend; a scholar-practitioner; an adventurer; a globetrotter; a believer…Simply put…I am magic in motion! As a native North Carolinian, I share my southern charm and smile with everyone I meet because I firmly believe it is important to treat everyone with dignity and respect. When I was a child, before school each morning, my mother would tell me to remember ‘The Little Engine That Could.’ In high school, she would tell me to ‘go forth and do great exploits!’ To this day, both charges influence the way I approach my work.”

As a first-generation college student, Dr. Cason obtained her bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Being the daughter of a highly intelligent single mother who always pushed her to be better, and to do great things, she then went on to earn a master’s degree from Western Illinois University, and a Doctor of Education from the University of Pittsburgh. As she progressed in her academic and professional journey, she noticed that the people who look like her became fewer and fewer. This observation fueled her desire to engage in diversity, equity, and inclusion work.

Engaging in the practice pushed Dr. Cason to seek out supplemental opportunities to develop her skills around DEI. Subsequently, she has also earned the credential of Cornell Certified Diversity Professional (CCDP) from Cornell University. Working with purpose-driven CEOs and decision-makers to cultivate an environment that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive requires a lot of headwork and heart-work. She says, “Amidst all the certifications and achievements I have accomplished to date, the two most notable for the DEI work I currently do are the certificate in Peace Education and the diploma in Social Innovation from the University for Peace, Center for Executive Education”.

Staying Motivated Amidst Challenges

Operating as a pioneer, Dr. Cason likes to forge new paths that did not previously exist. As such, she is motivated by opportunities to create new initiatives that can be sustained over time and will invariably improve the experiences of those who come after her. Her lived experiences are her primary source of inspiration. The people in her community are nothing short of exceptional. “I am privileged to know so many highly gifted, very intelligent, competent, and capable Black people from all walks of life. Their wisdom, resilience, sense of community, and most importantly their belief in me, inspire me to shine in the face of challenges and uncertainty. From the likes of Maggie Lena Walker to Mary McLeod Bethune to Patricia E. A. Cason to Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, I know that when I get out of bed in the morning, I stand on the shoulders of mighty women who were courageous enough to break barriers so that other women do not have to be the first.” she shares.

Equitable access to key decision-making roles is still a barrier for women in corporate spaces. The representation of women consistently decreases as the level of hierarchy increases. Moreover, most recently women across the world experienced job loss at unprecedented rates due to the pandemic; and among those who were able to acquire and sustain employment, the global gender wage gap was also exacerbated by the pandemic. One of the ways to tackle this systemic barrier to progress is to find ways to advance professionally outside of the system. Entrepreneurship is one pathway forward.

Opportunities for equitable access to key decision-making roles are even fewer for women of color. According to an article on catalyst.org, in 2021 in the USA, women held approximately 41% of the managerial positions. Of the 41%, white women represented approximately 33%, meaning they held one-third of all management positions; Black and Latina women held 4.3% each and Asian women held 2.7%. This means that even though many organizations are moving toward implementing DEI initiatives and diversifying the pipelines for leadership within their organizations, the doors of opportunity are not swinging wide open for women of color. As a champion for equity, Dr. Cason believes that self-advocacy is the highest form of self-care. For this reason, she decided to put herself into the C-suite instead of waiting for someone else to review her skills and assess her as worthy of the role and level of influence.

What motivates Dr. Cason to continue is the hope that her story will inspire someone else to take the baton and continue to forge new paths toward equity and justice. That is why she developed her virtual six-month Mariposa Mastermind program for professional women of color. In this program, she discusses strategic principles to help them break free from limiting beliefs, unleash their superpowers to rise as giants, or spread their wings and soar.

Taking Charge of her Journey

Dr. Cason first realized the importance her piece contributed during her graduate studies, when she looked around the class and noticed none of her classmates looked like her. That is when she began to mentor undergraduate students of color. As she progressed through her educational and professional journey, she continued to have similar, singular experiences; and that began to affect her sense of peace.

