Working Towards Our Purpose

Welcome to Working Towards Our Purpose, a podcast that

offers a different perspective on what a job can be. For everyone

out there that's heard that voice in the back of their head asking for something

more, it's time to listen to it. I'm your host, Gino,

and join me as I interview people who have decided to work in their own

purpose. Together, we will learn, become inspired,

and hopefully find our own path towards working in our purpose.

Hey, everyone. Thanks for tuning into this episode. And I'm really

excited about today's conversation because I think

that Ramona has a story that is really

what I'm trying to get at with this podcast. And I think it's a very

inspiring story and a very encouraging story. So I'm excited for

you to all listen to it. So let's dive right in. Well, thank you for

being here. Why don't you start by telling us a little bit about

yourself and your story and how you ended up at Love146?

Okay. Sounds good. So I'm Ramona McIntyre.

I work at Love146. I'm the development manager there.

And how I ended up there was it was not

a planned sort of career move for me.

My family and I, so my husband and our 2

girls moved from California back to the East

Coast, so we landed in Connecticut. We're originally from the East Coast, so we were

moving back home. And in

California, I was the CEO

of a small chamber of commerce in a town called

Pleasant Hill. It was great because I

loved my job. I loved the people that I worked with. But it

was it was incredibly stressful. I was working really

long hours, obviously, away from home a lot. I missed a few things

for my kids and things like that. And I think that

what made it the most stressful was was my

boss, was my board chair, the board of directors. One of them flat out

said, I don't like you, which which was really it was

really, nobody's ever said that to me before, so that

was took me back. And it was kinda hard

to it was really hard to

get over that for me. I it just caused a lot of anxiety and

panic every time I talked to that person and and went to work and had

to deal with them. And so there I was chugging

away as CEO and the pandemic hit,

and then George Floyd was murdered.

And my director of marketing at the chamber said, hey. I

think we should address this. I think we should say

we're we're supporting BLM. The the city manager for

the city of Pleasant Hill, they had put out a message and support and so

had the the chief of police. And so we're like, yes. Absolutely. We're an

organization in the city that's important. We absolutely should pro BLM

do all the posts. So the post went out on a Friday,

Saturday. 1 of my former employees who, I

had to let go, unfortunately, posted some really nasty

comments about the post, the PLM post saying that

that the Chamber of Commerce is supposed to be pro business and that

by supporting Black Lives Matter, we're being against

business and that we're the reasons that there's all these protests and

that the businesses are closed and and shuttered, which

obviously is not true. And so that caught the eye

of my board chair who's already didn't like me and was

looking for any excuse to to let me go.

And this was it for her. And so Monday morning, I had

the she called a meeting with most people

from the city, and the executive board asked

me to take down the pro BLM posts. And,

and I you know, it was like it was I was at this crossroads

at that moment, and I, unfortunately, didn't stick to

my guns. And I took down the post, and I

immediately regretted it. I've it was this it was

this really visceral reaction that I had. I felt sick. I felt

apologetic. I cried for days. I had to apologize to my

staff. I had to have a big conversation with my children.

And it wasn't it wasn't at all

how I expected myself to

to respond and to react and just to I felt like I was just

laying down and saying, okay, you know, which not what I

usually would do. But I think at that moment,

I was just trying to be very I was just trying to comply with

somebody who already didn't like me. You know? I was just trying I was

like, I have to keep this job. And my husband said, why?

Why do you have to keep the job? And I was like, well,

you know, I'm I'm I'm so important. I'm the CEO,

and people look up to me, and I have a staff, and we're about to

refinance the house and all this stuff. And he goes, so?

That doesn't matter, which was which was really great of

him. And and so I wrote a letter to the entire board of

directors, and I said, hey. This is what happened in this meeting.

This is how I feel about it. I felt like I was really put into

a corner and not given an opportunity, and I don't agree with what I did,

and I apologize. And then 2 days

later, because it was COVID, so we were all working from home, I got a

package in the mail that included my termination letter

and my compensation package. So so I was out.

