The Power of Connection and Community

Happy Monday, everyone. I am Reena Vokoun, your host of the Women Lead TV show called Women, Wellness, and the Workplace, brought to you by the Connected Women of Influence. I am so excited for our latest episode today where we're going to be talking to my friend, Erica Jordan, who is the Vice President of Alumni Engagement at Boston University. Welcome, Erika. Hi, Reena.

It's great to be here with you. Thanks for having me.

Of course. It's wonderful to have you on the show. And just to kind of get the viewers up to speed on how you and I are connected. So I'm an alumni from graduate school from Boston University, and I serve on the Boston University Alumni Council. And so I work closely with Erika on alumni engagement endeavors, specifically here in San Diego on the West Coast. But spent some time with her in Boston as well. And we're going to be talking today about leadership, connection, community, supporting one another as female leaders. Erika has a wonderful background in academia. So we're going to hear about her story. And then we're going to talk a little bit about her advice and tips for women leaders, as well as how she balances her personal and professional life as well. And according to some research from Deloitte, 80% of women actually want to be promoted to the next level in their careers. But as we know, that can be a challenging journey, and having that support of women is so critical. So, Erika, I'd love for you to introduce yourself to the viewers and tell them a little bit about your background in academia and fundraising and how you got to where you are today, because I know you've also spent some time with UC Irvine and USC and other universities as well.

Yes, absolutely. And I just love the fact that we're thinking about women because I feel like I stand on the shoulders of so many women growing up. Who've put me in position to be ready for the career that I have. And, you know, I always like to start my career path with who I was growing up. And I was a Girl Scout from the time I was a Brownie all the way up through my senior year in high school. And it really did teach me a lot about building community and being in service and being in service to others and how you treat others and working towards a goal. And, you know, I wasn't really sure exactly what I wanted to do when I went off to college. But when I graduated, I had the opportunity to help on a campaign for who now— Karen Bass, who's a Los Angeles City mayor. But, you know, again, I was still in service. Politics wasn't my, my direction I wanted to head into after a couple years in that industry. But then I moved into nonprofit management and did a lot more gala work and fundraising, learned how to steward amazing donors and friends of the nonprofit that I worked for. But then I realized, you know, there was sort of no path to grow in that particular organization. And so I was, I was there was a job at USC that came up doing events in their fundraising department. And I got that job again, just thought my whole path was going to be events. I'm very logistically minded. I love beautiful things. But as I got there, I actually had two female bosses who were incredible at saying, Erica, you're at these events, you're doing an amazing job of talking to our donors, helping them understand the impact of their giving and inviting them to join and continue to give. Have you ever thought about being a frontline fundraiser? And I was like, no, but the invitation was there for me to try it without fail. I appreciate having that opportunity to say, I want to try this career. If it's not working out, they will find another place for me. I did that for several years and then slowly started picking up more work in the alumni engagement field. For me, that was like that missing piece of the puzzle where I really had the opportunity to think about how do you engage people, make impact, and then drive them towards things, whether it's volunteerism, whether it's giving of their philanthropy, their kind of time, talent, treasure. And from there, my career kind of excelled. I moved on after 8 years and joined UC Irvine, did very similar work. And now I'm here at BU. And my work here really transcends lots of areas. And so my portfolio at BU, I oversee alumni engagement and all the leadership and strategy behind that, annual giving, but as well as communications and events. And so it's sort of been really a full circle moment for me being able to lead and kind of take every step of my life and just add it into a really healthy, strong career.

I love that. What an incredible background you have. And I can relate on the Girl Scout thing because I was also a Brownie and a Girl Scout. And it really does prepare you for leading a life of service and giving back. I'm curious, since you have worked now for both private universities and then public with UC Irvine, how have you seen differences from a fundraising perspective and alumni engagement perspective?