In 2009 she completed her certificate in peace education at the University for Peace, Center for Executive Education. There, she had the wonderful opportunity to learn with people from all walks of life: “such as the nun who traveled from Zambia; the community activists from Puerto Rico and Honduras; the gentleman from Colombia, the kind Canadian; the local Costa Ricans; the American educators; and all the people in between. I left with the understanding that as humans, we are all inextricably connected and have a shared responsibility to promote peace in our piece of the world,” says Dr. Cason.

Now as she strategically places her piece in the puzzle of work related to DEI, her sense of inner peace is her superpower. When it comes to the work of diversity, equity, and inclusion she believes we all have the capacity to be agents of change. This philosophy shapes her approach to the work. That is also why she believes that the Global Inclusive Leadership for P.E.A.C.E. Program is so effective. It is designed for purpose-driven C-suite leaders and decision-makers who are willing to go through the growing pains of change to cultivate a diverse, equitable, and inclusive work environment that fosters a sense of belonging.

Charting a Path for the Future

In addition to operating her business, Dr. Cason enjoys speaking and presenting, both virtually and in person. “In the near future, I would like to increase my speaking and keynote engagements. In the upcoming years, I’m looking forward to releasing my first book, and continuing my journey of exploring the human experience by traveling the world to better understand how humans make meaning of their piece of the world,” she adds.

Words of Wisdom for Women

For the women who would like to be the masters of their fate, Dr. Cason has this to say:

“I would encourage all women to identify ways to achieve the maximum amount of peace and to preserve it with all vigilance because it truly is priceless, which becomes a challenging feat if they are in a toxic relationship with their employer. Relationships should be reciprocal; so, women should work strategically to ensure their gains extend beyond the boundaries of their paycheck.

When it comes to aspiring entrepreneurs, I would encourage them to look for allies in unsuspecting places. Mentorship is essential for continued growth and success. I leverage the wisdom of people who have 15 to 20 years of professional experience. I also believe in the power of reverse mentorship and find value in learning from younger professionals who are driven to achieve. Entrepreneurship is the key to economic equity and freedom. So, I want to empower women to think outside of traditional systems and figure out how to exercise their skills to increase their impact, influence, and income.”

Jensen Partners and Jensen DiversityMetrics

Experiences That Shaped Sasha’s Entrepreneurial Journey

Sasha began her career as an investigative journalist in South Africa, where she had no shortage of key issues to cut her teeth on. It was during her time as Head of Investigations at the Sunday Independent and Sunday Star newspapers that she found herself drawn to data as a way to tell a story, contextualize the scale of an issue and measure progress.

With the belief that data substantiates an immediate call to action, Sasha transitioned to recruiting, where she began as one of the only female recruiters in an industry dominated by males. Sasha scanned the financial services landscape and discovered an opportunity to focus on the recruitment of marketing and distribution professionals in the alternative asset management industry, at the time still in its infancy.

In 2008, at the beginning of the Great Recession, total alternative assets under management were $3.1 trillion. By 2020, assets had more than tripled to $11.5 trillion as investment firms raised ever-more funds and brought in an ever-larger share of institutional capital.  Much of the credit for this growth belongs to marketing professionals, and Sasha’s focus on those marketers had positioned her at the forefront of an enormous and thriving market. Once Sasha carved out her niche, she found innovative ways to leverage her passion for data and background as an investigative journalist.

Sasha knew that tracking data and intelligence on every professional in the market would help set her apart when it came to recruiting and advising. She began designing organizational charts for her clients and prospects that mapped out the hierarchy at each firm. Over time, this intelligence gathering grew to include demographic information, career history and much more. The data Sasha and her team tracked helped identify top candidates and differentiated the firm’s ability to fill client recruiting mandates.

An Award-Winning Executive Search and Strategic Advisory Firm

Over the last seven years, Jensen Partners has received several rounds of institutional funding, experienced transformational growth and expanded in headcount and geography – with locations in New York, Miami, London and Hong Kong. Since 2016, the firm has tracked more than 6,500 marketing moves across the alternative investment industry and applies its ‘big data’ approach to mapping out the entire fund distribution teams at the largest investment platforms, totaling more than 600 firms globally. As the boom in marketing and distribution hiring activity continued across the industry, recruitment proved to be just the tip of the iceberg for Sasha and the Jensen Partners platform.