And, yeah. So

then I had to find any job. Then we moved to Connecticut, and, I was

looking for another job. And I came across a job

listing for Love146 for a for a development specialist, and it

was not at all in a leadership

position, which is what I wanted at that point because

I really felt like I needed some time to heal from, like, this trauma

that just happened. And immediately, the first

thing that I saw was that Love146 is working to

end child trafficking and exploitation, nothing less. That was a little

scary because I thought, oh my goodness. I don't want a deal. That's

that's really heavy. That's really sad. But then I kept looking

at their website, and then they had this

very big, very upfront DEI statement. So it was just

their their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, which I thought

was was really fantastic at that point after

everything that had happened. And then they just kept

reading and about what they do and how they

work to to end child trafficking. And they have these

values that they posted on on the website that I

thought I had never seen an organization do that. So it

was like, defiant hope and and steady perseverance,

and those were kind of exactly the things that I needed at

that moment. So I thought, okay. Fine. I'll apply. I applied. I got the

job. And it's been it's been fantastic. It's a heavy

topic. We do care for for children who are

survivors of trafficking and exploitation, but

but I get to make that survival happen for them, not

in a direct one on one way, but I I

tell people that it's happening. I tell people about the work that we do.

And, yeah, that's how I ended up here, and it's been it's been lovely. It's

been great. Wow. That's an awesome story. I think the first thing that comes to

mind is, like, the breaking point because I think that that's kinda like

almost like what causes the change to to actually happen. At least for me

personally, it's like you have to be, like, pushed beyond your breaking point and

then snap and then realize, like, oh, why am I doing this?

Like, I don't have to be doing this. Let me change and do something else

that makes me happy. And, I think that, like, that's a perfect example of that.

So that's that's really great. Also aligning with, like, the values of, like, you

left this place that didn't have your values aligned, and then you found this new

place that did. And it seems like that was kind of the more

important thing was the values that they had you

shared. So I think that that's like a really good also example

of, like, I don't know, how to find something that, like, you're

going to click with and and be happy at. So

Yeah. Yeah. A 100%. And I agree with that. Sometimes you have to get sometimes

you have to get real low to find that right perspective. Absolutely.

For sure. So is this the, like, the first nonprofit that

you've worked in? What was your previous history? Like, was it was it the goal

to work in a nonprofit, or it just kinda happened, it seemed, a little bit

randomly? Yeah. A 100%. It was it was it was really

random. So the the Chamber of Commerce is a non profit,

but very different, you know, that was worked more with businesses and,

like, economic development versus working with people.

I feel like I took, like, a super long road to

get to where I am. I I went to culinary school.

I then went to college, and then I was like, no. I don't wanna go

to college. And then I went back, and I got my ma my my master's

my bachelor's degree, finally. And I did

food sales for a little bit, and then I did I worked in the

chamber, and there was always a pull,

like, what more can I do? Like, nothing felt

super satisfying. Like, selling salsa

was fun. I love going to supermarkets. I love food. That was really

fun, but it was like, for what? You know? There was no point.

And so yeah. And so after really, like,

yeah, hitting kind of a rock bottom and saying, like, why am I

spending 12 hours a day working

at something that doesn't make me happy? Like, what's gonna make me the happiest? And

it's, you know, it's helping other people and empowering other people. Really

does make me happy. So that's kind of it was kind of a long

winding road, but that's how I landed in nonprofits, and it's been great.

Yeah. You know, I've definitely had a similar past in, you know,

working, just doing something because, you know, that's what you're supposed to do. This

is the job description, but not feeling like it's connected to anything

and just being super confused and being like, what there must be more of this.

Like, I don't understand why we're doing this or, like, why I'm doing this.