Yeah, I mean, it's definitely, I think it's resources, right? And the main difference I think is internal resources. You know, both private schools, you know, are just equipped to make, you know, different types of decisions that will increase alumni engagement in their own philanthropy. Where at a public school, you know, you find that, you know, you're, the state has to be honest, you know, in different ways about how they allocate resources. And when it comes down to, you know, are you going to put a little bit, you know, 4 more dollars into the hands of students, or you can put 4 more dollars in the hands of people. Trying to raise money for students, you know, is a hard piece. But I think the state of California has done an amazing job of trying to support both. UC Irvine, when I was there, was very young, it just turned 50 years old as an institution, but was nationally ranked. And so it was incredibly inspirational. So the city itself, and I find this with private or public institutions, that the city itself themselves that surround public institutions really do step up to help increase philanthropy. And so I think the biggest difference is internal resources. But at the same time, I think you kind of cut our across, you know, you're always doing it for the students. You're always doing it to bring the next generation of people behind you with the highest form of education they can receive.

Yeah, I love that. That's a really great way to describe the differences, and that makes a lot of sense. Um, so what are the greatest lessons that you've learned in your career journey so far?

Um, I think one of the greatest lessons is, you know, it's actually turned into, you know, a big positive for me, but it's always saying yes. And I think, you know, Oftentimes, I think I've always been a go-getter and a doer, and I said yes to things that sometimes in the moment you sort of feel like maybe you weren't appreciated for them. And maybe you weren't getting the increase of salary or the title you wanted, or it just felt like life continued on and you were just on the back end kind of just fighting away. And I think it can be discouraging sometimes. But the lesson I learned in that was that when you say yes, people do notice. There's always someone watching you. There's always someone who's ready to give you the next position, the next opportunity. And so, you know, it's the last two positions I've been recruited for have come on the fact that people have been watching me, um, and I've said yes to a lot of projects and initiatives that were not things that were naturally in my job description but gave me great opportunity, great resources. And then those are all things you can put on your resume no matter if it's part of your job description. And I often like to tell people as I'm mentoring them through is your job description is your job description, but your resume is where you can really share all the ways that you have gone above and beyond and made impact. So for me, I think it's always saying yes and going the extra mile, um, of course within boundaries. But I think as you say yes to things, um, the universe— the universe itself will meet you and provide so much more. And I've had a chance to leapfrog things that I thought were my natural next steps because I've done the work, um, in saying yes to the various projects.

I love that. I think, you know, there are so many women that are afraid to say yes, right, because of imposter syndrome or not feeling like they're qualified for a job and that fear that can sometimes prohibit them from taking a really great opportunity. And I also think while we are in this place where we are focused on gender equity, getting more C-level executives in the workplace, women are maybe thinking a lot about title. But I love what you said about even if it's not exactly in your job description or the exact role, or even title that you might be looking for. I like your view of that it's a stepping stone and it's a way to kind of take you to the next level. And, and to your point, you can really take any experience and have learnings out of it that can benefit you for your next role. And clearly people have been watching you and noticing the great work that you're doing, and it's very evident, um, in just how wonderful alumni engagement is run at Boston University. As an alumni myself, I'm so impressed with how much organization and passion and care for alumni that exist, and that is clearly under your leadership, amongst many others. So that's very evident. Thank you. Yeah. And so relationships, we always learn about how that's very important in career development, especially for women. So how have you leveraged relationships to find success throughout your career?

Absolutely. I think relationships are, are everything. I think, you know, one way is just staying in touch with people. I try monthly to do coffees with people. Um, easy. I, so How I manage my calendar, which may be helpful in building relationships. Monday through Friday or Monday through Thursday are my like— I'm pretty much booked out with the standard meetings and things I have to do to keep engagement and all of the pieces going. But Fridays, I try to do my best to make that my like get caught up but also keep building relationship days. And so often on Fridays, you'll find me, my calendar is full of time to like virtual coffee chats or in-person coffee chats and lunches where I can see people and keep up with what they're doing. I think Building relationships is important. Not just think about what you need from someone, but what can you, you know, how can you listen to them? What questions might they have? So even when I'm benchmarking or need advice, I always try to say if I do a 30-minute phone call, at least half of that's going to be time for me to ask, now what can I do to be helpful to you? And people want to be listened to. People want to know that, you know, if they're helping you, you also know that they can count on you back. And so for me, a lot of it is just maintenance and remembering people's birthdays, remembering the things that matter to them.

