Patricia is a member of the Advisory Board of the Women + Girls Research Alliance at UNC-Charlotte. She was the founding Board Chair of Digi-Bridge, a nonprofit focused on K-8 STEAM education, a prior Senior Warden of St. Peter's Episcopal Church, and past member of the World Economic Forum Charlotte Global Shapers Hub. She holds a BA in Anthropology from Davidson College and an MBA from The College of William & Mary. Patricia and her husband have three young sons.
How did you get introduced to the Women’s Impact Fund?
I was looking to join Women’s Impact Fund as a member. I was working at Davidson College at the time. My work there was more nationally and regionally focused and I was interested in becoming more locally connected in the community. While inquiring about joining, I learned they were looking for an executive director. After some consideration, I decided to put my name in for the job and have a conversation. The rest is history!
What community concerns are the Women’s Impact Fund currently focused on?
Our grantmaking and donor education at WIF is intentionally broad. We don’t work only on the traditional focus areas of Health, Human Services, and Education. We have broader interests as well, such as the Environment and the Arts. Consequently, it can be difficult to be focused.
We have recently taken some new steps. Last year we developed grantmaking principles, which convey our values around awarding grants. These include a commitment to racial and/or gender equity, a commitment to reducing disparities, and awareness of or directly addressing root causes.
WIF provides education around philanthropy and facets of the community. Our members also invest social capital—however it might be defined. We explore how best to harness and leverage social capital to affect change. Grantmaking is only a portion of what we do. Our new strategic plan addresses this and will be launched this summer.
You’re the mother of three young boys. What’s a key for how you keep balance as a working mother?
I definitely wouldn’t call it “balance.” It is more like juggling or negotiating. There has been some liberation to recognize I can’t do it all, all of the time. I stay grounded by the people I surround myself with. That includes my one work colleague, Fielding, the WIF work environment and being surrounded by supportive women, my strong group of friends and family. Part of what makes me a good mom is that I get up and do something meaningful for the community every day. Because my life is busy, I have an acute awareness of all the moving parts and people that make it function. I have a deep appreciation for the daycare teachers and schoolteachers who make our family life possible. It takes a village.
What’s your happy place and why?
One happy place is our family home and property in the North Carolina mountains. And it’s when I’m with my boys and they are doing things they love—like playing baseball, being together with their cousins, and eating ice cream. These things bring me happiness.
You’ve lived in the Charlotte area for some time. What would you like to see in our community?
I would like to see more people interacting with more people unlike themselves. It is about intentionality. There is so much opportunity to do that here. Charlotte has grown into such a melting pot of people from everywhere. All of our lives grow richer the more we interact.