So that's definitely, like, an important topic, I think, is, like,

the is there something more? Because I I always was asking myself that too. It

was, like, is this is this it? Like, this doesn't make sense to me. Like,

I did I did the college. I got the degree. I you know, I am

where I'm supposed to be, but it doesn't feel like it is. It

so, I think that's that's always a good question to be

asking yourselves. So would you say that this is the job

that you, like, most feel in alignment with as far as, like, purpose and that

sort of thing? Kinda kinda sounds like it is. Yeah. Yeah. It really

is. It's it's just it's fantastic

for several different reasons. And I feel like right now, it's my

life is, like, really balanced. Not not only am I helping

or I'm not helping directly. Like, I'm not a social worker. I'm not

working with the children 1 on 1. But I can I can

make that happen, you know, by by raising awareness and

bringing in donations and and things like that? So that part of me is

satisfied where I where I get to help somebody else, where I get

to have somebody have defiant hope and reclaim their childhood. I

think that feels really, really lovely. And, also, I have

balance in my life. So I was always brought up to be, like

well, sort of. My family came from Nicaragua. But they were

very much they were they were a high society, very important

family. And so when they moved here in the to the United States in

1980, I was the I'm the only person in my family born here, so I'm

1st generation. I still grew up in a very Hispanic household,

very culturally Hispanic, but then also, like, having this, like,

having to straddle to be, like, American culture too. So,

like, for me, I was brought up, like, well, you're gonna marry somebody

who's very successful. You know? And and then my brothers were

like, well, you're gonna be very successful. So I find that

I don't really wanna be very successful. I've had that role,

and it was it was cool. It was cool to say, yeah, I'm a CEO,

but it wasn't fulfilling. And now I'm I'm

not as much in that big leadership

role, but it's it's great. Like, I I

feel like I make a bigger impact, and I have more time at home

with my kids and more time for myself. I actually started a

master's in nonprofit management because life feels so good,

you know, right now that I can tackle that on. So yeah.

Yeah. No. That those are really good points. Yeah. Just as far as, like I

I guess that's kind of like an American capitalistic mindset of,

like, oh, you need to have more and more. You need to be CEO, you

know, all that stuff. But it's interesting that you said you did like, you didn't

find the purpose until you did maybe something smaller. And I think a lot of

times that's looked at as, like, a negative thing. Like, oh, well, you're only doing

that? Like, you're not you don't wanna be the next step on the ladder? You

don't wanna, like, keep climbing? I mean, that's something that, like, I I think

personally struggle with too because, like, I, you know, I do a lot of, like,

learning about business and, like, seeing what others did and that sort of thing. It's

always, like, you wanna grow to as big as you can and you wanna, like,

maximize money and maximize profit and stuff like that, but sometimes you

don't. Sometimes you just wanna, like, impact. Like, the the impact is

the thing that's the most important and not the money. So I think that's, like,

a huge stigma, especially in this country. But, yeah, that's that's,

that's that's interesting. I was gonna ask you a little bit later on is, like,

what do you do to continue, like, your growth and education and stuff like that?

So it sounds like you're going for a master's, which is cool. Is that is

there anything else that you do to continually learn? Yes. The

master's right now is taking up a bulk of the my time.

I'm an avid podcast listener, and I listen to a lot of

books on tape. So I like to take my dogs for a walk for at

least an hour a day. And so listening to 2 books

on tape are fan so Audible is fantastic. Then

podcasts are they're literally the best. I'm always listening

to one. So it's like This American Life or oh, is it History

Chicks, I think, is super cool. Yeah. Nice.

Nice. I I I do the same. I have, Audible, and then I also

have, there's a library app that you can use and you can, like, rent

books. But, yeah, I love listening to to books on tape as well or

books on MP 3. Yeah. I I

guess to ask maybe a a broader

question, like, talking about, like, how people define

success and stuff and and especially in this country, How would you describe success

or, like, how would you define success, what it means to you?

Yeah. That's really interesting. I think it's so

I think that's such a personal perspective

on on how you define success. I think some people still

define success as and truly

so, they feel like, well, success is being at x

level of of the corporate ladder and making

6 figures, you know, and living in this neighborhood, and my

kids can go to private school, and that is success. And

that's great. That's fantastic. And if you're happy there, then that's

great. I think for for myself, I think having

balance and being happy and being

comfort comfortable not comfortable financially, but just

comfortable in the fact that that I'm not having a panic attack

every day when I'm going to work. That is success. I was telling

my boss the other day. I was like, wow. I've worked here for 2 years,

and I haven't cried once about work. I think that's success. You

know? I enjoy going to work. I look forward to it.

And I also really like it at the end of the day when I get

to close my laptop and just hang out with my husband or my

kids and have that time. That feels luxurious

to me because I didn't have that before. So that's what I would

define as successful. Yeah. I love that. Work life balance, I

think, is definitely something, you know, I I would define success too

and and not having to constantly be doing something for somebody

else. So, yeah, that's that's definitely, you know, a good thing.

So you you did mention panic attacks. I did wanna ask,

what part has, like, mental health played in your job

and your your role? Because I know, like, for me, certainly had, like, a

huge mental health shift from, like, my previous 9 to 5

to, like, where I'm at now. So I wanted to ask what was that like

for you? It it was supremely important. So at my my

previous job, I was having, I think, like, at least a panic

attack at least once every other week. And I would

I would hide under my desk because, my my

office was all windows, and we were on the 1st floor. So anybody can walk

by and see me, and, also, like, staff could see me. So I

but I in retrospect, I don't think it was the

wisest thing to, like, go hide under your desk. It's kinda weird when your boss

does that, but that's what I that's what seemed normal to me at the

time. And so I would just go under my desk and and call my husband

and be like, I can't do this. I can't do this.