You find it goes a long way.

Again, people remembering you in those tough moments. And then the last thing I'll say on that is remembering your personal board of directors. I think it's incredibly important as women, as you become executives and well before you become an executive, who are those 4, 5, 6 people who you can always turn to? You know they have your back, but also they're very diverse within your own community. So there's people in my personal board of directors who are within my industry. There are some that I know will kind of keep me balanced in the wellness, mental health space. Health space. There's others who I know are just really brilliant people, and I learn from them every time I talk to them. So I think for people, I encourage people to think about who's your kind of starting five, who are the people you'll go to, you know, you can always turn to. We always need those people in our lives. And make sure some of those people are in your industry and are a little higher up, and, and then you can, you know, let them know what you're interested in. I've had several opportunities where I've come to one of my mentors who are on my board and said, you know, considering this opportunity, I'm not really sure, would you help me weigh the pros and cons of that?. And those relationships and having those relationships really do sometimes give you that external perspective on life. And so I just, for me, I'm a very people person. I love meeting people. And, you know, even Reena with you and I, I think as we've, you know, had coffees or lunches with each other before, it's always incredible to hear what people are doing and how we can be in support of each other in various ways.

Yeah, I couldn't agree more. I'm like you. I'm very much a people person, very extroverted, and deeply value personal and professional relationships that are from all stages of my career, my academic journey. I agree. I think that is really important because you want to be able to help each other, cheer each other on, provide that support. And I like what you said as well about kind of that mutual benefit. You want to be there for them. It's not like networking. I think some people shy away from networking because they feel like, I don't want people to think that I'm asking for something, or I'm trying to sell them something, or ask for money, or whatever it is, or a job. I think if you're shoot— you know, just just the sheer experience of getting together with people, getting to know them, building that relationship over the years. I agree, I think it can just lead to amazing support. Other opportunities could come up, but we all need those people in our lives that can cheer us on. And I think it's also helpful to have people that you have worked with before, like you said, whether that— I have former bosses in my corner and, you know, peers as well that I've worked with both on the corporate side and the entrepreneurship side. And yeah, you can bounce ideas off of them because sometimes career decisions can be a little bit overwhelming and some people might have a perspective that you never even thought of. That is very helpful to look at it from all angles and then ultimately follow your gut on what you want to do.

Absolutely. I'll add to that, Reena, because I think you wrapped it up really nicely, is that I think always letting people know what you need at those moments. That might evolve every time you talk to them in different ways, but sometimes I think we're not necessarily honest about what we need in a moment, or we're scared just to put it out there. I think to the networking point, sometimes you do need a network, but it's being very clear in those moments. Hi, I really, at this moment, I'm looking for a new opportunity, new job. Are you open to that conversation with me? Do you have the bandwidth, this conversation for that? Or I'm just looking for a little chance to vent. Do you have your own capacity if I were to call you for a couple of minutes just to vent out for a couple of minutes? I think when we're honest with people about where we are and what we need in those I think it helps with sometimes breaking down the walls, um, even when it may be a tougher conversation or an ask that you're trying to make of someone.

Yeah, that's so true. And I think as women, sometimes it's hard for us to ask for things. Um, one of the things that I love about Michelle Bergquist, who is our co-founder of Connected Women of Influence, which is our sponsor of this show, um, for all of us who are members of Connected Women of Influence, she's always telling us, don't be afraid to ask for what you need because it's a lot of fellow entrepreneurs and we're all trying to build our networks and our businesses. And again, sometimes I personally I've even shied away of. I don't want to ask anyone for anything. I can let them know about what my business is about, and hopefully if they see an opportunity to connect me with somebody, they will. But she's really great at encouraging us to ask for what we need specifically, and that is a really good lesson to learn. And there are ways to do it, kind ways, very professional ways to do it, um, where it's not taken in the wrong way. And I think that's what scares people most. So it's all in your approach and your intent. And if you're also wanting to help others genuinely, then it can only create win-win opportunities for both parties. I agree. I love that. And so what would you encourage people not to do, right? We talk so much about the things we should be doing throughout our careers at different stages, but, um, I, I think it is important to kind of know some of the things, maybe from your learnings or what you've seen working, you know, in academia throughout your career. What are things that people shouldn't do?