Making DEI a Core Objective – The Launch of Jensen DiversityMetrics

Following the murder of George Floyd in May of 2020, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and the woeful underrepresentation of women and people of color in nearly every corner of industry came to the forefront of the national narrative, and widespread protests for racial justice intensified.

To that point, firms had talked about diversity, but few did anything meaningful to change their hiring or recruitment practices. In fact, across the entire pool of distribution professionals at both the junior and senior level, women accounted for just 39.6% of the total, while ethnic and racial minorities accounted for only 22.5%.

For Sasha, the diversity movement stirred up a moral imperative that compelled companies and individuals in positions of power to act. For Jensen Partners, it meant the launch of Jensen DiversityMetrics, the first enterprise software platform that empower firms to analyze hiring and retention practices, benchmark against competitors, identify biases in workplace culture and develop diverse talent pipelines. It’s also why in November of 2021, Sasha announced that all future human capital searches conducted by Jensen Partners would begin with a candidate pool comprised of at least 51% of candidates who come from underrepresented backgrounds.

Now, it’s clear that DEI has become an imperative for firms seeking to be competitive, whether in the market for talent or the market for institutional capital.

Today, Jensen Partners functions on the principle that diversity is a critical and immediate need in the alternative investment space. Though there is still a long way to go, the path forward is clear. Sasha and the Jensen Partners team aim to help every alternative investment firm through each step of their hiring and DEI journey, and is confident we’re witnessing a movement – not a moment – toward a more diverse and inclusive industry for all.

Meet The Multi-Talented Leader

Misha is a seasoned professional with over 20 years of experience working for Fortune 500 companies in several different industries, including private wealth, telecommunications, sports entertainment, and luxury goods. She brings a distinctive and dynamic viewpoint to each organization, and they all profit from her wide range of experiences throughout her career.

The visionary leader is renowned for driving growth, maximizing operational excellence, and developing pipelines. Her viewpoints are widely respected, and people trust and respect her opinion. She was in charge of a $200 million annual marketing budget in her last corporate role. She was also in charge of financial reporting, product management, and marketing. Misha has backed numerous state and municipal government initiatives.

 Everyday, I wake up the first thought that comes to my mind is: YOU HAVE A CHOICE AND A CHANCE. What that means to me is that today might hold the chance I’ve been waiting for my entire life. Each day I choose to work the hardest I can achieve my dreams.”

Today, she serves as the Founder, President and CEO of 3T Consulting Group. Her responsibilities as President include overseeing daily operations. As the CEO, she is responsible for management consulting and top-notch staffing within the company’s current and potential clientele and for identifying solutions, including program enhancements, add-ons, new business, and expansion, while improving client and business return on investment.

Misha handles DE&I with an emphasis on ongoing improvement and client expectations. She also ensures that teams swiftly reach scope and prioritize decisions that help balance customer and business objectives. The women entrepreneur manages the employees, executives, and finances of the business and assesses its performance. She identifies and resolves organizational challenges, acknowledges inadequacies, and implements solutions while negotiating and approving agreements and contracts.

Misha says,“I frequently facilitate vendor relationships and identify key weaknesses while working with the vendors to strengthen processes and policies within business operations. I identify key performance indicators for the organization’s human resources and talent management functions, and assess the organization’s success and market competitiveness based on these metrics.”

A Professional Consulting And Staffing Firm 

“Our company started as a virtual assistance company 12 years ago. At that time, I was still also working in a corporate role,” recalls Misha. In 2017, she decided to devote most of her attention to 3TG Staffing Solutions and took on the role of CEO there full-time. At that time, there were only three part-time employees and a few active contracts, and it was just time for her to be a full-time CEO.