And it was just it was this constant, like, pressure in my

chest that I felt like I couldn't take a deep breath whenever

whenever I went to the office. And so and now I don't have that.

And I really, really value that. And it did take it did

take a hot minute for me to get over that kind of

fear, this sort of fight or flight that I

constantly felt and for the ringing in my ears to stop.

But but now I feel like I'm in a good place. And even in Love146

as as an organization really pushes us to

have really good mental health, and I think it's

because we're tackling such a hard, hard issue

that even if you don't have children, I think just it's kind of a punch

in the gut when you hear that children are are being exploited in

such a way and abused in such a way. So they really

tell you, like, hey. Take your time off. You know, if you need a mental

health day, take it. You know, don't be afraid to say, hey. I need a

breather. So I really I really appreciate that. And it's it's a good value that

the the company has as well. Yeah. That's that's totally important

and probably not the standard in in most jobs out

there. Agree. So so that's that's excellent that they allow you

to do that. So, you know, as we're coming to the end of our time

here, I did wanna ask to specifically, like, what love

146 does and, like, if there's somebody out there that, like, wanted to help

or or learn more about the cause, like, what what what can they do? Yeah.

Thank you for that question. That's fantastic. So, like I said, we

are an anti child trafficking organization.

We work in 3 different countries. So we

do work in the United States. Here in Connecticut, we have survivor

care for children who have been trafficked, and we

have our prevention education program and that's in

order to prevent trafficking. So our mission statement is

we journey alongside children impacted by trafficking today, which

is our survivor care portion, and prevent trafficking of children

tomorrow, which is our prevention education portion.

So PREVED is our not a number program, and that's currently

being taught in 28 states. It's part

of a health class curriculum, so middle school, high school,

where children learn what trafficking is, what grooming

is, how to identify a safe person who you can speak

to if you think that you or one of your friends are being

groomed or potentially at risk for being trafficked. So the the goal

with that is to stop trafficking altogether to bring

awareness to children. And then, of course, the survivor care portion,

we have fantastic social workers who who

work really closely with with the children here who've been trafficked.

And our long term care is, it's a year and a half

program, and and they do everything with the children to be able to

help them and advocate for them and give them the resources that they need in

order to fully to heal and and continue in their growth. And

then in the Philippines, we have another survivor care program,

and that's a full live in program. We have 2 homes over there. 1

is the round home and one is the white home. Round home is for

girls. White home is for boys. And we have children

in all age ranges from 2 years old to 18 that

live there, and they get everything that they need in

these homes. So health care, education, they

have a farm, they have therapy there, they have a pool. I mean,

like, anything that a child needs, they can get in in the round home, in

the wait home. And then we also have a program in the Philippines and I'm

sorry, in the UK, that there it deals more

with with labor trafficking. There's a big problem of of children

being trafficked into the UK and then,

being exploited for work. So that's the work that we do in the UK.

And helping, I think the number one thing that people could

do is be aware that trafficking exists,

being aware that trafficking exists in our country and in our

state and in our communities. Unfortunately,

wherever there are people, there is trafficking.

And and and really knowing what those vulnerabilities are and

and what potential signs are. You know, right now, since the

pandemic, unfortunately, kids are being groomed online,

you know, to to be trafficked. Traffickers are smart,

and they know how to get the trust of children,

which is gross. And we really, as I think as

adults, need to really learn how that happens

in order to be able to prevent it and talk to our children about it.

And, yeah, and if you wanna go a little bit further, then you can donate

to love146.org. That's always helpful. And so those

funds go directly to prevention education and to,

survivor care in the Philippines and Connecticut as well. Wow. That's

awesome. That's that seems like a huge reach that that you guys are doing and

making a, I'm sure, a big impact. So it's that's great work, and thank

you for doing that. And yeah. And and thanks for for joining me

today on the podcast and tell me about your story. And, thanks for being

here. Thank you for having me. It was lovely. Thanks for

tuning in and listening to Working Towards Our Purpose. If you like

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