Yeah, I think I'll answer this in two ways. I think one thing is not following up. I think it's really important to follow up with people. I think if, you know, you have to be a person somebody can on and trust. And sometimes, you know, people look at trust differently. For me, those little micro ways, um, of, of building trust are really important. You know, if I, if I, if I say, you know, Reena, I'm gonna, you know, follow up with you after the show and, you know, send you something, I'm gonna send it to you because I think it's really important for me to do those things. And those, to me, those little breadcrumb moments tend to lead to people, um, just believing in you and believing you can do the things. Um, and that's, I think The small things become big things. You're not following up on small things, you're often probably not following up on some of the bigger things that are needed. The other thing I would say in terms of not doing, I think not thinking small. I'm really big on dream big, put yourself out there. Sometimes when we play small for ourselves, we miss opportunities. We say, again, this goes back to saying yes, but sometimes we know something is not quite right for us. That's totally different than I think going in with imposter syndrome or not making the big ask for or, you know, whatever it is, especially as an entrepreneur. And I've spent a little bit of time doing an event planning business on the side, and I've had some fortune in terms of some of my clientele. But some of that was having to just put myself out there for things that I knew was going to be a stretch, and then finding the resources to get it done. And so I always say, dream big, don't sell yourself short. Many of us have so much talent and so much resource behind us that if we just put ourselves out there, um, with the confidence, we will we will be successful. So dream big is something we often don't do well.

Yeah, and that, that's a great reminder. I think that is so important because again, we do hold ourselves back a lot of times. People have sort of a negative inner voice, right? And I think remembering that you are so much more capable than you realize— and to your earlier point about having that board of directors, though, those can be some of the people in those moments when you are kind of playing small and you aren't, you know, thinking bigger than that. They can encourage you and push you to do that because sometimes you can accomplish things more than you ever thought possible, right? If you just take that chance. And I, I love what you said about, um, following up, because I think especially being in academia, you work with a lot of students, right, at the graduate level, the undergraduate level. And I think this next generation, um, you know, with social media, so many different inboxes, right? There's the LinkedIn inbox and your Instagram, you know, DMs and text messages, and there's so many ways that people are reaching you. And I've definitely seen— I mentor students at both Boston University and the University of Wisconsin Madison, and they've done a great job. I know with my own kids who are teenagers now, my husband and I are always encouraging them, you know, if you're reaching out whether it's for an internship opportunity or a summer job, you have to follow up. And sometimes this generation can forget to check their email because they're checking so many other inboxes. So I do think professionally email is still the primary source of exchange, and that follow-up is definitely a really good reminder. Viewers from all different ages and stages of their career are listening. I think that follow-up up is critical. So that's a good one. And so how do you— we know that the academia landscape is always changing, you know, universities are having smaller acceptance rates, enrollments were down a little bit, you know, pandemic time, now they're going back up again, people have had to defer admissions, there was virtual school, there's just so much that has happened even in just this decade of the 2020s alone, right? And it's constantly changing. So how do you think that will affect women leaders? And that means women who are going through the universities as students and then finding their internships and jobs, and also for women who work in academia or in other sectors as well.