Marcus L. Dorsey – CFO, Mirah Young – Executive Director, Misha Ford – President & CEO

Today, 3T Consulting provides professional consulting. And 3TG Staffing Solutions is a branch of 3T Consulting that focuses on providing the government and Fortune 500 companies with optimal business solutions by aligning people, processes, and executing orders across all industry verticals.

Its laser focus and equitable approach to organizational cultures ensure effective programmatic strategy, efficient planning, and on-time execution. The company offers comprehensive solutions with over a decade of experience in business operations, including process improvement to reduce time and cost.

Converting Challenges Into Opportunities

The staffing industry is exceedingly complicated and demands agility in a constantly changing market where long-established processes are readily collapsable and the economy is constantly fluctuating. It makes Misha’s job an interesting yet difficult endeavor. Each nation, society, group, and individual is a complex adaptive system that adapts to those around them, and this complexity presents Misha and her team with ongoing problems.

They have a choice. Either they react to things as they occur or see them as opportunities to learn and develop their potential to create things out of them. Complexity forces Misha and her team to learn, develop, and create with what is emerging if they are to survive, live, and flourish today and tomorrow.

Source Of Motivation

When asked to share her source of motivation, Misha says that her grandmother had the most significant impact on her life. She was a self-made businesswoman who had nurtured nine children and more than 20 grandchildren while also owning a physical store. She (grandmother) taught her (Misha) so many approaches to culture and about variety in all its forms. Her principles surrounded her and still guide her every day.

Faced Challenges By Women

Being a woman, a mother of two daughters, and a seasoned professional with more than 20 years of experience in Fortune 500 companies across several different industries, including private wealth, telecommunications, sports entertainment, and luxury merchandising, Misha has had many opportunities to learn a lot about human behavior in a business setting. Her experience has shown the visionary leader that businesses will advance more quickly and dramatically if they address culture and give employee engagement top attention. While urging women to lean in and raise their hands can be helpful, they must also demand that companies take action to address the issue.

As a women entrepreneur, Misha has always wanted to be known for her business acumen and willingness to put in a lot of effort. However, she has found that it can be challenging for women. She believes, unfortunately, many individuals now assume that in order to thrive and be appreciated at work, one must be unkind, forceful, and unapproachable. ”As a woman of color, I believe I can speak for women of all races and affirm that we face similar types and frequencies of microaggressions. Ultimately, organizations need to do the deep cultural work required to create workplaces where all women feel valued,” says Misha.

The Role Of Mentorship To Aspiring Women Entrepreneurs or Professionals

“We have a 501c Rhonda’s Girl Foundation (RGF), which inspires young girls to believe anything is possible. We teach them to take control of their own career path and education while bringing innovation to the community. We want to open doors, provide a guiding light, provide time to talk through employment situations with them, share similar experiences of your own with them and be the non-judgemental sounding board they need to reach their own conclusions,” says Misha.

She wants to emphasize the fact that individuals shouldn’t be intimidated because they didn’t grow up in a posh neighborhood, didn’t have parents of a certain status, didn’t come from a particular background, didn’t attend the proper school, or weren’t introduced to the right people. She and her team make sure that these individuals understand that their goals are what count and that they are here to guide them and hold their hands while they travel.

“This is our simple vision for RGF. I was so insecure for so long, and now my insecurities are no longer taking over my life. I had to learn to be brave, and I want to share that truth with others,” states Misha.

Current Industry Scenario

Increasing merit, introducing more incentives, and realizing that hybrid work is here to stay are challenges Misha and her company, 3TG consulting, currently face. Misha and her team put a lot of effort into developing strong leadership and a culture of trust among the current staff and potential job candidates. They place a high value on employee engagement, well-being, and productivity, as well as work hard and smart to take good care of staff members and supply their clients with talent who are outfitted with the knowledge and behavioral tools necessary to produce excellent performance.

Future Goals

In the next two years, Misha wants to build a training facility that will guarantee that her company provides the community with advanced training and upskilling. She wants to give the underserved talent in the community the chance to reskill and compete for fair-wage jobs.