Yeah, that's a great question. And you're right, higher education is a tricky place right now. And it's actually pretty surprising how fast we've come to this place in higher education where it's being challenged, its significance is being challenged from kind of every corner. But what I've found when I talk to other executives in many different spaces and fields is that higher education still does really matter. People are still looking for that degree on your resume. And at the end of the day, personally, I think women should think about it as it's one of the biggest networks you're ever going to have. I'm not— even if you go to a small liberal arts school, those— every single one of those people who graduate with you and who come behind you and have come out before you, those alumni are your biggest, biggest, biggest network you can tap into. And I think I've seen the power of people utilizing their alumni networks very well. And so for me, I encourage women to for sure continue to be a strong force in higher education. Right now, women do lead in terms of how many women that are enrolled in school and higher education. I hope that trend continues. That's in no negative way to men, but I do hope that we continue to see women go after it, get those degrees, get higher ed, go get master's and others. Again, I think at the end of the day, if you can be an engaged student when you're in, you come out and you're engaged as an alum, you really have no shortage of opportunities. Opportunities to think about yourself. How, if you're an entrepreneur, how are, you know, that base of people can be people you thrive and send out your information, say, hey, how can you support me? And I know there's a lot of institutions have business directories and support their entrepreneurs. They support women in many different ways. And we, many of us have affinity groups and other spaces to help women throughout their career as you become mom and, you know, or whatever that may look like in your various life stages. So I was really encouraged Higher education is not dead. Enrollments are— you're right, Reena, they're staying up, but there's a great opportunity for women to really, really tap into the power of this collective energy we have in our alumni basis to thrive in every part of their careers.

Yeah, that's really good advice for women to get involved as a student because then that practice will continue as you go on into your career or go on for further higher education. But you're right. I know myself personally, I was part of the student Student Future Alumni Association at University of Wisconsin, and it was very involved in that. And then I have been serving on alumni boards there as well, and then came on to BU. And when I left my corporate career and became an entrepreneur, both universities have been so incredibly supportive. The network has been so powerful, and I, I think you can really still feel like you belong. You can still have that connection to your universities throughout your life. It doesn't end after 4 years or 2 or 3 years if you're in grad school or law school or longer for med school, I think whatever it is you're studying, that it's lifelong learning, right? That never ends, continues with you. And to be able to have that support and that community from your alma maters, I think, is very powerful. I think sometimes people don't even realize that until they maybe go to an alumni event or they participate in, you know, hear a speaker, and that suddenly, you know, sets off a light bulb of, oh, maybe I should get more involved. So I think I think that's really good advice and something that everyone should look to do because it's only going to help you in your career.

Yeah, absolutely. There's so many online ways. I think almost every institution at this point has some online space where you can, for us it's BU Connects. You can go on, you can meet your fellow, you meet students, but you can also meet and mentor those students, but you can also meet fellow alums all over the world and by interests. One thing we pride ourselves on is being that connective tissue to help our alums, if they're trying to pivot into a new industry, well, let us help you make those connections. Or if you're trying to just get new knowledge, you know, we're, we're constantly having monthly webinars. And Reena Vokoun, you know, you've spoken at many of those webinars before, but it's really, to me, it's the power of that network that gets us really far in life, for sure.

Yeah, absolutely it is. And it's nice that, you know, it doesn't mean if you live somewhere internationally or somewhere across the country from your alma mater, there are so many great ways now, as you mentioned, online to still be connected, whether that's through BU Connects, as you mentioned, which is an online community for Boston University, email newsletters, you know, there's always information about what's going on, webinars that you can listen to. So yeah, I think the digital world has also made it easier for people to stay engaged. And great if you can come to campus for alumni weekends, that's wonderful, but if you can't because of different life stages, as you mentioned, mentioned the parents networks and things. People are sometimes in stages where it's hard to travel because of their kids. You can still be very much involved in other ways, and that's a really good reminder as well.

Yep, absolutely.

So because this show is, uh, women wellness in the workplace, I would love to hear a little bit about how you find balance. I know, Erica, you are traveling all the time, you're at so many different events, you're working with faculty, staff, students, alumni. So how do you find balance? How do you take care of your own health and well-being so you keep going and keep shining in the way that you do?

Yeah, well, you know, it's funny, I've sort of gotten away from the word balance. The word balance actually was stressing me out for a very long time because it was— it became very hard. And, um, what I've started to do is just think about rituals and what rituals, um, could I maintain that really kind of gave me energy every day or every week. And so, um, two things that I do religiously, um, I try to do yoga in the mornings about 20-30 minutes, so nothing something, you know, that does— that takes an hour or two out of my morning. But, um, I find yoga in the morning just is a great breathwork. It gives me energy. And what I've also found is when I'm having stress and I'm coming up on a stressful week, that yoga, that breathwork has just brought me to a very like zen place, and things don't, you know, fluctuate too much. I sort of stay at a nice healthy pace. The other thing is on Sundays I take baths. Um, I have not traditionally been a bath woman, but, um, I— a friend of mine told me, you know, Erica, you really should consider taking baths, and I started doing it and kind of romancing myself in that way, right? So the candles, the music, and reading a good book. And it's really, again, like ending my week kind of with my own pace, getting ready to start the weekend with those strong intentions, has been kind of really two really nice self-care things I do. And I would say during the week— and again, I, I travel about 50% of the time, it could be hard on my body— um, going for walks, um, whether or not just zoning out, listening to music, walking with another person and not necessarily having to walk with a fast pace. I've actually found that slow walking just releases a lot of stress. And so that's been probably the 3 things that I really do. And then just keeping up with friends, honestly, spending time with friends, having a good time to laugh and stay, you know, I love to say, you know, we have to keep playing in our lives. We work so hard. You have to find those ways to be young and play, whether that's with your kids. For me, I don't have children, but I do find ways whether it's just, you know, going outside and doing— being silly with friends, or over a glass of wine and laughing. Just kind of finding those spaces to have fun. It was really important for us all busy women.

Yeah, I love it. And I love what you said. I, I agree that a lot of people don't like the word balance because you're right. Realistically, we can never have our life perfectly balanced because life is too complex for that. I know a lot of people in our wellness industry like to use the term work-life integration.

Yes.

But at the end of the day, whatever you want to call it, I think, yes, having those rituals or having those times for yourself, like you mentioned with the baths and the yoga and the walking and connecting with your friends. If you can have those things in your life regularly, then that will allow you to still feel that you are whole and you're not just overworking and getting to a point of burnout because you've purposefully and intentionally put those practices into your week. And you're a great example. You've traveled 50% of the time. It's not easy to be on your regular schedule when whether it's with your yoga or your breathwork or some of the other things that you do. But you can find ways to do it wherever you are as well, which is the beauty. And I love what you said about it's 20 minutes. You're not having to, you know, calendar in an entire hour workout every day, which for most people, that's also not realistic. So I think that it's a great message to all of our viewers and all of the women listening that it's something that is personal for everybody. But find those self-care practices and wellness practices that work for you, because that's going to help you both in your personal and professional life. And, and like you said, life is too short. We need to play, we need to have fun, and those are the things that are going to keep us with that sort of youthful spirit no matter what.

Absolutely.

Yeah, I love it. Well, we are just out of time, so I just wanted to see if there was anything else you would like to share with our viewers, Erica, and how people can find you if they have questions on women's leadership, academia. How can people get in touch with you?

Yeah, absolutely. I think my LinkedIn is scrolling on the bottom of the screen, so please get in touch with me on LinkedIn. I'm, I'm always there. But one thing I'll share is that, you know, there's a couple of great books that I would recommend always for women. There's a book called Mindset. The author's first name is Carol. I don't remember the last name at the moment, but also The Confidence Code. I think those are two great books that I always tell women to read as you're thinking about going through your career and just continuing to be, you know, a strong woman in our industries. And so thank you, Reena, for having me on the show. It's been fun, a lot of fun.

Oh, it's been such a pleasure to have you, Erica, and I love those book recommendations. I'm definitely going to go check those about myself. So for everyone listening, feel free to get in touch with Erica if you have any questions. Thank you all so much for tuning in. Thanks again, Erica, for joining us today, and we'll be back with another episode of Women Lead TV's Women Wellness and the Workplace, sponsored by the Connected Women of Influence, very soon.

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